Department of Homeland Security: Key Aspects of Risk Management

Department of Homeland Security: Key Aspects of Risk Management
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Department of Homeland Security: Key Aspects of Risk Management
The U.S. Homeland Security Department came into being in November 2002, and the primary purpose of this department is to ensure comprehensive risk management on a wide range of fronts to protect the lives and properties of the people of the United States. Since the U.S. is exposed to a wide array of threats, ranging from threats to economic and financial instability to disastrous assaults on cybersecurity, this department employs multiple strategies to tackle these issues and ensure the safety and security of the U.S. in all respects. In the current scenario of a world tangled in cyberspace, the cybersecurity threat is more perilous than any other threat for safe and sound cyberspace ensures the smooth running of military and civilian infrastructure that forms the backbone of a safe American society. Therefore, this essay explores the dynamics and details of the Homeland Security Department's mechanism to ensure risk management with specific reference to cybersecurity and neutralization of the threats it may get exposed to.
The first strategy for risk management produced by the Department of Homeland Security was made public in 2003, and ever since, it has evolved to meet the growing challenges to national security. The 2010 National Security Strategy currently serves as a guideline to the DHS and other federal security agencies (Reese, 2012). First of all, the fundamental aspect of the DHS's risk management strategy is adopting a collaborative approach towards tackling security risks, involving intelligence-based operations and analysis of the threats, and cooperation between all stakeholders. In this regard, identifying the threat is the foremost requirement, and this task can be accomplished based on intelligence and the associated questioning of the potential causes and risks of the impending threat (Jackson, 2011). Another scholar also accentuates similar views about risk management (Trump, 2017).According to the dictionary definition, a risk is "a potential for an unwanted outcome"; accordingly, an analysis of a risk aims to estimate the potential extent and magnitude of the impact of the proposed risk. In this regard, time is the most significant factor as time factors can either minimize or maximize the threats associated with risk (Jackson, 2011) (Covello & Mumpower, 1985). For instance, personal security threats may diminish as time progresses, or a cybersecurity threat may increase over time if left unattended.
In this regard, timely sharing of information related to security threats with the stakeholders is one of the key strategies adopted by the Department of Homeland Security to maximize the benefits of risk management. However, in some cases, the confidentiality of the information is maintained for a given period to preclude any potential leak (DHS, 2011). Similar views about maintenance and sharing of information in multinational companies are used to maintain the working environment ( Hood, & Nawaz, 2004). Similarly, time also plays a crucial role in making risk management effective by strengthening the unity of efforts as timely communication and implementation of preventive and preemptive measures can significantly reduce the impact of the potential risk (DHS, 2011). Moreover, effective time management in implementing all phases of risk management also enhances the practicality of the efforts as limiting actions can be coordinated well, and this effective coordination will improve the percentage ratio of accomplishment of desired objects.
Another critical aspect of risk management undertaken by the Department of Homeland Security is the implementation of strategic planning. Strategic planning is a general term that can be applied to all types of planning; however, its need is more imperative than anywhere else concerning risk management. Strategic planning involves efforts to minimize or end the threat to an organization or general public using long-term strategies that maximize risk prevention, protection of potentially affected persons and property, and recovery of the loss. Therefore, one of the mission parameters of DHS is that it makes all-out efforts to develop capacities in organizations and the general public in different domains to deal with potential risk in a professional way (DHS, 2011). In doing that, DHS broadens its capabilities by providing necessary training and instilling capabilities in organizations and professionals of all walks of life to deal with the risks and threats in their respective fields.
According to National Emergency Management Association (NEMA), broadening the collaboration, enhancing hazard awareness among potential victims of risk, and encouraging a community-based risk management approach can significantly enhance the risk management process (Jackson, 2011). Accordingly, the DHS is maximizing capacity building as the most significant part of its strategic risk management planning. Connected to strategic planning is the factor of ...