Week 3 Discussion: Cybersecurity Policy Design Issues

Week 3 Discussion Cybersecurity Policy Design Issuesfor Your Initial

Describe cybersecurity roles and responsibilities to protect security for the corporate business mission (for example, the Insider threat, Access Controls, Biometric Authentication) and explain why business also may have a cybersecurity responsibility to protect national security through business resilience and Continuity of Operations Planning. Describe what is meant by the term "Cascade Failures" as it may apply to cyberattacks against critical infrastructures. Do you agree or disagree that businesses should protect national security by expanding their cybersecurity budget to prevent or reduce the effects of possible Cascade Failures that may affect their business and other downstream businesses that may depend on them? Justify your answer.

Paper For Above instruction

Week 3 Discussion Cybersecurity Policy Design Issuesfor Your Initial

Cybersecurity plays a critical role in safeguarding the integrity, confidentiality, and availability of information within organizations, especially those vital to national security and public trust. The roles and responsibilities in cybersecurity are multifaceted, encompassing a range of stakeholders from executive leadership to technical staff, each with specific duties. Protecting the corporate mission involves implementing robust access controls, addressing insider threats, and deploying biometric authentication mechanisms. Access controls restrict unauthorized user access, ensuring that sensitive data remains protected from malicious insiders or external threats. For instance, role-based access control (RBAC) assigns permissions according to job functions, minimizing the risk of insider threats (Bishop, 2018). Biometric authentication, such as fingerprint or facial recognition, enhances security by verifying individual identities beyond traditional passwords (Jain et al., 2013). Addressing insider threats involves monitoring user activities, enforcing strict policies, and fostering an organizational culture of security awareness (Jajodia et al., 2018).

Beyond protecting corporate assets, businesses have a responsibility to contribute to national security. This responsibility extends through ensuring business resilience and continuity planning, which helps organizations withstand and recover from cyber incidents. Business resilience enables organizations to maintain critical operations during disruptions, thereby supporting broader national interests (Clarke & Knake, 2018). Continuity of Operations Planning (COOP) involves developing comprehensive strategies, including data backup, disaster recovery procedures, and incident response plans, which collectively reduce system downtime and potential cascading effects (Fitzgerald & Dennis, 2018). This proactive approach ensures that organizations continue supporting essential services and infrastructure, thereby indirectly defending national security.

Cascade failures refer to domino-like events where an initial failure triggers a series of subsequent failures across interconnected systems. In cyber contexts, a breach of a critical infrastructure component—such as a power grid, financial systems, or transportation networks—can set off cascading effects that compromise multiple sectors simultaneously (Perrow, 2011). For example, a cyberattack on a power distribution system can cause widespread blackouts, disrupting communication, transportation, and emergency services. Such failures demonstrate the vulnerability of interconnected critical infrastructure sectors, highlighting the importance of resilient cybersecurity measures (Rinaldi et al., 2018).

There is a compelling argument that businesses should expand their cybersecurity budgets to address the threat of cascade failures. Increasing investment aims to improve preventive measures, incident response capabilities, and systemic resilience to protect not only individual organizations but also the broader network of dependent entities. Reducing the likelihood of cascade failures entails implementing advanced threat detection, real-time monitoring, and inter-organizational information sharing (Li et al., 2014). Such investments are justified, considering the potentially devastating economic and social impacts of large-scale cyber-induced cascade failures. For instance, during the 2015 Ukraine power grid attack, cyber operators succeeded in causing widespread outages, illustrating the destructive potential of sophisticated cyber tactics (Sissel et al., 2016). Consequently, organizations should recognize cybersecurity as a strategic investment essential for both organizational and national security.

In conclusion, cybersecurity roles within organizations encompass a range of responsibilities that serve to protect corporate and national interests. Emphasizing access controls, insider threat management, and biometric authentication enhances organizational defenses. Simultaneously, businesses bear a duty to support national security through resilient strategies and operational continuity. Addressing the threat of cascade failures requires proactive investment in cybersecurity, as these failures can have far-reaching detrimental effects across sectors and borders. Therefore, expanding cybersecurity budgets is a prudent and necessary step toward safeguarding interconnected infrastructures and ensuring societal stability amidst evolving cyber threats.

References

• Bishop, M. (2018). Introduction to Computer Security. Addison-Wesley.
• Clarke, R. A., & Knake, R. K. (2018). The Apple and the East India Company: cybersecurity, resilience, and national security in a digital world. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection, 574–589.
• Fitzgerald, J., & Dennis, A. (2018). Business Data Communications and Networking. Pearson.
• Jain, A. K., Ross, A., & Prabhakar, S. (2013). Biometric recognition: Security and privacy concerns. IEEE Security & Privacy, 1(2), 33–42.
• Jajodia, S., Liu, L., & Wang, C. (2018). Insider Threats in Cybersecurity: Detection, Prevention, and Mitigation. Springer.
• Li, Z., et al. (2014). Resilience and Reliability of Interdependent Cyber-Physical Systems. IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics: Systems, 44(2), 239–250.
• Perrow, C. (2011). Normal Accidents: Living with High-Risk Technologies. Princeton University Press.
• Rinaldi, S. M., Peerenboom, J. P., & Kelly, T. K. (2018). Identifying, Understanding, and Analyzing Critical Infrastructure Interdependencies. IEEE Control Systems Magazine, 28(6), 11–15.
• Sissel, P., et al. (2016). Cyberattack on Ukraine Power Grid and Its Implications. Journal of Cybersecurity, 2(4), 167–177.