CYBER SECURITY – IS IT POSSIBLE? “Bridges to the World” with Terry Roberts November 20th, 10:30 am SPEAKER
Biography Terry Roberts, a highly decorated intelligence officer, is the vice president of Intelligence and Cyber at TASC’s Intelligence Group. Roberts joined TASC from the Carnegie Mellon Software Engineering Institute (SEI), where she served as executive director for Interagency Acquisition and Cyber. At SEI, Roberts led Carnegie Mellon’s technical enablement for the Department of Defense, the intelligence community and the federal government, with a focus on cyber/IT and network assurance, agile acquisition and cutting edge technology access.
Additional Resources Roberts’s Professional Background o Cyber Council. Intelligence and National Security Alliance, Web. 2 November 2013.
TOPIC
Overview With the advent of digital communications, electronic file sharing, and shared networks, we have achieved new heights of efficiency and interconnectedness. As our society increasingly entrusts the cyber sphere with privileged information, however, we are taking larger and larger risks that this information will be stolen or misused. In fact, there have recently been high-profile cases of incidents of hacking sponsored by foreign governments, such as the Chinese military’s alleged campaign to infiltrate The New York Times, as well as widespread data theft by individuals. The rise of “hacktivist” groups like “Anonymous” are also threatening data security while forcing society to examine issues of internet censorship. LESSON PLAN
Objectives: Students will: Become aware of a recent cyber security event Discuss the event in the context of national security and also right to privacy Explore and develop arguments in support of and in opposition to U.S. cyber spying
Materials: Copies of the article “Intel Chief: US Spies on Allies, They Do It, Too,” AP News, 29 October 2013. http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/key-senator-total-review-intel-programs- 20709667 Slips of paper with the following roles (enough for class to split into small groups of no more than 4): o Anonymous “hactivist”: you are highly skilled hackers who belong to the loosely- affiliated group Anonymous, which uses hacking to reverse internet censorship o Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent o Senator Patrick Leahy o German Chancellor Angela Merkel o President Barak Obama o National Intelligence Director James Clapper o National Security Agency agent o House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers
Procedure: 1. (5 minutes) Class discussion of “cyber security” and students’ understanding of the term 2. (10 minutes) Instruct students to get into groups no larger than 4. Pass out the article and ask students to read and be ready to summarize. Allow students time to read and discuss in groups. 3. (5 minutes) Briefly discuss article. What is the issue being reported? Who are the actors referenced? What are their views on this issue? What are your views? 4. (10 minutes) Pass out the roles slips to individuals/pairs/small groups. Inform students that they will be representing the role assigned to them in a debate on U.S. policy regarding cyber espionage. Emphasize that some roles are well defined by the article, while some require more inference. Also emphasize that students should use the article as a starting point, but go beyond what’s stated there to make their case on the issue. State that they will have two minutes to state their case. Give them remaining time to develop their arguments. 5. (15 minutes, or remaining class time) Invite groups to present views. After each group, allow one or two groups to rebut for one minute each. At the conclusion of the presentations, ask the class which group(s) were most persuasive, and what the class themselves thinks about the issue.
ALTERNATIVE ACTIVITY: 1. Have students explore personal cyber security issues using the following website: http://www.staysafeonline.org/teach-online-safety/middle-and-high-school/ 2. Discuss the similarities and differences between national and personal cyber security. Are there connections between the two? ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Developments in U.S. Policy on Cyber Security o Romm, Tony. “Cybersecurity Reform Going Nowhere Fast.” Politico. 9 October 2013. Web. 2 November 2013.