Social engineering attacks and counterintelligence strategies

Social Engineering Attacks Counter Intelligence

Social Engineering Counter Intelligence

Describe what social engineering and counterintelligence are and their potential implications to our national security in regard to the leaked Afghan War Diary and the Iraq War Logs.

Social engineering is the theft of classified information. Then, using it to change everyone's opinions and perceptions about what is happening. Counter intelligence is preventing hostile enemies or organizations from obtaining access to sensitive material. These areas are viewed from two different perspectives. The first one is that of more liberal attitudes. They believe that any kind of secret files, are allowing the U.S. government to hide the truth. This is when it has no accountability for engaging in different actions. These voices, feel any kind of disclosures of classified information, is critical to understanding the larger issues and letting the public (i.e. world) know what they are up to. (Mulrine, 2013) (Harding, 2011) ("Wiki Leaks," 2010) ("Wiki Leaks Releases," 2010)

Many groups such as Amnesty International believe that these documents were critical in bring about the Arab Spring. Moreover, they played a major part in forcing the U.S. To leave Iraq. This is when the Iraqi government refused to support the extensions of U.S. troops after the December 31, 2011 deadline. The potential implications are: the status quo cannot hide behind a veil of secrecy and there will be greater levels of accountability. (Harding, 2011) ("Wiki Leaks," 2010) ("Wiki Leaks Releases," 2010)

Another set of voices, believes that these kinds of disclosures are dangerous to national security. This is because, these actions place the lives of personnel in danger and they offer the enemy insights about American capabilities. Furthermore, it harms the ability of government officials to build strong relations with other countries by web sites releasing this information for their own benefit. Over the long-term, this makes the nation less prepared to confront. Those enemies which are determined to harm American interests. (Harding, 2011) ("Wiki Leaks," 2010) ("Wiki Leaks Releases," 2010)

Examine the importance of forming a sound information security workforce and describe the challenges faced by organizations in doing this as evidenced by the articles about the Afghan War Diary and the Iraq War Logs that were released in Wiki Leaks.

Forming a sound information security workforce is vital for the U.S. government in maintaining a certain amount of secrecy. During times of conflict, this can be used to prevent rouge nations and terrorist groups from harming U.S. interests at home or abroad. When the network is secure, this makes it easier to prevent attacks and mitigate the possibility of some unknown variables influencing a host of situations. It is this point, where U.S. policy is more effective and capable of achieving the long-term objectives. (Mulrine, 2013) (Harding, 2011) ("Wiki Leaks," 2010) ("Wiki Leaks Releases," 2010)

The challenges faced by organizations, is from rouge employees who are disclosing this information. This is because they do not agree with the policies of the U.S. government. Instead, of voicing their concerns, they will leak this information to the press (in order to gain notoriety or highlight their displeasure). The case involving Wiki Leaks is the classic example of this. As Bradley Manning disclosed all these documents, because he wanted to illustrate his discontent about what was happening. (Mulrine, 2013) (Harding, 2011) ("Wiki Leaks," 2010) ("Wiki Leaks Releases," 2010)

During his recent trial, Manning's attorneys said, "If you had unprecedented access to classified networks, 14 hours a day, seven days a week -- for eight plus months -- what would you do? He saw incredible things, horrible things, things that belonged in the public domain and not on some server stored in a dark room in Washington, D.C." This is illustrating the challenges of hiding this sensitive information in order to protect the public. The problem is that some people (such as: Bradley Manning) believe that they have a right to disclose any kind of documents they see to the press. These difficulties mean; that there must be increased amounts of monitoring and harsh penalties for anyone who tries to engage in similar activities. (Mulrine, 2013) (Harding, 2011) ("Wiki Leaks," 2010) ("Wiki Leaks Releases," 2010)

Predict how the Afghan War Diary and the Iraq War Logs that were released in Wiki Leaks could influence organizations in regard to their security policies and risk management procedures.

These logs will influence organizations by highlighting that they must have greater protections in place to prevent possible disclosures. This requires these entities having enhanced security procedures and constant monitoring for someone downloading large amounts of data off of their servers. When this happens, they have the possibility of being able to mitigate these challenges and catch any kind of issues early. (Harding, 2011)

The problems with the Afghan War Diary and Iraq War Logs, are illustrating how no one believed or felt that this would possibly occur to them. Instead, they were of the mindset that these issues were non-events and did not believe there was any negative fallout. In many ways, one could argue that U.S. government officials had an attitude of arrogance and complacency about the fact that someone would knowingly release this information to the public.

As a result, these views meant that there were not enhanced security procedures for monitoring what was happening. If they had acted sooner, there is a realistic probability, Manning could have been stopped. This is when they might have been able to prevent Julian Assange from fleeing and hiding in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. As he claims that he is a victim of persecution and feels threatened. (Harding, 2011)

Propose two (2) methods to thwart this type of intelligence leak in the future and explain why each would be effective.

Two methods for thwarting this kind of leak in the future include: going after the perpetrators (where ever they are hiding) and active monitoring. Going after the perpetrators means that the U.S. government should not allow them safe havens anywhere in the world. This means those countries, who are harboring them, will have the possibility of seeing the U.S. target these individuals inside their locations. (Harding, 2011) (Fowler, 2011)