NIAC Securing Cyber Assets Final Report

The National Infrastructure Advisory Council (NIAC) is a body comprising senior executives from state and local governments and industry. These executives own and operate critical infrastructure that is necessary to modern life. It was established in October 2001 by an executive order from the President to advise on practical strategies that would help the government and industry to lessen complex risks to the selected critical infrastructure sectors (The Presidents National Infrastructure Advisory Council, 2017). As part of fulfilling its mandate, NIAC carries out extensive studies and interviews on what needs to be done to secure critical infrastructure in the country against targeted and aggressive cyberattacks. After conducting the studies, the council provides a series of recommendations that can be adopted by the government and industry. This paper examines one of the recommendations provided by NIAC in terms of its implementation by the government and/or the private sector.

NIACs Recommendations

As previously indicated, NIAC provides a series of recommendations that can be implemented by the public and/or private sector to help secure the United States critical infrastructure. The recommendations provided by this council are based on the findings of extensive studies and reviews incorporating different cyber and industry experts. The recommendations are geared toward ensuring the U.S. government and the private sector collectively have adequate resources and capabilities to protect critical infrastructure systems against aggressive and targeted cyberattacks. In this regard, these recommendations focus on ensuring these cyber capabilities and resources are properly arranged, harnessed, and focused.

Since the recommendations seek to enhance cybersecurity in the country, it requires participation by the government and the industry. NIAC considers public-private partnership as a critical factor toward protecting the nation against targeted and aggressive cyberattacks. A partnership between the government and the private sector would enable the country to leverage its current cyber resources and improve protection. Such partnerships would also help strengthen the capabilities of the modern cyber workforce in dealing with potential cyberattacks. In essence, the need for private sector involvement in efforts to protect the country against cyberattacks is based on the principle of collaboration. Since cyberspace is a cross-cutting challenge, the government should collaborate with private sector organizations to enhance the security of cyberspace and help protect the nations critical infrastructure systems.

Review of the Chosen Recommendation

One of the 11 recommendations made by NIAC to help enhance the protection of U.S. critical...

This recommendation required action from Congress, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and the National Security Council.

Sponsoring a public-private expert exchange program is a recommendation made by NIAC based on the principle of collaboration and public-private partnerships. Public-private partnerships are generally viewed as collaborative agreements involving entities from the public and private sectors (Hadley, 2019). Such partnerships are common in the United States as they are primarily used for infrastructure development and are usually long-term in nature. Given the cross-cutting nature of cyberspace, the formation of public-private partnerships is critical to enhancing...

…is yet to take any action. Action from this agency would help prioritize federal action toward expanding cyber workforce programs as recommended by NIAC (The Presidents National Infrastructure Advisory Council, 2017).

Secondly, Congress should go beyond the establishment of necessary legislation and focus on the specific suggestions provided by NIAC on this issue. Apart from enacting legislation, Congress should consider expanding scholarship-for-service programs that focus on attracting future cyber workforce. This would be critical toward addressing the current gaps in cybersecurity workforce and help to expand existing cyber workforce programs. For the Department of Homeland Security, clearances for students in college-level cybersecurity programs would be critical to expediting access to qualified cybersecurity personnel. The current measures adopted by this department primarily focus on intelligence gathering and sharing between public and private sector entities. However, there is a need for the department to prioritize actions that would help in expediting access to qualified personnel in cybersecurity.

In conclusion, NIAC was established by an executive order in October 2001 to advise on practical strategies that would help the government and industry to lessen complex risks to the selected critical infrastructure sectors. NIAC seeks to achieve its purpose and mission by conducting extensive reviews and providing recommendations on improving the security of the nations cyber assets and infrastructure. One of the recommendations made by NIAC is the establishment of a public-private expert exchange program to strengthen todays cyber workforce. As evident in this analysis, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the National Security Council, and Congress are yet to take decisive actions in implementing…