INTL431

300 WORDS REPLY TO THIS 

This week we were asked to delve into three questions, which I have attempted to do below. Let me know what you think and I welcome any feedback or different viewpoints.
Intelligence is such a broad term I have chosen to focus on those aspects of it which most fit this specific course. Intelligence consists of information which is valuable to a given nation or entity that concerns an adversary’s strengths and weaknesses in terms of economy, war-power, capabilities, political climate, members, and ideals. This information is vital in allowing policymakers to formulate responses to the threats posed by whatever the given capabilities are, in both a strategic and a tactical sense.
I located an article from the International Journal of Criminal Justice Sciences written by Johannes Li which provides a history of cyber crime since the inception of the “Digital Age”, and describes countermeasures in place to both combat and punish the perpetrators of such crimes. The growth of cyber attacks started slow but by the 1990’s was such an emerging concern that various governments around the world had begun instituting countermeasures and prosecuting cyber criminals regularly. As globalization and the internet took off, many countries realized the disastrous effect cyber crime could have on the global economy (Li, 2017). Cyber crime can affect anyone, from an individual to a corporation or governments entity, to a nation as a whole. From extortion type or phishing attacks on individuals to a large scale attack on the power grid these attacks are becoming more and more common as well as effective. 
Globally we have seen increased regulation in the “cyber space” as governments have pushed to defend their information and national assets from cyber attacks (Aniruddhsinh & Patel, 2016). Studies have shown that harsh punishments have had a positive effect on the monetary loss from attacks like this, and Li predicts that as the risk of perpetrating cyber attacks continues to grow due to increased technological tools and repercussion, many would-be attackers will turn elsewhere, due to perceiving the risk not worth the reward.
As the manager of a corporation or government organization I would push to have increased cooperation between analysts and strategists, as it will increase awareness of both sides of the intelligence product, and foster a good working relationship by using a common game plan or blueprint for operations. I would conduct probing attacks against my own infrastructure to identify potential weaknesses, and bring in outside experts to provide a fresh perspective. It appears from the articles I read that proficient defenses and harsh punishments are a deterrence to cyber criminals, and I would push for stricter legislation and regulation.
V/R,
Matt
References
Aniruddhsinh, P., & Patel, K. (2016). Critical Study and Analysis of Cyber Law Awareness Among the Netizens. Proceedings of International Conference on ICT for Sustainable Development (pp. 325-334). Singapore: Springer.
Li, J. X. (2017). Cyber crime and legal countermeasures: A historical analysis. International Journal of Criminal Justice Sciences, 12(2), 196-207. doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy2.apus.edu/10.5281/zenodo.1034658