Reply to post 1 & 2 with 150 words each Post 1 Of the six strategic challenges our country faces, the threat of Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs) is at the forefront of one of the greatest challenges we face as a nation. TCOs facilitate the illegal production and trafficking of narcotics, human trafficking and the sex trade. Mexican TCOs remain the single greatest drug threat to the United States; with no other criminal organizations postured to challenge them. Their sophisticated infrastructure allows them to have all but total control over the illegal trafficking of narcotics from farming, processing, producing and exporting (dea.gov, 2017, p.iv). The second and third order effects of the drug trade have a direct impact our nation’s critical infrastructure and come from the TCOs themselves who have, in the last decade, resorted to extremely brutal violence, trafficking in persons, extortion, kidnapping, oil theft, and utilizing profits from illegal activities to finance corruption (DHS.gov, 2014, p.26).  At this point in our nation’s history, we are seeing the consequences of the drug epidemic not being adequately addressed. The 2017 National Drug Threat Assessment (NDTA) has a trove of data reinforcing the notion that the U.S. is losing the war on drugs. Law enforcement agencies across the U.S. have seen an increase in incidents of violent crime, drug availability and overdoses. Illicit narcotics such as cocaine, methamphetamine and most recently, controlled prescription drugs are surging in large portions of the country as thier availability has increased (dea.gov, 2017, p.145).   The data supports the idea that this risk is not being adequately addressed. Rather, the U.S. has transitioned from a mission of stopping narcotics trafficking to one of mitigating trafficking and the effects of narcotics on the population. The U.S. has placed greater emphasis on rehabilitation and treatment programs to be at the forefront of the domestic and international effort to disrupt the impact of illicit drug abuse and distribution. Strategy has been developed outlining specific measures to reduce illicit drug use to include: early intervention, breaking cycles of crime, incarceration, and drug abuse, disrupting domestic drug trafficking and production and strengthening international partnerships (Obamawhitehouse.gov, 2018, p.1). Additionally, the United States has made funds available to the international community towards drug treatment and recovery to improve health and welfare of individuals but also curb the demand for narcotics.  Post 2 The specific challenge I reviewed for this week are the growing cyber threats as it relates to the US and critical infrastructure. Cyber threats or cyber warfare is a variety of techniques and activities using information systems as a weapon to gain an advantage by an adversary or opposing force (Chapple, 2015). Cyber Warfare has quickly become the forefront of threats facing the DoD, critical infras ...

1. Reply to post 1 & 2 with 150 words each
Post 1
Of the six strategic challenges our country faces, the threat of
Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs) is at the forefront
of one of the greatest challenges we face as a nation. TCOs
facilitate the illegal production and trafficking of narcotics,
human trafficking and the sex trade. Mexican TCOs remain the
single greatest drug threat to the United States; with no other
criminal organizations postured to challenge them. Their
sophisticated infrastructure allows them to have all but total
control over the illegal trafficking of narcotics from farming,
processing, producing and exporting (dea.gov, 2017, p.iv). The
second and third order effects of the drug trade have a direct
impact our nation’s critical infrastructure and come from the
TCOs themselves who have, in the last decade, resorted to
extremely brutal violence, trafficking in persons, extortion,
kidnapping, oil theft, and utilizing profits from illegal activities
to finance corruption (DHS.gov, 2014, p.26).
At this point in our nation’s history, we are seeing the
consequences of the drug epidemic not being adequately
addressed. The 2017 National Drug Threat Assessment (NDTA)
has a trove of data reinforcing the notion that the U.S. is losing
the war on drugs. Law enforcement agencies across the U.S.
have seen an increase in incidents of violent crime, drug
availability and overdoses. Illicit narcotics such as cocaine,
methamphetamine and most recently, controlled prescription
drugs are surging in large portions of the country as thier
availability has increased (dea.gov, 2017, p.145).
The data supports the idea that this risk is not being adequately

2. addressed. Rather, the U.S. has transitioned from a mission of
stopping narcotics trafficking to one of mitigating trafficking
and the effects of narcotics on the population. The U.S. has
placed greater emphasis on rehabilitation and treatment
programs to be at the forefront of the domestic and international
effort to disrupt the impact of illicit drug abuse and
distribution. Strategy has been developed outlining specific
measures to reduce illicit drug use to include: early
intervention, breaking cycles of crime, incarceration, and drug
abuse, disrupting domestic drug trafficking and production and
strengthening international partnerships (Obamawhitehouse.gov,
2018, p.1). Additionally, the United States has made funds
available to the international community towards drug treatment
and recovery to improve health and welfare of individuals but
also curb the demand for narcotics.
Post 2
The specific challenge I reviewed for this week are the growing
cyber threats as it relates to the US and critical infrastructure.
Cyber threats or cyber warfare is a variety of techniques and
activities using information systems as a weapon to gain an
advantage by an adversary or opposing force (Chapple, 2015).
Cyber Warfare has quickly become the forefront of threats
facing the DoD, critical infrastructure, private sector, and
overall national security. Based off the Director of National
Intelligence strategy on cyber warfare, cyberattacks and
cyberespionage are the two specific activities which cyber
warfare either participates in or counters based off the mission
and/or requirements. Not only can cyber warfare shape and
prepare the battlefield for commanders, it can shape the overall
US strategy at both the defense and national-level. This
translates specifically to homeland security priorities regarding
critical infrastructure as the communications and information
technology sectors manage most aspects of cyber threats to US
critical infrastructure.

3. Critical infrastructure remains a high priority for our
adversaries to target from all aspects but specifically via cyber
methods. High-level critical infrastructure targets in the US
include power grids or financial targets as a steadfast priority
and target for bad cyber actors (Ranger, 2018). The
transportation sector being targeted for a cyber-attack would
cause a chain reaction that impacts the majority of critical
infrastructure and day-to-day activity in the US. Furthermore,
cyber-attacks occur on a daily basis targeting the DoD via
attempts to penetrate our government networks and illicitly
obtain sensitive and controlled information. These attacks can
be conducted via denial-of-service attacks, phishing attacks,
eavesdropping, SQL injection, viruses, ransomware and a
variety of other methods (Melnick, 2018). Future cyber warfare
includes cyber being used to target advanced communication
technology and equipment, encrypted communication, and
additional technology that enables specific technologies and
advances (Kim, et al, 2019). With this type of technology
impacting the strategic through tactical levels, it is only a
matter of time before the same applications are implemented to
target critical infrastructure in the US.
Unfortunately, I feel there has been minor progress made
against cyber threats targeting critical infrastructure and other
areas within the US. This is primarily due to the adversary
having more resources to dedicate against cyber activity along
with the bureaucratic US legal process preventing certain cyber
warfare to be conducted in a timely manner. Overall, the US
government is leaning in the right direction to prevent and
protect against the future of cyber threats facing the homeland.
Thank you for the time and have a good week.