Work for Globalresearchers

Following a breakdown in diplomatic relations with Venezuela and large anti-U.S. demonstrations across that country, a massive distributed denial of service attack immobilized five of the largest U.S. banks. As a result, tens of millions of American citizens cannot access their account information or, in most cases, utilize their bank credit or debit cards. This has led to a loss of confidence in the financial sector, large scale disruptions to the national economy, and widespread angst among the American public.

 

The National Security Council has immediately re-prioritized effort within the Intelligence Community to focus on the cyber attacks. The FBI and Secret Service have opened criminal investigations. The Department of Homeland Security is working with the financial sector to respond to and recover from the attacks. And, the military services are on high alert and awaiting orders.

 

You are the President’s senior cyber advisor. The President requests that you prepare a 6-8 page memorandum (Times New Roman, 12-point, double spaced) outlining possible courses of action in light of this attack, including (a) what should the top requirements be for intelligence collection and analysis about the attack; (b) is attribution possible, and if so what should he tell the American public and the international community about the attackers; and, (c) what should the government do in response to the attack?

 

Your memorandum to the President should begin with an Executive Summary (one paragraph) and conclude with your specific recommendations for decisive action. Be creative, but make sure you're referring back to material and concepts reviewed during the course.

I have attached my syllabus so that you can refer back to references we have used in class.

Reveron, Derek S. 2012. Cyberspace and National Security: Threats, Opportunities, and Power in a Virtual World. Washington DC: Georgetown University Press

Jonathan Masters, “Confronting the Cyber Threat,” Council on Foreign Relations, http://www.cfr.org/technology-and-foreign-policy/confronting-cyber-threat/p15577

“Cyber Intelligence: Setting the Landscape For An Emerging Discipline,” INSA (2011) https://images.magnetmail.net/images/clients/INSA/attach/INSA_CYBER_INTELLIGENCE_2011.pdf

Phil Williams, “Intelligence Analysis for Internet Security,” CERT, Carnegie Mellon University (2013) http://www.cert.org/archive/html/Analysis10a.html

Jason Healey, “Beyond Attribution: Seeking National Responsibility for Cyber Attacks,” Atlantic Council Issue Paper, Cyber Statecraft Initiative (2011) http://www.acus.org/files/publication_pdfs/403/022212_ACUS_NatlResponsibilityCyber.PDF

James A. Lewis, “Cyber Attacks Explained,” Center for Strategic and International Studies (2007) http://www.mafhoum.com/press10/302T42.pdf

Office of the National Counterintelligence Executive, Foreign Spies Stealing US Economic Secrets in Cyberspace (October 2013), see: http://www.ncix.gov/publications/reports/fecie_all/Foreign_Economic_Collection_2011.pdf