U.S. interagency cooperation vital for cybersecurity

WASHINGTON, April 6 (UPI) -- Only U.S. government security programs that establish clear tasks, conditions and standards -- and ensure that they are rigorously applied -- will keep pace with determined and willful efforts to overcome security efforts. This is especially true in the cyber domain, where the center of gravity is persistently shifting as the rapid evolution of technology and skills pull it in new directions.

It is essential to understand the need for effective interagency and public-private cooperation to implement effective cybersecurity. Properly understanding the performance of the interagency process requires dividing it into three components.

First is policy, which is the highest level of the interagency process. At this level, policymakers make broad agreements about how they will support overall U.S. policy. Improvements in this area require a renewed focus on the qualities and competencies of executive leadership and an intelligence capability and information-sharing culture that allows leaders to obtain the highest-quality information available so that they are positioned to make the best-informed decisions.

Second is operations. It is at this level where the record of the U.S. government is mixed. The U.S. Department of Defense's Unified Combatant Command structure has proven itself capable of managing military operations at the regional level. However, there are very few other established bodies that are able to monitor and manage operations over a geographical area.

Third is field activities. U.S. government interagency cooperation on the ground has generally been effective. The country teams led by U.S. ambassadors around the world offer a strong example. However, when challenges grow beyond the control of the local government apparatus, robust support mechanisms are normally lacking.

Attention to improved doctrine, including how to best conduct joint planning and response during a cyber crisis, sufficient investment in human capital and appropriate decision-making are required in such situations.

Effective interagency cooperation does not begin at the policy level but requires a more responsive operational environment that can meet the challenges of local leadership. This issue is explored in James Jay Carafano's paper, "Managing Mayhem: The Future of Interagency," published March 1, 2008, at heritage.org/press/commentary/ed030308b.cfm.

It is the responsibility of government to prevent terrorist attacks, but determining the criticality of assets should be a shared public-private activity. This starts by establishing a common appreciation of roles and responsibilities for the public-private partnership.

Vulnerability should be the primary responsibility of the partner that owns, manages and uses the infrastructure.

--

Part 9: Presenting a new cybersecurity agenda for the Obama administration

--

(James Jay Carafano, Ph.D., is assistant director of the Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for International Studies and senior research fellow for national security and homeland security in the Douglas and Sarah Allison Center for Foreign Policy Studies, a division of the Davis Institute, at the Heritage Foundation. Eric Sayers is a research assistant in the Allison Center for Foreign Policy Studies at the Heritage Foundation.)

--

(United Press International's "Outside View" commentaries are written by outside contributors who specialize in a variety of important issues. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of United Press International. In the interests of creating an open forum, original submissions are invited.)