Free The Evolution Of Homeland Security Essay Sample

Homeland Security was established in 2002 with a sole purpose of providing security by protecting the American soil from terrorism act. However, the department has faced significant challenges in delivering its promise to the United State citizens. The department has to check the movement and communication of all terrorist groups around the globe from al Qaeda, to ISIS to Boko Haram. Additionally, the department has to get and pass information to over 20 security agencies on a daily basis, submit reports or answer question from various congress committees. It also has to answer public concerns and question on the security matters (Reese, 2012). Thus, to be effective in delivering its mandate, the department has gone through dramatic changes as it revolved from one stage to another over the last thirteen years in service.
One of the areas which the department has invested heavily is communication technology this because the department has to communicate with various agencies and congress frequently. Another area is the cyber technology. This allows the department to traced illegal money transfer between terrorist groups and individuals. This is to make sure terrorist activities meant to hurt the Americans don’t get funds. The technology also helps to screen messages and credential of criminals and their activities. The cyber technologies also protect the national security system from breach. This makes it hard for the terrorist groups from hacking into the national security system and steal vital information. The department is making advances in mobile technology and visual social media mainly to be able to interact with the public on the security matters. The department has also invest in biometrics technology, these are used to screen individuals at the border and other entry points e.g. airport and seaport to check the identification of individuals from fingerprints to face recognition (FBI, 2012).
The department was originally design to offer security and assess terrorist threat exposed to United State. However, the department has changed its philosophy from just security measure to educating the public on the danger of terrorism to their community (Penn, 2013). Additionally the department is actively involved in surveillance and intelligence policing measures by monitoring all the suspected activities of terrorist groups around the globe. On the hand, the department has been accused of going against the moral standards by infringing on personal privacy by listening to personal calls, open private mails from abroad and checking personal emails. This is against the privacy act (EPIC, 2015)

Works Cited

EPIC. "EPIC Department of Homeland Security Chief Privacy Office and Privacy." N.p., 2015. Web. 7 Mar. 2015. <https://epic.org/privacy/dhs-cpo.html>.
FBI. "FBI — Homeland Threats and Agency Responses." FBI. N.p., 2012. Web. 7 Mar. 2015. <http://www.fbi.gov/news/testimony/homeland-threats-and-agency-responses>.
Penn, Everette B., ed. Homeland Security and Criminal Justice: Five Years After 9/11. Routledge, 2013.
Reese, Shawn. "Defining Homeland Security: Analysis and Congressional Considerations." Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress, 2012.