2010: Topics for homeland security discussion

become even more sophisticated. They showed some firepower in 2009 — easily getting around current protections used by banks — but next year they will reach a new level with the ability to interrupt legitimate transactions and make unauthorized withdrawals, while flying under the radar
—Malware via e-mail attachments will increase, especially targeting corporations, journalists, and individuals
— Botnets, the infrastructure that launches nearly every type of cyberattack, will adopt a peer-to-peer architecture, connecting computer to computer without a centralized control point — making it more difficult for cybersecurity professionals to detect them
— HTML 5 and the evolution of the programming language will give cybercriminals new opportunities to write malware and prey on users

All is not bleak. McAffee predicts that countering these trends in 2010 will make it a good year for law enforcement and their ability to identify, track, and combat cybercrime worldwide. After a decade of cybersecurity research, coordination, and training undertaken by agencies across the globe, the intelligence and law enforcements communities will reap the benefits of the effort put forth over the past ten years.

A second aspect of the new cyber reality is the growing awareness of the vulnerability of Internet-dependent critical infrastructure, military and intelligence assets, and commercial entities to cyber attacks. Evidence of Chinese digital penetration of the U.S. power grid control system, and recent news of the ability of insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan to intercept digital communication between surveillance UAVs and these UAVs’ command and control centers, are but two examples of this growing vulnerability.

President Obama’s appointment of Howard Schmidt as the new White House cybersecurity coordinator is an indication of how seriously the administration is taking this issue.
Look for more discussion in 2010 of cybersecurity isues.

These, too, will be topics of conversation in 20210:
Communication interoperability. With analog TV operators vacating the 700 MHz spectrum, and with portions of the spectrum being dedicated by the FCC for public safety use, we will likely see an acceleration of the move toward interoperable communication among different emergency agencies at the local, state, and federal level. Immigration reform. Both Democrats and Republicans in Congress feel that, if played right, the illegal immigration issue will benefit them in the November 2010 polls. Democrats play for the long run, taking into account the steady growth – in numbers and political importance – of the Hispanic community in the United States. Democrats believe that treating the illegal immigration is mostly a humanitarian issue, and initiating cautious steps to legalize the twelve million or so illegal immigrants currently living and working in the United States, would cement the loyalty of the majority of Hispanics to the Democratic Party. The Republican play for the shorter run, believing that treating illegal immigration as a law-and-order and national security issue would increase support for Republican candidates in border states and, during economic hard times, in the non-Hispanic population more generally. Look for intensified discussion in 2010 of immigration issues.
Education and certification. More and more schools offer programs and degrees in homeland security-related subjects. The reason is straightforward: as more private and government organizations look to hire specialists in different security areas, there is a growing need for standards, training, and certification in these different specialties. Climate change. Whether or not there is a trend toward global warming, and, if there is such a trend, whether or not the contribution humans make to it is meaningful, will go on. While this debate is going on, governmental bodies at all levels, as well as private organizations, are making plans based on the assumption that this warming trend is real, and that there is a need to prepare for its consequences. A lot of money is being invested in revising building codes, fashioning new disaster recovery compliance regulations, building dams and canals, and more.
Look for intensified discussion in 2010 on climate change, and on how much should we invest in preparing for its likely consequences.