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This chapter first discusses the National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace (NSTIC), established by the White House in 2010 in response to a near-term action item in President Obama's Cyberspace Policy Review. The strategy calls for the creation of an Identity Ecosystem. The ecosystem's core is for the key components of a cyber transaction—namely the individual and organization identities, along with the identities of the infrastructure that handles transactions—to operate in a streamlined and safe manner, moving away from the culture of having different user names and passwords for each website. In its place, individuals voluntarily choose a secure privacy-enhancing credential to verify themselves for all types of online transactions from online banking, sending email, maintaining health records, or for any other personal cyber uses. The chapter goes on to describe the Comprehensive National Cyberspace Initiative (CNCI), which outlines a plan for sharing situational awareness among federal, state, and local governments, and private industry partners.

This chapter deals with the evolving nature of cyber threats, what the FBI is doing to combat them, and how we can work together to keep them at bay. It first considers cyber threats to national security and counterintelligence intrusions and economic espionage. It then details how the FBI pursues cyber threats through the cyber squads in each of its fifty-six field offices around the country, with more than 1,000 specially trained agents, analysts, and digital forensic examiners. Together, they run complex undercover operations and examine digital evidence; share information with law enforcement and intelligence partners; and teach their counterparts—both at home and abroad—how best to investigate cyber threats. The chapter also highlights the role of the private sector in helping the FBI stem the rising tide of cyber crime and terrorism.

The proliferation of Internet-connected devices in the consumer market has created a dramatic shift from a single point PC-based threat risk to an expanded threat perimeter that includes tablet devices, smartphones, and Internet-connected televisions. Consumer home network growth now requires security for a consumer's entire digital lifestyle and not just a single-point stationary device. The difficulty of securing this expanded threat landscape is exacerbated by the rise of unique attacks that sometimes render traditional antivirus strategies ineffective. This chapter discusses solutions to the expanding cyber threat landscape, including improved reputation-based threat detection, effective public-private collaboration, and increased user responsibility within the digital ecosystem.