Cyber Security: Gap Issues

Lack of Cyber Expertise: Law enforcement personnel often lack specialized cybersecurity skills needed to combat evolving threats.

• Digital Evidence Handling: Challenges in handling and preserving digital evidence in accordance with legal standards and chain of custody protocols can affect the integrity of cybercrime investigations.
• Forensic Analysis Capabilities: Law enforcement may lack the necessary forensic analysis capabilities to investigate and attribute cybercrimes effectively.
• Legal and Jurisdiction Complexities: Law enforcement employees often face challenges related to investigating and prosecuting cybercrimes across different jurisdictions and navigating complex legal frameworks.
• Legal Framework Gaps: Legal frameworks may lag behind technological advancements, creating challenges in prosecuting cybercriminals.

Resource Constraints: Limited budgets and resources impact law enforcement’s ability to invest in cybersecurity tools and training.

• Resource Allocation: Limited funding and resources within law enforcement agencies can hinder the establishment and maintenance of robust cybersecurity capabilities.
• Strategic Planning and Prioritization: Prioritizing cybersecurity initiatives amidst competing law enforcement priorities can be challenging without a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy or roadmap.

Technological Infrastructure: Outdated or insufficient technological infrastructure within law enforcement organizations can impede their ability to detect, prevent, and respond to cyber threats effectively.
Need to Plan for and Continuously Update:

• Advanced tools training and access
• Computer equipment and technology
• Operating systems and related programs

Food for thought, these are known issues causing gaps in cybersecurity:

• administrative support,
• advanced tools
• money
• ongoing training
• personnel
• time
• updated equipment

What else might cause gaps in cyber security?

• Data Silos: Disconnected data sources hinder comprehensive analysis and threat detection.
  • Need Standardized Reports of Cyber Crime
  • Standard Reports need to be filed by everyone
    • Law enforcement, public & private sector businesses and institutions, general public, and cybersecurity businesses.  
  • Need Centralized Dashboard, with different levels of security access.
    • Similar to issue of crime in general and no centralized database for sharing data between states.
• Insufficient Collaboration: 
  • Need standardized procedures and coordination mechanisms for incident response
    • within law enforcement agencies can lead to delays and inefficiencies during cyber incident investigations.
    • between law enforcement agencies and cybersecurity experts can hamper efforts to combat cybercrime collaboratively.
  • Getting private companies to actively engage in cybercrime prevention and reporting remains a challenge.
  • Underreporting of Cybercrimes: Lack of public awareness and fear of stigma lead to underreporting of cyber incidents.