Facilitating legitimate travel, managing immigration benefits, and securing our borders from threats depends on extensive cooperation between the Department of State (DoS) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). This collaboration requires constant communication and information sharing.
Portions of the internet invisible from standard search engines, known as the "Dark Web," are providing rapidly increasing user base access to many illegal activities online. Dark Web websites are publicly visible, yet hide the IP addresses of the servers that run them using anonymity software like Tor or I2P. These software programs encrypt internet traffic in multiple layers and bounce it across randomly selected computers around the world. This lets anyone using one of these programs access a site, but it can be difficult to locate its servers and users.
You have probably never met a Nigerian prince. However, you might have received an email from one asking for help unlocking a fortune with the promise to pay you for your help. These so-called ‘Nigerian prince scams’ are a crude version of fraud that people can easily recognize.
On November 20th, 2014, President Obama issued a series of executive orders intended to expedite the processing of two-year work permits and driver’s licenses for nearly five million undocumented immigrants in the United States with no criminal records.
After the tragic events of 9/11, there was overwhelming consensus that a coordinated effort against terrorism and other public safety threats was required between the nation’s entire law enforcement, emergency management, and intelligence apparatus. This includes the identified requirement to secure large-scale public events. These events present a potential target for terrorism and other crimes based on size, scope, and especially notoriety.
With the celebration of major sports events like Super Bowl XLIX, and the ensuing zeal of football fans to attend it, many fans are determined to own a piece of Super Bowl history. Unfortunately, unscrupulous vendors and criminal organizations that specialize in selling counterfeit merchandise, such as tickets and jerseys, will defraud some of these fans. Each year people throughout the United States unwittingly purchase “genuine” memorabilia only to learn that they have been defrauded hundreds, or in some instances, thousands of dollars, for a counterfeit product.
A foundation of trust has been proven essential throughout history for achieving success in challenging environments, similar to those faced today by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
National-level mission programs require strategic deployment of flexible, agile, and mobile support teams for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to support its employees and stakeholders. Major public events such as the Super Bowl and the Boston Marathon are complex events that need an intense focus on security and information sharing early in their planning phase.
This winter, fifteen states are swearing in new governors, bringing new leadership to the governors’ offices and their cabinets. Governors rarely campaign on homeland security issues. Yet, if a governor mismanages a disaster, it will be their only legacy.
A ‘big bang’ approach to homeland security projects – where projects take multiple years, have huge scope, cost hundreds of millions of dollars, and are prone to failure – are a thing of the past.
Advances in tooling, education, and job training provide organizations with the opportunity to advance their own cybersecurity programs. If not impenetrable, they are at least harder to breach and therefore a less attractive target than the next organization. It may be tempting to assume new tools solve problems and erase or lessen the need to understand management fundamentals as they apply to cybersecurity. Instead, it is vital to consider how effective cybersecurity depends on management fundamentals, especially on sound resource allocation.
A defining feature of the United States in the 21st century is the level of interconnectivity between persons, corporations, and government agencies. From banking to social media, the vast majority of the American people are online. Using a smartphone it is possible to track weather forecasts collecting data from government-owned satellites, and to check the arrival and departure times of commercial flights using air traffic control networks. This is all possible due to our advanced critical infrastructure and the key systems that control them.
Social media accounts for more than 20 percent of time spent on the Internet according to studies conducted in 2014. Among people age 65 and older – who are not generally considered prime users of technology – one in four reported being active on some form of social media website.
