Introduction
When it comes to protecting an infrastructure, careful planning and coordination needs to take place. Protecting an infrastructure takes an important security initiative called Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP). The United States critical infrastructure is protected by the Department of Homeland Security.
Examine three areas of the Department of Homeland Security: mission, operations and responsibilities
The first area is the Department of Homeland Security’s mission. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was created in 2002 by the Homeland Security Act. In 2003 the DHS started their operations. The DHS primary responsibilities and objectives includes prevention, protection, and response to issues that threaten national security. There are five core missions that define the DHS: Managing and securing our nation’s borders, strengthening security initiatives to help prevent terrorism, administering and enforcing the nation’s immigration laws, ensuring that the nation can rebound fast and or prevent disasters, and ensuring the internet is secure by instituting safeguards that protect the nation against cyber-attacks. (TWH, 2003)
The second area is the DHS’s Operations. The DHS operations are aimed at coordinating with other security and federal agencies to help streamline the security of the nation. In order for the DHS to be able to secure the entry points of our nation, more than twenty other agencies are included under the DHS’s umbrella. The operation plans of the DHS includes objectives and goals that are needed to prevent the transport illegal goods, illegal immigrants, and other contraband from entering into the United States thru the nation’s entry points.
The third area is the DHS’s Responsibilities...
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...the nation’s critical infrastructure. With the creation of the DHS the government has shown that they are investing money and resources into protecting our nation’s infrastructure.
Works Cited
TWH (2013), Presidential policy directive -- critical infrastructure security and resilience,
Retrieved on February 14, 2104 from http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/02/12/presidential-policy-directive-critical-infrastructure-security-and-resil
Bean, H. (2009), Exploring the relationship between homeland security information sharing & local emergency preparedness. Retrieved on February 14, 2104 from http://www.hsaj.org/?fullarticle=5.2.5
BENAC, N. (2011). National security: Ten years after september 11 attacks, u.s. is safe but not safe enough. Retrieved on February 14, 2104 from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/03/promises-promises-us-safe_n_947688.html
Creating and managing agency budgets is a complicated process. How an agency receives and allocates its funds determines how, when, and if the agency will remain viable and how it will achieve its mission. “As a practical matter, therefore, agencies often base their annual budget request on last year’s budget after making incremental categorical changes of previous expenditures” (Stojkovic, Kalinich, & Klofas, 2012, p. 40). Organizations, however, are affected by the political climate around them. The September 11, 2001 attack on America brought a substantive reaction, including military deployment abroad and increased surveillance within the homeland. As a result, the Department of Homeland Security was created to control and coordinate a number of federal law enforcement and
After the fear of terrorism grew in the United States do to the Al Qaeda 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, the US Government found a need for a centralized department that umbrellas all other agencies when it comes to homeland security. The U.S. Government found this umbrella agency with the passage of the Homeland Security Act by Congress in November 2002, the Department of Homeland Security formally came into being as a stand-alone, Cabinet-level department to further coordinate and unify national homeland security efforts. (Homeland Security) With the creation of the new Department of Homeland Security (DHS) the government had a pinpoint location for the collection and gathering of intelligence, control of policies that effect national security, and a no fail mission. The Department of Homeland Security started to engulf other agencies and created many more, a total of 22 agencies now fall under the DHS. The DHS is control of all areas that deal with national security which included but are not limited to coastal and boarder protection, domestic terrorism, international terrorism, protection of the American people, protection of key infrastructure, protection of key resources and respond to natural disasters.
The Homeland Security Bill which was enacted in 2003 created the Cabinet-level Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which, in a nutshell, was and still is charged with protection of the U.S. or commonly known as the Homeland. There were four division with distinct missions created. However, since its creation major changes in the divisions and mission sets have changed and three of the original divisions were abolished in 2005 - the four original divisions and mission sets are as follows:
After September eleventh, President George W. Bush signed a congressional bill to create a department of Homeland Security. This department examines the levels of security risk at airports, ship ports, railway stations, and other public transportation locations. Both candidates Bush and Kerry agree that homeland security is a priority. Furthermore, the candidates have stated that it is essential to provide the American people with a strong common defense. For example, “both pledge to have the government spend more money to furnish first-responders-the police and firefighters who are the first to arrive on the scene of an accident or an attack-with the materials and equipment they need to do their jobs to the best of their ability” (David Dulio). The recent war in Iraq has divided the candidates on how to carry out the plan on homeland security. Bush believes that we must take a protective approach in Iraq to prevent further terrorist damage to the United States. Kerry on the other hand believes that the United States must seek international support in Iraq to insure safety at home and abroad.
On November 19, 2001, the Aviation and Transportation Security Act was signed into act by the 107th Congress, enacting the Transportation Security Administration, also known as TSA (Pistole). TSA assumed responsibility for hiring, training, and developing security officers to deal with airport security. In March 2003, TSA was transferred from being a part of the Department of Transportation to the Department of Homeland Security which is also known as DHS (Pistole). This transfer was due to the realization that TSA’s mission had the same ideas as the mission of DHS. Department of Homeland Security is a general term, given for all domestic and international activities to protect people and property in the United States from terrorism (Curtis).
However, some sources say that the DHS lead National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP) falls well short because of not listening and not sharing information with critical infrastructure owner/operators. The NIPP document created by the DHS is for the government and is not a plan to improve resilience. The document is said to lack private sector information and most feel that the meetings with the government about the document were not heard. As for the information sharing part of the document there are shortcomings that do not enhance national level situational awareness. However, there are seven topics raised in the new document after its original creation four years ago. The first is to elevate security and resilience as the primary aim of CIP efforts. Second, expanding and updating critical infrastructure risk management. Third, focus on national priorities jointly determined by public and private sector. Fourth, integrate cyber and physical security. Fifth, affirm the reality that critical infrastructure security and resilience require international collaboration. Sixth, show continued progress to support execution of the plan at both national and community levels. Lastly, present a detailed Call to Action that includes steps the federal government will undertake to work with partners to make progress toward security and
What concerns the government of the United States most is the security of the critical infrastructure from the cyber threats. The nation is depending heavily on the technology in most of its critical sectors to keep it up and running. Thus, this makes its more vulnerable to cyber-attacks from outsiders and insiders. Therefore, its protection must be a priority.
Homeland Security is one of the most important departments in the United States. The United States Department of Homeland Security job is to reduce our vulnerability to terrorism and lead a national effort to help prevent terrorist attacks on our nation (Computer Concept, pg. 50). As technology evolves over the course of time, computers end up playing a crucial role in homeland security.
Homeland defense is primarily a Department of Defense (DOD) activity and is defined as “... the protection of US sovereignty, territory, domestic population, and critical defense infrastructure against external threats and aggression, or other threats as directed by the President.” Homeland security, regardless of the definition or strategic document, is a combination of law enforcement, disaster, immigration, and terrorism issues. It is primarily the responsibility of civilian agencies at all levels. It is a coordination of efforts at all levels of government. The differences between homeland security and homeland defense, however, are not completely distinct. A international terrorist organization attack on and within the United States would result in a combined homeland security and homeland defense response, such as on 9/11 when civilian agencies were responding to the attacks while the U.S. military established a combat air patrol over New York and Washington, DC. This distinction between homeland security and homeland defense, and the evolution of homeland security as a concept, was reflected in the strategic documents developed and issued following 9/11 (Reese
The mission of the Department of Homeland Security is “to ensure a homeland that is safe, secure, and resilient against terrorism and other hazards” (DHS). There are three key concepts to the foundation of the homeland security strategy: security, resilience, and customs and exchange. These concepts help to develop the mission to homeland security. Homeland Security has a variety of different responsibilities in protecting the United States. There are five core missions of homeland security: prevent terrorism and enhance security, secure and manage the borders, enforce and administer immigration laws, safeguard and secure cyberspace, and ensure resilience to disasters.
The Department of Homeland Security is here to prevent terrorist attacks, and react to them in an
Homeland Security’s mission is “to secure the nation from the many threats we face. With honor and integrity, we will safeguard the American people, our homeland, and our values.”[3]
The DHS has demonstrated great leadership but lacked the necessity to create effective affiliations in communicating and utilizing information, which like seen in 9/11 dramatically affected the outcome and security of the country. “The Department of Homeland Security, has poorly positioned themselves to receive intelligence from the intelligence community agencies because it does not do intelligence collection on its own and hence will have nothing to trade” (DHS, 2016). Since then, DOJ. FBI, DNI, CIA, and other federal agencies like the DHS have increased their channels of intelligence and their means of communication with one another. This has led to an increase of arrests made towards Americans on terrorism related
Over the course of the history of the United States of America, the country has had struggles with its own borders and the protection of those borders. Illegal immigration is a big problem and the smuggling of drugs, weapons, and cash over our borders into our country has evolved into a bigger problem. The United States has over seven-thousand miles of border to cover each day. That is quite a bit of land, but the only problem with this is there is a lack of manpower to cover every single mile of border. The US shares its borders with Canada and Mexico. All along these borders are small communities and cities that are occupied by US citizens. This means that these cities and communities require the protection of our Homeland Security Agency.
...ts of terrorism against the United States. Homeland security has not only proven to be effective, it has shown that it is providing safety for the U.S. and its citizens against terrorist attacks.