3.0

credits

Average Course Rating

In recent years, the United States has become dependent on cyber virtual networks as the engine for our society. However, this digital infrastructure remains extremely vulnerable to cyber attacks. Protecting the networks we rely on presents unique challenges, as networks are without borders and bear the stress of attack millions of times each day. This course will explore the challenges and political factors impacting the judicial, legislative, executive branch agencies of Department of Defense, Homeland Security, National Security Agency, and private industry as they all work to secure and create a national cyber security apparatus. The intelligence community is facing an enormous challenge in working to prevent the transfer of the United States’ intellectual property and identifying the cyber attackers. We will discuss the political implications of establishing laws addressing how information is to be shared between governments and industry and the authorities needed for the DoD and intelligence community to operate domestically. We will discuss the impact of the creation of the Department of Homeland Security and examine the evolving relationship of Congressional oversight and legislative mandates. Issues such as jurisdiction of congressional committees, the budget, and the authorization and appropriations processes will be covered. Major policy and counter-terrorism issues of special concern to Congress will also be addressed in this course. Guest speakers will be invited from DHS, Capitol Hill and the media, allowing us to examine the issues from a variety or perspectives.