Cyberterrorism and US Infrastructure. Is the US Government able to protect its citizens from cyber attacks?

Seminar paper from the year 2016 in the subject Politics - International Politics - Topic: Peace and Conflict Studies, Security, Central Washington University (Information Technology and Administrative Management Department), course: Critical Issues in Information Technology, language: English, abstract: This paper outlines the history of the Tier 1 Backbone and the SCADA systems, highlights the current threats to these systems, and then finally proposes solutions to these vulnerabilities.

Security in the United States has always been a slow, reactionary process. For instance, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) did not exist until after 9/11 occurred. It usually takes a catastrophe for our government to prioritize constructive and meaningful progress. Our SCADA systems and Tier 1 Backbone of the Internet are no exception. The Internet wasn¿t designed with security in mind, so now the United States is in a race to become cyber-secure before the next disastrous event.

The United States government is struggling to proactively protect itself and find/train skilled individuals to help protect Americans online. The United States has no shortage of enemies, and those enemies now have skilled cyber-warriors probing through the systems of the federal government and American private companies. Nation-states, cyberterrorists,

hacktivists, and criminal organizations are all potential actors that could destroy or manipulate the systems we depend on for financial gain, fame, or to make a political message.

An amalgam of patchwork legacy systems, unjustifiable ignorance, and rapidly changing technology have left the United States susceptible to cyberattacks against the most vulnerable segments of our infrastructure.