Impact of Homeland Security

¶ … Homeland Security

There are those who cite the failure of the Department of Homeland Security since the attack of September 11, 2011 however, the successes of Homeland Security are clearly noted in the work of others. This study will review the successes of the Department of Homeland Security.

IT Developments

The Government Accountability Office in its 226-page report states that the Homeland Security Information Network, which is the core of the Department's mission is a "secure portal for security alerts, advisories and information on homeland security technologies, and is used by a large network of federal, state, local, and private sector organizations, from emergency management to law enforcement and critical infrastructure providers." (Hoover, 2011) Included in the portal are "document libraries, instant messaging, incident reporting, discussion boards, and numerous other features." (Hoover, 2011)

Another success for the Department of Homeland Security is the 'Trusted Internet Connections and Einstein' and it is reported that the TIC and Einstein programs illustrate how the Department is "becoming a central part of the .gov networks. TIC is an effort to consolidate external network connections and Internet access points within the agency. Federal agencies have made progress here, and DHS is developing tools to ensure agencies meet federal guidelines. Einstein meanwhile has evolved from a government-wide network monitoring effort to one that will include a focus, in the next version of the program, on intrusion prevention." (Hoover, 2011) Finally, in the area of IT, DHS has used exercises called 'Cyber Storm to learn and to take actions to correct the processes used in responding to cyber attacks. (Hoover, 2011, paraphrased) Lastly, in the area of IT the U.S. Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology (U.S.-VISIT) has as its aims to utilize biometric technology and databases in the identification of "foreign visitors that enter and leave the country in order to spot identity fraud, criminals, and immigration violations." (Hoover, 2011) U.S.-VISIT has resulted in "hundreds of arrests and thousands of watch-list hits." (Hoover, 2011)

II. Other Successes

The Government Accountability Office additionally notes other successes of the Department of Homeland Security since 911 including those stated as follows:

(1) The Department of Homeland Security "issued plans to guide its efforts, such as the Quadrennial Homeland Security Review, which provides a framework for homeland security, and the National Response Framework, which outlines disaster response guiding principles;

(2) The Department of Homeland Security successfully hired, trained, and deployed workforces, such as a federal screening workforce to assume security-screening responsibilities at airports nationwide. (Government Accountability Office Report, 2011, p.1)

III. Department Integration and FEMA Response

Additionally, noted to be success factors of the Department of Homeland Security since 911 are its integration and FEMA responses. Specifically stated is that among the prominent successes of DH are "…the physical screening of airplane passengers and cargo at airports and the pre-screening of airline passengers and cargo bound for the U.S.; information sharing among federal, state, and local officials; and a Federal Emergency Management Agency more capable of responding to catastrophic disasters. The Department is better integrated than ever before, having melded 200,000 employees and dozens of agencies with different cultures and management policies together under one banner." (U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Internal Affairs, 2011, p.1)

IV. Foiled Terrorist Plots Among DHS Successes