Cyber Protection Measures at the International Level

In this piece, I identify cyber protection measures being used at the international level that I believe could be effective here in the United States.  Other countries of the world use cyber protection measures that the United States could adopt.  I address these measures in the ensuing paragraphs including my reasoning as to why they could also be effective in the United States.

China

China maintains some of the world’s tightest government restrictions on Internet use. These restrictions make many observers skeptical that hacker gangs could operate within China without government approval or acquiescence (The Washington Times, 2008).  This approach would certainly drastically reduce the effects of hackers, hactivists, and foreign government cyber-attackers against our U.S. cyber-systems. However, unless we were engaged in an all-out war, we would experience a huge backlash from civil liberties organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). The USA PATRIOT Act goes far enough for the United States to fight terrorists but too far for the ACLU and other such organizations.

Germany

On February 27, 2008, Germany’s top court ruled that domestic security services may monitor the computers of suspected criminals or terrorists. However, they may do so only if they possess evidence showing the suspects to be dangerous. The decision by the Constitutional Court opens the door to a new federal law.  Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative Christian Democrats have long advocated this new law, which would allow online surveillance but only under strict conditions (Reuters, 2008).  This measure could also be effective in the United States. However, like what is happening in China with hackers and the Internet, there would be a huge outcry from civil liberties organizations unless we were engaged in an all-out war. Like above, The USA PATRIOT Act goes far enough to fight terrorists but too far for ACLU’s comfort.

Singapore

In February 2006, Singapore announced it would spend $23 million over three years to enhance computer security and combat cyberterrorism. Singapore’s Parliament amended the Money-changing and Remittance Businesses Act in August 2006. This act strengthens the government’s ability to combat money laundering and terrorist finance-related activities in the money-changing and remittance sector (Anonymous, 2006).  The United States covers these areas well with the Bank Secrecy Act, Money Laundering and Financial Crimes Strategy Act of 1998, The USA PATRIOT Act, The Money Laundering Regulations 2003, and the 2003 National Money Laundering Strategy.

Hong Kong

Many activities within the region are of considerable interest, particularly the successful efforts in Hong Kong to establish tertiary diploma-level training in computer investigations and computer forensics through a partnership relationship between the Hong Kong Police and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Anonymous, 2006).  The United States covers this area fairly well with the many private schools and government training centers that provide degrees, certifications, and special education/training in computer investigations and forensics.

International Association of Computer Investigation Specialists

The most prominent training organization in the law-enforcement-only training area is the International Association of Computer Investigation Specialists (IACIS). Other law enforcement agencies, both on national and local levels, offer courses on a more sporadic basis. These classes not only cover the technical aspects of computer forensics but also concentrate on criminal law issues. Vendors who sell computer forensic tools offer vendor-specific training courses. These courses generally cover in detail the features that make their tools powerful (Kuchta, 2001).

Computer forensic overview training classes focus on the academic theory of computer forensics. Mostly professional organizations and associations offer a number of these courses to the private sector. Do not expect to attend one of these courses to become a computer forensic expert. Practitioner hands-on training courses are geared toward the computer forensic practitioner. The duration of most of these courses is five days. These training classes may consist of upwards of 50 percent hands-on exercises. A good computer forensics professional possesses three different types of skill sets in one person, i.e., help desk specialist, programmer, and investigator (Kuchta, 2001).

Organization of American States (OAS)

In response to the international terrorist threat, the OAS took important steps to help prevent terrorism from establishing itself in the Western Hemisphere. Within 4-1/2 months of the September 11 attacks, the Inter-American Committee Against Terrorism (CICTE) had focused correctly on practical results. Attorney General John Ashcroft commended the committee for promoting concrete action among member states in three critical areas (Ashcroft, 2002):

1. Tightening border controls against those who would enter a country to commit terrorism
2. Establishing more effective networks and mechanisms to track and intercept the financing of terrorists
3. Sharing each others’ experiences through training and joint exercises

In this regard, Ashcroft underscored the important role played by Argentina, as vice-chair of CICTE. He also commended the leadership shown by El Salvador, Peru, and Colombia in chairing the key working groups within the organization (Ashcroft, 2002).  The United States could benefit by controlling its borders as some of our Latin American countries do …with guns and bullets.

Council of Europe

The Assembly noted that the fight against cybercrime requires urgent international cooperation among governments, the private sector, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). This is because cybercriminals rely on their ability to operate across borders and to exploit differences in national law. Lack of cooperation by member states exposes them to considerable danger. Furthermore, the relevant laws need to be standardized, or at least made compatible with one another, to permit the required level of international cooperation (Anonymous, 2007).  More cooperation and standardized/compatible laws with other nation states would make the United States more effective in dealing with cybercrime.

European Union (EU)

Dr. Norman Neureiter made the point that the U.S. research community addressing critical infrastructure protection (CIP) issues is totally inadequate. He said that he was sure it was likewise in the EU. While pockets of significant research exist, the number of people in toto is not as large as it needs to be. That is where education comes in. We need more training in cyber security. This shortage of people makes international collaboration an even greater imperative. We need to combine our small numbers (Neureiter, 2001).

Cyber systems are global, and we all face the same terrorism problems. Hence, CIP and cyber security comprise issues which demand international science and technology (S&T) collaboration and coordination. We cannot solve the global challenges in one country only. We need to work on them together. Three years ago, the United States and EU recognized that fighting it alone is simply not an option. However, cooperation among governments alone is not enough. We also need partnerships with industry (Neureiter, 2001).  Working together, education and training, collaboration and coordination, and industry partnerships must increase in the United States for us to be more effective in combating cyberterrorism.

The International Framework

A key benefit of a global solution is that it can approach the problem of network security from an international political perspective. Thus, the possible range of solutions and options available to decision-makers is potentially much wider than nation-centric or local efforts to mitigate attacks. Reaching a global solution requires a proper framework. This framework should consist of the following (Bryen, 2002):

• Model. Agreement on a common critical infrastructure model
• Trust and Confidence. Trust and confidence building among the participating countries and organizations
• Participation. Active government participation at the policy level
• Approach. A collective security approach

Such an international framework would allow nation states and the UN, EU, OAS, and other organizations to be legally tough on terrorism.

International Cooperation

Ambassador Michael A. Sheehan, coordinator for counterterrorism, spoke at the Brookings Institution on February 10, 2000. He said that we seek to limit the room in which terrorists can operate, plan, move, and work by outlining a few of our key activities (Sheehan, 2000):

• State Sponsors. We pressure state sponsors, thereby isolating them from the international community
• FTOs. We criminalize terrorism through the process of designating Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs)
• Separate Actor from Action. We depoliticize the message of terrorism through public statements separating actor from action
• Consensus. We build international consensus for zero tolerance by working with our G-8 and EU partners
• International Framework. We support the construction of an international legal framework to allow states and the UN, EU, OAS, and other organizations to be legally tough on terrorism
• Work Bilaterally. We work bilaterally to arrest, disrupt, and expel terrorists
• Training. Finally, we bolster the capacity of those countries that need it to fight terrorism through our international training programs, which are run by state, law enforcement, and intelligence agencies

If the United States will do these things that we are not currently doing or are not doing well, we should do them to be more effective in fighting the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT).

Summary and Conclusion

In summary, I have identified a few cyber protection measures being used at the international level by other countries. I believe that some of these measures could be effective applied here in the United States. If the United States will add these protective measures to our present repertoire of tools, we will be even more effective in combating cyberterrorism.

References

Anonymous (2002, February). Technology research: Development of a risk management strategy for duty of care issues relating to high-risk operational policing. ACPR [Australasian Centre for Policing Research] Bulletin, No. 11.

Anonymous (2006, April 26). Singapore – Excerpt DoS Country Report on Terrorism. Retrieved from http://asiasecurity.org/issue-papers/singapore-excerpt-dos-country-report-on-terrorism-26-april-2006.

Anonymous (2007, June 28). How to prevent cybercrime against state institutions in member and observer states? Parliamentary Assembly Resolution 1565 (2007). Retrieved from http://assembly.coe/int/Documents/AdoptedText/ta07/ERES1565.htm.

Ashcroft, J. (2002, January 29). Western hemisphere efforts to combat terrorism. US Department of State website. Retrieved from http://www.state.gov/p/wha/rls/rm/7667.htm.

Bryen, S. (2002, May 20). A collective security approach to protecting the global critical infrastructure. International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Workshop on Creating Trust in Critical Network Infrastructures, Document: CNI/09, Seoul, Republic of Korea, 20-22 May 2002.

Kuchta, K. J. (2001, November-December). Learning the Computer Forensic Way. Information Systems Security, 10(5), 29-35. Retrieved from http://firstsearch.oclc.org.proxy1.ncu.edu/images/WSPL/wsppdf1/HTML/06470/MAYZ6/DSV.HTM.

Neureiter, N. P. (2001, December 3). Critical infrastructure protection: International S&T cooperation after September 11. Dr. Norman P. Neureiter’s remarks to the IST 2001 Technologies Serving People Conference in Dusseldorf, Germany. Department of State. Retrieved from http://www.state.gov/g/stas/8580.htm.

Reuters (2008, February 28). German court permits limited cyber-monitoring. NYTimes.com. Retrieved from http://homelandsecurity.osu.edu/focusareas/cyberterrorism.html.

Sheehan, M. A. (2000, February 10). Counterterrorism chief seeks more international cooperation. Post-Millennium Terrorism Review speech given by Ambassador Michael A. Sheehan, coordinator for counterterrorism, Brookings Institution. Retrieved from http://www.usembassy.it/file2000_02/alia/a0021020.htm.

The Washington Times(2008, March 24). Cyber-attacks on Tibet groups tied to China. National Security Research & Education Programs. Retrieved from http://homelandsecurity.osu.edu/focusareas/cyberterrorism.html.

###