Functions of Cybersecurity Program
Assignment Instructions:
You are tasked as the Chief Information Security Officer for a large Fortune 500 International Firm to plan, develop and manage the functions that oversee a new large scale Cybersecurity program. The large scale Cybersecurity program will be a “Digital Blackwater” type organization (see the description below of “Private or Mercenary Armies” from the textbook).
For the purpose of this assignment, you are to search the Internet and utilize course reading materials to research the types of functions, strategies and tactics this organization will use for this new program. Use your imagination and name your proposed organization and follow the requirements below:
REQUIREMENTS:
Write 4 – 6 Pages in length in APA format (not including a cover page and reference section)
Cover Page
Introduction – Firm name and overview of its purpose
Technical organizational proposal:
- Value proposition for the new organization
- Functions of the organization including management
- How the organization will address dynamic Cyber risk and threat environments
- Strategies and tactics the organization will employ
- Proposed benefits for the U.S. government
- How will the organization make a profit
- Reference Section
In an age where cyber warfare is more common than the physical battlefield, it may be necessary for the private sector to stop playing defense and go on offense, Gen. Michael Hayden said on August 1, 2011. Hayden, who led the National Security Administration and Central Intelligence Agency under president George W. Bush, said during a panel discussion at the Aspen Security Forum in Aspen, Colo. that the federal government may not be the sole defender of private sector companies—and that there is precedent for such action. “We may come to a point where defense is more actively and aggressively defined even for the private sector and what is permitted there is something that we would never let the private sector do in physical space,” he said. “Let me really throw out a bumper sticker for you: how about a digital Blackwater?” he asked. “I mean, we have privatized certain defense activities, even in physical space, and now you have got a new domain in which we donot have any paths trampled down in the forest in terms of what it is we expect the government—or will allow the government—to do”. Blackwater is a private military contractor that has changed its name to Academi after incidents in Iraq gave them a negative image. If companies decide to hire forces (hackers) to strike back or conduct recovery operations it could change the cyberspace battlefield dramatically (Winterfield and Andress, 2013).
Introduction
The company’s name for the cybersecurity program is Shadow hawk, and will be operating as a ‘digital Blackwater’ to provide cyberspace services to the governmental institutions and private entities. The program’s primary purpose is to promptly mitigate the cyberspace risks and threats, such as malware, viruses, cyberbullying, and industrial espionage, that could be introduced to the private sector or the government systems. As highlighted by the ‘Private or Mercenary Armies,’ there is a requirement for the private entities to implement effective strategies to mitigate such cyber threats. Therefore, the main purpose of this organization’s program would be to provide approaches to mitigating these threats and conducting the necessary recovery operations. The firm believes that this would significantly influence eradicating the issues pertaining to cybersecurity.
Technical Organizational Proposal:
Value Proposition
Shadow Hawk is currently at the core of all the cybersecurity issues. Further, the digital blackwater services provided by the organization would offer ultimate cyberspace resolutions to all the perceived risks and threats that any entity can face, both the governmental institutions and private sectors. The services offered would encompass of installation of firewalls, tracking any hacker that is considered a threat by the firms, and installing antivirus software (Burkart & McCourt, 2017). Besides, the approaches implemented by Shadow Hawk would be timely and real-life-based solutions that would not interfere with the daily operations of the affected institutions. Hence, all cybersecurity solutions offered would be practical and realistic to the organization during a disaster. Also, time convenience is essential to corporate processes and is considered the main factor during a disaster. Thus, this would be a tactical role of the firm in reacting to cyberspace problems. Additional to the time effectiveness and convenience, the program would be provided at a lower rate that will enhance its affordability, guaranteeing that the private sectors can afford such services. Overall, the organization would be a contractor mercenary offer security to other companies from cyberspace risks and emergent threats, which could result in adverse implications on the government and other entities.