-Minimum of (3) three sources must be properly cited (APA format), including the textbooks and
lecture notes.
-Minimal use of bullet points.
-1 page per question.

1. Outline the Cybersecurity issues and vulnerabilities of the petrochemical industry. Include in your answer specific actions required to improve the security profile of this industry.

2. Provide a description of what SCADA systems are, how they are integrated into IT systems, the importance of SCADA to cybersecurity, the three main generations of SCADA, and the cybersecurity vulnerabilities and challenges facing CI sectors; finish with your perspective of actions and recommendations to be taken to ensure this aspect of our CII is secure.

 

Response Questions

Student’s Name

Department, Institutional Affiliation

Course Name, Number, and Code

Professor’s Name

Due Date

Question 1

Non-state actors are those who do not act on behalf of the government but wield significant authority as opposed to state actors, who work or act on behalf of the government. A government worker is an example of a state actor, whereas an example of a non-state actor is a criminal group like ISIS. A state actor is an authorized member of a government-funded organization focused on gaining unauthorized access to networks of business organizations or governments to steal, harm, or alter information. State actors must abide by the “US Bill of Rights, ” which prohibits federal and state governments from violating certain freedoms and rights.

Non-state actors may include scammers, hacktivists, criminal organizations, black-hat hackers, or other individuals or groups. Cyberattacks on American corporations and governments put pressure on the country. Russian cyberattacks target the US and its European allies with disruptive persistent cyber operations to undermine democratic relationships and ideals. China employs various eavesdropping methods to advance its economic objectives and national security. Iran infiltrates American networks and those connected to them to gather information and lay the framework for future cyberattacks. North Korea conducts these enterprises to raise money, carry out strikes, and gather intellectual property from the United States.

A nation’s economy and security are both susceptible to the influence of state and non-state actors. State actors can affect a nation-economic state’s health through industrial espionage and national security through cyberwarfare. Through cybercrime and cyberterrorism, non-state actors can have an impact on a nation-economic state’s health as well as its national safety. Both non-state and state actors have the potential to have a significant negative influence on or threat to life, financial institutions, communications, weaponry, food, water, the electric grid, costs, and the confidence of the populace in both government and technology.

Question 2

The five “takeaways” from Clarke’s book are that “Cyber war is real, Cyberwar happens at the speed of light,” “Cyberwar is global,” “Cyberwar skips the battlefield,” and “Cyber war has begun” (Clarke, & Knake, 2010). The first takeaway is that “cyber war is real.” Those who have seen the outcomes are aware of the prospects and possible effects on the offensive capabilities’ infrastructure. What has been observed thus far is hardly indicative of what is possible—most of these well-known cyberspace conflicts mainly employed straightforward cyber weaponry. The attackers will not want to reveal their more sophisticated abilities just yet. An advanced nation might be destroyed by what the US and other countries can do in a cyber war.

The second takeaway is that “Cyberwar happens at the speed of light” (Clarke, & Knake, 2010). The advantage of cyber warfare is that it makes it possible to launch attacks at the speed of light and from far away. An attack that precludes acknowledgment conceals its origin. The responsibility is suppressed when the source is hidden, preventing the use of a legal defense or counterattack target. The third takeaway is that Cyberwar is global. Consequently, hackers have simple access to servers, networks, and PCs from anywhere in the world. In addition to a few others, Clarke cites the case of Russia attacking Estonia using a distributed denial of service (DDOS) strike.

The fourth takeaway is that “cyber war skips the battlefield” (Clarke, & Knake, 2010). The traditional defenses of a nation can be breached without using conventional troops or at any time in history. Nations can be attacked without using conventional armies or ever succeeding in breaching a nation’s traditional defenses. The fifth takeaway is that “cyber war has begun’ (Clarke & Knake, 2010). Nations have started constructing trapdoors and other entrances into one other’s networks and infrastructure to engage in cyber warfare. Because they represent the fundamentals of cyber war, the five lessons Arthur C. Clarke presents in his book “Cyber Warfare” are crucial to comprehend. If one does not understand the five lessons from Cyberwar, they will not even know where to start when trying to devise new defenses for themselves and their country.

References

Clarke, R. A., & Knake, R. K. (2010). Cyberwar: The next threat to national security and what to do about it. New York: Ecco.

Delibasis, D. (2011). Cyberspace Warfare Attacks and Non-state Actors. SSRN Electronic Journal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1942283

Elkind, E. (2021, May 13). Cyberattacks are the “perfect weapon,” energy exec says amid Colonial Pipeline hack fallout. CBS News. Retrieved September 1, 2022, from https://www.cbsnews.com/news/colonial-pipeline-ransomware-cyberattack-perfect-weapon/

Pomerleau, M. (2022, July 11). state vs. non-state hackers: Different tactics, an equal threat? Defense One. Retrieved September 1, 2022, from https://www.defenseone.com/defense-systems/2015/08/state-vs-non-state-hackers-different-tactics-equal-threat/190572/

Tao, AL (2017, September 22). Nation-state actors are responsible for most cyber attacks. ComputerWeekly.Com. Retrieved September 1, 2022, from https://www.computerweekly.com/news/450426775/Nation-state-actors-responsible-for-most-cyber-attacks