Skip to main content
Secondary Title
U.S. Government
Abstract

In a world of ubiquitous connections, cybersecurity is everyone’s responsibility. Gone are the days when the actions of others had little impact on a person’s day-to-day activities. We are now completely digitally interdependent, meaning the actions of one individual can be the vulnerability that allows adversaries to target a so spot in the United States’ (U.S.) digital infrastructure. We argue a whole-of-society approach to cybersecurity is needed. The involvement of all members of society is required to defend against the scourge of cyber intrusions emanating from Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran. We do not promote individuals or corporations engaging in offensive cyber operations, but instead advocate that the U.S. already has a non-governmental model for citizen involvement in entities like the Civil Air Patrol (CAP), to adopt for cyberspace. We build on Estonia’s Cyber Defense League (CDL) organizational model and the works of others, advocating for establishing a Civil Cyber Defense (CCD) in the U.S. We conclude with specific actions this new entity could take to increase the overall cybersecurity posture of the U.S. and identify potential issues with our CCD concept.

Concluding remarks
by adapting and creating the CCD and incorporating it into the national defense strategy it will enhance domestic resilience in the face of cyber threats and bring the
U.S. closer to developing a more effective cybersecurity ecosystem to address the challenges posed by constant competition in cyberspace.

Reference details

DOI
10.2307/48755361
Resource type
Miscellaneous
Year of Publication
2023
Publication Area
Civilian cybersecurity

How to cite this reference:

Civil Cyber Defense – A New Model for Cyber Civic Engagement. (2023). https://doi.org/10.2307/48755361