Cyber security: an essential part of national security?

As I sit here blogging away, I am pondering the relationship between cyber security and the larger framework of national security. Each day trillions of dollars circle the globe in electronic transactions. Criminals probe networks looking for items to steal. Others use malware to gain access to government secrets or to gain control of critical infrastructure. The economy and critical infrastructure are key to the functioning of government and the security of its people.

Traditionally in Latin America, security is seen a a domestic (inside the borders) issue, addressed foremost by law enforcement agencies. Defense is the realm of the military and looks at threats from outside the border. Where does the threat come from in the virtual world? Where ever there is a computer plugged into the Internet.

The United States as early as before 9-11went on record with the international dimension of the threat. The problem has only gotten worse and the risk greater. Why rob a bank in person when you can sit behind a computer and do it from a safe distance?

The United States recently established USCYBERCOMM to take the lead from the Department of Defense perspective on this threat to national security. It compliments several law enforcement agency efforts like the http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124632958157771629.html, FBI, and Dept of Justice.

It is time for governments and militaries in the Americas to get serious as well.