Government Manning Case Study

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The US government is still determining the impacts from the Manning disclosures, but with the sheer volume of information released, it could be years before investigators determine the full impact. The US Government has a multitude of methods to reduce the threat of data theft, loss, or compromise. With nearly unlimited resources, the Government should be the last ones facing successful attacks from insiders. Maybe that is why previously to the Manning case, most efforts were focused on protecting the data from outside threats. Were there indicators to the fact Manning was conducting his activities? In retrospect, it is always easier to identify the things that went wrong after the fact. The normal operations in the combat zone took precedence over security procedure…show more content…
Due to a multitude of non-interconnected networks, it was commonplace for the use of USB flash disks and the creation of CD-ROMS to move data from one system to with no connectivity between the two. Although every individual that used a government owned system knew they were subject to monitoring and compliance with security rules, the enforcement of these procedures took a back seat to more important combat operations. Therefore, Manning’s act of downloading and creating the CD-ROM may have gone unnoticed, as it could appear to be a routine part of his duties. Why the absence of strict controls for the creation of these CDs, a log, or some other control mechanism? One can only assume that the focus was not on the insider but on the ongoing combat operations. It was also commonplace to find local nationals selling complete hard drives being at local bazaars in Afghanistan that contained classified U. S. information (Madar, 2013). How did the local nationals acquire these hard drives and sometimes complete computers? Again, it is hard to determine the exact reasons but evidence does point to a relaxed information security and cybersecurity posture in

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