On February 9th of this year, the Obama administration announced that after a seven year observation of the cybersecurity environment, it was going to establish the Cybersecurity National Action Plan (CNAP). The new cybersecurity plan was formulated to counter the ever-morphing threats and hackings in cyberspace that could potentially have grave consequences for both public and private institutions, as well as the security of individual Internet users.
The White House announcement notes that modern society has benefitted tremendously from interconnectedness due to the proliferation of the Internet, emphasizing that “from buying products to running businesses to finding directions to communicating with the people we love, an online world has fundamentally reshaped our daily lives.” However at the same time, the White House brief notes that the shadows casted by the illumination of interconnectedness – often rising out of shadowy “dark nets”- such as terrorism, criminal acts, are real problems as well: “Just as the continually evolving digital age presents boundless opportunities for our economy, our businesses, and our people, it also presents a new generation of threats that we must adapt to meet.”
The White House announcement outlines both short-term actions and long-term goals to combat threats posed by these actors. The effort includes items such as establishing a collaborative Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity, updating and reforming government IT, beefing up critical infrastructural security, and introducing other initiatives to strengthen password security for online accounts via tools such as biometrics.
Although the effort to strengthen cybersecurity is a welcome development to counter the ever-tumultuous nature of cyberspace, it is not without its critics, who note that the initiative still suffers from bureaucratic culture and shortsightedness. This, in turn, may limit its effectiveness in combating the dangers arising from cyberspace.
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