Cybersecurity, Cyberanalysis and Warning

Cyber analysis and warning capabilities are critical to thwarting computer-based (cyber) threats and attacks. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) established the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) to, among other things, co-ordinate the nation's efforts to prepare for, prevent, and respond to cyber threats to systems and communications networks. The authors' objectives were to: identify key attributes of cyber analysis and warning capabilities, compare these attributes with US-CERT's current capabilities to identify whether there are gaps, and also identify US-CERT's challenges to developing and implementing key attributes and a successful national cyber analysis and warning capability. To address these objectives, the authors identified and analysed related documents, observed operations at numerous entities, and interviewed responsible officials and experts.