Information Systems Security Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Information Systems Security - Essay Example the same time, despite all the efforts made by the government to ensure cyber security and intrusion prevention, it seems that a lot more needs to be done before American can be considered secure from intrusion or attack from cyber terrorists. Kabay (2007) presents an interesting article in which he discusses a paper from by The Business Roundtable under the title, Essential Steps to Strengthen America’s Cyber Terrorism Preparedness. The author discusses how the current level of protection with regard to intrusion and attack prevention is woefully inadequate considering the critical systems and the national infrastructure which is dependent on the servers and mainframes used by the government. It is easy to agree with the idea since many have criticized the government for going in the wrong direction with regard to securing our nation’s information network. Barnes (2005) as well as Fredrickson (2005) suggest that the government is on the wrong track with regard to digital security since steps such as the USA PATRIOT Act of 2005 and the Real ID Act of 2005 come across as little more than knee-jerk reactions to the need for security. Instead of developing technologies which prevent and avert attacks in the first place, the government is more focused on creating laws which extend its power over the people and curtail the liberties of individuals. Kabay (2007) describes how the government lacks intrusion detection tools or trip wires which can let network and server administrators know that an attack is under way or an attack is imminent. Further, the government lacks a system of accountability or even strategic management plans which could come into play if an intrusion takes place or if critical systems are damaged. Considering what happened after Hurricane Katrina, it is easy to understand why analysts would be doubtful about the government’s ability to handle critical system failures especially if they take place together (Young, 2006). Finally, Kabay