Join the National Cyber Corps, See the World … Virtually
As the rate and sophistication of cyber attacks continues to grow, a debate is raging surrounding how to protect the federal and critical infrastructure networks. For Erik Laykin, managing director Duff & Phelps Global Electronics and co-practice chair for the company’s Discovery and Investigations practice, creating a National Cyber Corps could hold the answer.
Currently, programs exist to promote cooperation between the public and private sectors, but these tend to be ad-hoc or one-off rather than a systematic approach. Laykin would like to see that changed.
“It tends to fall short, as with any of these programs, is that it’s not a centrally managed or organized mandatory program … over all industries,” he says. “Instead, it’s voluntary and based on good people putting their best foot forward.”
“I think we’ve reached a point today where Internet communications and the integration of systems is so complete and so universal globally that some new thinking needs to be put forward in how to address these risks,” he adds.
In order to defend the military space, the United States recently launched U.S. Cyber Command, which will be headed by NSA director Gen. Keith Alexander. However, there is not currently a comparable effort in to cover the federal civilian or private sector networks.
“There’s another element to it that is the coordination of cyber defense, cyber-related investigation within the private sector and its relationship to the public sector, because those lines are blurring,” Laykin says.
To meet these needs, Laykin proposes the creation of a National Cyber Corps, complete with a federal mandate.
“The purpose of it would be to manage and coordinate the defense and foster the overall technology infrastructure of the U.S. in hopes of having rapid communication between all parties,” he says.
In addition to covering the federal space, the NCC could also help to develop standards for the private sector, particularly those that make up the critical infrastructure.
“[This should be managed] in such a way where the Hewlett Packards and Microsofts of the world have an obligation to meet criteria or standards of the National Cyber Crops in the manner in which they develop their cyber defense posture,” Laykin says.
The outfit would be similar to the Coast Guard, in that the NCC would be responsible for protecting the nation’s digital borders, he says.
Creating a unit would also help to protect the nation’s privacy and the privacy and security of each citizen, Laykin says.
“I believe we need to protect the infrastructure in order to guarantee that the average American citizen has the privacy they’ve come to expect,” he says. “The privacy we’ve come to expect is being eroded by criminal hacker gangs out of Eastern Europe, by organized hacking groups, possibly government-sponsored, out of China, by internal theft within organizations in the U.S., from all fronts.”
But who would control a National Cyber Corps? DHS? DoD?
“I think you need a fresh approach here,” Laykin says. “We have to think outside the box because we’re in a new era; some of these structures don’t necessarily apply.”
The private sector would also have a vital role to play in NCC.
“The private sector probably has the most to lose should this type of Cyber Corps initiative not be developed,” Laykin says. “They also have the most to gain by it being developed, I believe. It will help develop standards and practice across the entire industry for response to cyber-related threats and risks.”
Ultimately, Laykin says the creation of NCC would benefit the United States in the long term.
“This seems like such a natural way to go about managing and addressing our country’s cyber risk, which impacts all of us and our ability to be competitive in the marketplace and even our freedoms that we want to protect,” he says.
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