Cyber Security and the Homeland: Military-Industrial Complex Shakedown?

I cover homeland security for a publication dealing with state and local government and have seen a lot of news come out sort of recently, though it has quieted down, about efforts to increase the cyber security of the homeland. And while I’ve seen articles that say progress is being made on cyber security, I’ve seen editorials claiming not enough is being done. And while the war on terror redefines war as peace and the economic meltdown redefines freedom as slavery, I’m wondering if the focus on cyber security as part of a homeland security mission isn’t a military-industrial complex shakedown. Is there an end to our cyber insecurity in sight? And here I’m not talking about the explosion in identity theft so much as the need for cyber security as a national security priority.

To compound my uncertainty, I just read an article in Hillsdale College’s Impremis wherein the writer/speaker claimed that the dynamics of the relationship between the U.S., China, Russia and Iran made it imperative that the U.S. build a missile defense shield as a deterrent against the nuclear ambitions of North Korea and other so-called “rogue” regimes. But that scares me. A missile defense shield presupposes a missile is launched–shudder. To prevent this from happening at any cost, instead of saber-rattling (and perhaps as an interim measure to) building a missile defense shield, the U.S. should invest in other methods of cooling off the situation with these countries, such as the educational methods used as part of the war on drugs. The other option would be to engage in economic development that doesn’t strengthen the hostile government administration (I have no idea how.)

(My head was supposed to be clearer, but I’m not sure it is.)

Please, if anyone has any thoughts on the homeland security cyber security racket, don’t hesitate to share. And as far as the ramifications of nuclear proliferation in the Middle East and North Korea is concerned, what are your thoughts on the ramifications for state and local emergency response personnel? How can the U.S. counter an EMP attack? Should we look for an alternative to electricity while we look for an alternative to foreign oil?