Information Security Essays (Examples)

Security

Information security is a primary concern for consumers and businesses. In "IT security fails to keep pace with the rise of cloud computing," the author claims that in spite of the advancements in cloud technology, information security has not kept pace. This assessment is rooted firmly in fact and best practices in the information security industry. Although their analysis is thorough, the authors would do well to point out the potential legal problems that arise due to the situation of poor security measures. As the Bureau of Consumer Protection points out, "Having a sound security plan in place to collect only what you need, keep it safe, and dispose of it securely can help you meet your legal obligations to protect that sensitive data." Companies and individuals who take advantage of cloud computing need to be aware of how the data being stored are also being protected against loss,…

SECUITY

Information Security and isk Management in IT

This essay is designed to present and discuss both an assessment of information security and risk management in IT systems and a comparative discussion of important academic theories related to security and risk. In the first section, An assessment, a conceptual framework will emerge including reference to important terminology and concepts as well as an outline of legislation and authorized usage examples. In the second section, Comparative discussion, is a brief discussion of comparison on the academic theories.

Conceptual framework

To begin any work of this nature, it is important to clarify important terminology and concepts. First, an information technology (IT) system is also known as an application landscape, or any organism that allows for the integration of information and communication technology with data, algorithmic processes, and real people (Beynon-Davies, P., 2009 (1)(2)). Every organization consists of some type of IT system…

Security Management

Information Security Management

Managing the information security at a major university is never an easy task, and especially with a team of only ten the complexities and the resource demands can sometimes make the situation seem all but impossible even on the best of days. When the former head of information security management suddenly departs as the result of an FBI arrest -- and when that arrest stems from the fact that this Chief Security Officer was a member of Anonymous, the most active and influential (so far as the public is aware, at least) cyber-terrorist group (as identified by law enforcement) -- the situation only becomes that much more difficult. As the interim Chief Security Officer newly in charge of ensuring university information security and with a team of employees ready to tackle the task, there are both immediate and long-term plans that need to be made…

Security at Work

Information Security within the nursing fraternity

With the advent of consolidated information storage within the nursing fraternity, there has grown the need to have better security and controlled access to such information that may be considered confidential and for the use by the nurse and the patient alone. When anyone wants therefore to have access to the documents I will always need to verify several details just to be sure that the person has the direct permission of the patient to access such information or is mandated by the law to have such access by the virtue of the relationship with the patient. According to the HIPAA regulations, it is a legal requirement for the people within the medical fraternity to always protect the personal and private information of the clients since lack of doing so will mean a breach of the personal privacy rights. This privacy…

Security

A broad definition of information security is given in ISO/IEC 17799 (2000) standard as:

"The preservation of confidentiality (ensuring that information is accessible only to those authorized to have access), integrity (safeguarding the accuracy and completeness of information and processing methods), and availability (ensuring that authorized users have access to information and associated assets when required" (ISO/IEC 17799, 2000, p. viii).

Prior to the computer and internet security emerged as we see it in different dimensions of today, the basic focus regarding security within majority of organizations was to protect physical assets. Those organizations where computers were being used in the initial years of computing, the security included protection of data from natural disasters or malevolent actions. With the introduction of the personal computer, computer security became the focus of the organizations.

Business organization and other institutions which hold intensive information require tenable management of information and it has…

Security

An institution of higher learning is one of the most vulnerable places to cyber-attacks available to hackers due to the number of units operating, lackadaisical security measures and the ability of hackers to hide in plain sight. The fact that these are vulnerable systems and individuals has made it a top priority of most institutions to ensure that the people who attend the school at least have a policy in place. Because ensuring security for all residents of a school would be very costly, most schools have a policy regarding their own equipment, but assume that students will guard their own equipment while they are at school. The problem with this is that there is a lot of file sharing between students and between individual students and others using flash drives and the school's computer systems. Therefore, it is very simple to inadvertently introduce a deadly pest into the…

Security

The following will look at case review questions based on the book known as Principles of Information Security by Michael E. Whitman. Chapters 4, 5, 6, and 7 were read through and case questions were given for each of these chapters. Case review question answers will be incorporated with material from the chapter reading that accompanies it.

Chapter 4's introduction has a scenario of a man known as Charlie. He is giving key reminders for everyone in the asset identification project. They are to complete their asset lists while keeping in mind certain priorities. It ties into the idea of chapter 4 which is known as risk management and identifying risks along with assessing them (Whitman and Mattord, 2011-page 116). It also explains how one can perpetuate risk control. isk management itself refers to a process that identifies risk or vulnerabilities to the organization and taking steps to reduce…

DMCA

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) is a controversial United States digital rights management law enacted October 28, 1998. The intent behind the DMCA was to create an updated version of copyright laws to deal with the special challenges of regulating digital material. roadly, the goal of the DMCA is to protect the rights of both copyright owners and consumers. The law complies with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Copyright Treaty and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty, both of which were ratified by over fifty countries in 1996.

This paper discusses the controversy surrounding the DMCA and why attempts to resolve these issues are now necessary.

The impact of the DMCA on organizations is far reaching. Key highlights include the DMCA's enforcement to:

Make it a crime to circumvent anti-piracy measures built into most commercial software.

Prevent the manufacture, sale, or distribution of code-cracking devices used to…

Security Policy:

The information security environment is evolving because organizations of different sizes usually experience a steady stream of data security threats. Small and large business owners as well as IT managers are kept awake with various things like malware, hacking, botnets, and worms. These managers and business owners are usually concerned whether the network is safe and strong enough to repel attacks. Many organizations are plagued and tend to suffer from attempts to apply some best practices or security paralysis on the belief that it was efficient for other companies or organizations. However, none of these approaches is a balanced strategy for safeguarding information assets or maximizing the value obtained from security investments (Engel, 2012). Consequently, many organizations develop a coherent data and information security policy that prioritizes and handles data security risks. Some organizations develop and establish a formal risk assessment process while others pursue an internal assessment.…

Security Management

During the span of one's college career, a select number of courses become something more than a simple requirement to be satisfied to assure graduation; these are moments in a student's educational process which make the most lasting impacts. In my personal case, the lessons I have learned as part of my studies in ISSC680 will likely be remembered in those terms, as my eventual career will find me utilizing much of the foundational knowledge I gained in this course on a daily basis. As an aspiring information security officer, who hopes to apply the skills imparted throughout my time in ISSC680 during my professional career, I am sure that when I reflect on my college experience this class will stand out above the rest in terms of significance. The two textbooks which have provided detailed instruction on the field of information security, Information Security Fundamentals and Information…

Security Programs

Implementation of Information Security Programs

Information Security Programs are significantly growing with the present reforms in the United States agencies, due to the insecurity involved in the handling of data in most corporate infrastructure systems. Cases such as independent hackers accessing company databases and computerized systems, computer service attacks, malicious software such as viruses that attack the operating systems and many other issues are among the many issues experienced in the corporate arena, including government agencies like the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. These cases have led to the necessity for more implementation of the information security programs, which provide counter measures for the information security threats.

The United States Department of Health and Human Services

The Department of Health and Human Services in the United States (HHS) is one of the principal agencies obliged to protect the health conditions of the entire American population and…

Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA)

The Federal Information Security Management Act places emphasis on the importance of training and awareness program and states under section 3544 (b).(4).(A), (B) that "security awareness training to inform personnel, including contractors and other users of information systems that support the operations and assets of the agency of- information security risks associated with their activities; and their responsibilities in complying with agency policies and procedures designed to reduce these risks"

easons for training and awareness program:

Information security awareness and training is one of the most critical aspects of an organization's information security strategy and supporting security operations (Maconachy, n.d. This is due to the fact that people are in many cases the last line of defense against threats, such as malevolent code, discontented employees, and malicious third parties, which introduce costly tangible and intangible losses to organizations. Therefore, people need to be educated…

Information Security Strategy
The world of information technology (IT) has evolved tremendously in the last few decades. Today, IT systems permeate virtually every aspect of work in the organizational setting – from strategic planning functions to administrative and operational functions such as human resource management, payroll management, project management, procurement, customer relationship management, and financial management. These systems have enabled organizations undertake a wide variety of tasks with far greater ease, effectiveness, and efficiency than ever witnessed. Nonetheless, with more dependence on IT systems, organizations increasingly face a significant problem – information security (Andress, 2011). Against the backdrop of growing incidents of hacking and other cyber crimes, protecting information has become a top priority for organizations – small and large – in diverse sectors and industries (Vacca, 2013). Indeed, information security has been identified as a key ingredient of organizational success in the 21st century. Recent incidents of cyber crime…

Abstract
Cybercrime, data breaches, and fraud represent evils that significantly threaten businesses. Companies have, in the past, lost much to these crimes and, hence, must come up with plans to prevent such future occurrences. In this paper, the processes information technology security audits entail and how such audits enhance organizational IT security will be dealt with. According to research on the subject, IT security auditing constitutes a significant step in the safeguarding of corporate data against cybercrime, data breaches, and fraud. It must be performed from time to time in the form of a methodical analysis by an outside specialist on compliance, for identifying any chinks in the armor of the company's information technology system.
Introduction
ICT advancements have meant the availability of vast quantities of data, which also creates considerable risks to the data itself, computer systems, and critical infrastructures and operations it supports. Despite developments in information security,…

Introduction
The case of publicly traded company TechFite reveals a substantial number of ethically questionable activities being committed by the company’s Applications Divisions. Not only are their accusations of theft of proprietary information but also evidence of conflicts of interest, dummy accounts used to gain escalation of privilege, and security omissions that cannot be justified. This paper will address the ethical issues for cybersecurity that relate to the case of TechFite, discuss ethically questionable behaviors and omissions of people who fostered the unethical atmosphere, and examine ways to mitigate problems and enhance security awareness at the company.
Ethical Issues for Cybersecurity
When it comes to establishing ethical guidelines in cybersecurity, the main concerns focus on protecting data. Whether it is in health care, finance, or tech, data security has to be the number one issue—and that means confidentiality, integrity and access all have to be secured, according to the Information…

Information Security

The discussion below provides answers to questions raised with regard to a case at Greenwood Company

A forensic plan of readiness comes with several advantages. If there arises a situation that forces a company to be engaged in litigation, and there is need for digital evidence, e-discovery is of central importance. The laws and rules that govern the e-discovery, such as the Federal ules of Civil Procedure or the Practice 31B Direction of the UK call for the presentation of electronic evidence fast; and that such evidence must be in sound state, forensically (Sule). The Electronic Discovery eference Model is reputed as the standard model for processing e-discovery, and is compliant with FCP.10 Information management procedures require that electronic evidence should be collected and stored appropriately. Such evidence should be readily available when it is needed. E-discovery information management procedures include incident response, data retention, and discovery of…

information security, and one of those is economics. This is a relatively new development, as the economics of information security was not an area of study until just recently. Now it has emerged as something of vital importance, and this article is one that describes much of the initial issues that are being addressed where this field is concerned. Among the most important information noted in this article includes business, technical, applied, and policy perspectives. The economics of information security requires information about all of those things, and how the individual issues work together in order to make information security the best it can be. The utilization of each and every different aspect of the economics of information security is so important to the whole of the field. There are, however, workshops that are becoming available for people to better understand what the economics of information security is and how…

Security Governance Framework

Veiga, A. (2007). An Information Security Governance Framework. Information Systems Management, 24 (4), pp. 361 -- 371.

In the last several years, security governance strategies have been continually evolving. This is because the nature of the threats to an organization's network is increasing exponentially. To deal with these challenges, new techniques were developed. The article that was written by Veiga (2007) is focusing on four different strategies. That should be incorporated as a part of their basic security protocol. These include: the POTECT, Maturity, Information Security Infrastructure and the hybrid models. (Veiga, 2007) (Oz, 2009)

Aim

The aim is to understand how these ideas are impacting the strategies of firms and the long-term effects of utilizing them. These variables offer specific insights that are showing the way this is shaping IT procedures and protocols. These findings are helping all organizations to be better prepared for the challenges…

security behavior, a concept that touches on the behavior of consumers in regard to information technology systems is an important one to the global IT industry. Johnston and Warkentin (2010) for instance studied the influence of elements of fear appeal on the level of compliance of various end-users with the specific recommendations aimed at enacting specific individual IT security actions towards threat investigation. The authors performed an in-depth examination that yielded into the development as well as testing of a conceptual framework that represents an infusion of the concept of technology adoption and the theories of fear appeal. In this paper we investigate the concept of information security behaviors with a specific focus on consumer behavior and its related theories.

Consumer behavior

Extant literature has been dedicated to the concept of consumer behavior. The human information behavior has for a long time been studied under different environments and circumstances. Consumer…

OSIIT

An analysis of IT policy transformation

The aim of this project is to evaluate the effectiveness of information security policy in the context of an organization, OSI Systems, Inc. With presence in Africa, Australia, Canada, England, Malaysia and the United States, OSI Systems, Inc. is a worldwide company based in California that develops and markets security and inspection systems such as airport security X-ray machines and metal detectors, medical monitoring anesthesia systems, and optoelectronic devices. The company is also represented by three subsidiary divisions in offices and plants dedicated to the brands, apiscan Systems, OSI Optoelectronics and SpaceLabs Healthcare.

In 2010, OSI, Inc. had sales of $595 million with net income of over $25 million. As of June 2010, the company was comprised of 2,460 personnel globally. The parent company provides oversight and fiscal control to the different divisions, and is connected through its virtual network world-wide intranet system;…

goals of this study are to reveal some of the common and prevailing cyber security threats. Here we plan to explore the risk that is most difficult to defend: social engineering. We seek answers to the human elements and characteristics that contribute to the frauds and how they themselves unwittingly give out information that eventually leads to difficult situations. There are many ways in which the attackers 'phish' their targets. We will look into the origin of such techniques and proceed to develop a methodology to avert such attacks. In the highly computerized environment that we are living, a new method of multitenant services has been evolved to substitute for the demands on memory space and time- the Cloud. The impact of these vast and complex systems has raised newer kinds of concerns that will then be assessed and hence a strategy to safeguard the interests of the user because…

Ethical Scenario

Ethics is a term used to refer to the set of rules that help in determining right and wrong behavior during moral decision making. One of the major issues in Information Technology and Information Systems is computer ethics. This is primarily because the rapid technological advancements seem to enhance the likelihood of unethical use of computer devices and information systems. As these advancements continue to occur, it is expected that the misuse and abuse of these system will continue in the future (Masrom et. al., 2010, p.26). Therefore, IT professionals are increasingly faced with the need to promote ethical use of information systems in order to enhance information security. Some of the most common examples of unethical use of information systems include identity theft, hacking, software piracy, and spam. There is need to address these unethical practices because of their potential harm to individuals and the society.

Information…

Security is of utmost importance in this digital world where technology has not only expedited our information processing speed but also made information more transparent, with the consequent security implications. The rapid growth of Internet technology and the phenomenal pace at which ecommerce is growing have created new security concerns to be dealt with. We are at a greater risk now from potential hackers and other nosey netizens who use the same technology to gain access to, impersonate, damage and wreak havoc using the anonymous web medium. Firewalls, antiviral programs, authentication systems and secure protocols are different ways of ensuring the safety of the system.

Firewalls constitute the first line defense of our network as they are strategically positioned at the entry point of the network to monitor all input and output data. Firewalls perform the function of filtering data to and from the network and allow only authorized traffic…

Security

Mobile Code

Mobile code creates a required programming device to provide adaptability to form distributed systems for the Internet viz. Java Applets. (Mobile Code Security) Mobile code may be defined as small bits of software, which can without a user initiating action or even without his knowledge, be automatically downloaded into the workstation and executed. Without suitable controls appropriately positioned, there is the possibility of security risks, as these executable programs are downloaded from a server. Though mobile code meets the demand for functionality, it is necessary to protect any organization's system and networks from malicious mobile code, by writing a suitable security policy. (Writing Mobile Code Policies) Every initiator has the capability to generate independent mobile agents that can remit to unrestricted number of hosts and thereafter come back to the initiator. (Mobile Code Security)

A user was to be allowed to download a small piece of software,…

" (Tolone, Ahn, Pai, et al. 2005 P. 37).

Table 1 provides the summary of the evaluation of various criteria mentioned in the paper. The table uses comparative terminology such as High, Medium and Low and, descriptive terminology such as Active, Passive, and Simple, and the standard Yes (Y) and No (N). The research provides the solutions based in the problems identified with the access controls evaluated.

Table I: Evaluation of Access Control

Criteria

TMAC

SAC

Matrix

TBAC

C-TMAC

BAC

Context-AW

Complexity

Medium

Low

Low

Medium

Medium

Medium

High

Understandability

Simple

Simple

Simple

Simple

Simple

Simple

Simple

Ease Use

High

Low

Medium

Medium

High

High

High

Applicability

Medium

Low

Medium

Medium

High

High

High

Groups of users / Collaboration Support.

Y

Y

Low

Y

Y

Y

Y

Policy- Speci-cation

Y

Y

Low

Low

Y

Y

Y

Policy -Enforcement

Y

Low

Low

Low

Y

Y

Y

Fine-grained control

Y

N

N…

They include the use of stealthy tactics, tools and techniques in order to avoid detection by antimalware software. The second goal is to create a backdoor that allows the attackers to gain greater access to the compromised software especially if other access points are discovered or patched. The third goal is to initiate the primary mission of the attackers which may be to steal sensitive information, monitor communications or simply to disrupt operations. The last goal is to leave the compromised computer without being detected McAfee, 2010()

Effect of APT on the National Security

Advanced persistent threats are designed to steal sensitive information by stealthily innovatively and tactically evading the detection by common malware software. Advanced persistent attacks are usually targeted to be large-scale attacks. The main goal or objective of the attack is to steal intellectual property from the compromised computers. There have been cases reported where organizations have…

EP and Information Security

Introduction to EP

Even though the plans of information security include the prevention of outsiders to gain access of internal network still the risk from the outsiders still exists. The outsiders can also represent themselves as authorized users in order to cause damage to the transactions of the business systems. Therefore, strict prevention measures should be taken to avoid such situations.

The threats of both the hackers have been increased with the software of the enterprise resource planning (EP) (Holsbeck and Johnson, 2004). By performing acts of deception, the system privileges are neglected by them and take old of the assets which are mainly the cash. Its continuous integration has not succeeded in eliminating the threat of hackers who are either the insiders or enter through the perimeter security.

Considering the financial losses caused from the system-based frauds, errors and abuse by business transactions, new ways…

Director of Information Security

There is now a need evolving to create a better-sophisticated system of security that can prevent many financial disasters for companies and customers. This becomes necessary because of growing technology and the way the malicious elements have become better at using technology to further their nefarious purposes. Financial institutions also stand a good chance of being the target of the future cyber terrorist. Because of all these changes, the role of the security directors known as the CISCO -- Chief Information Security Officer has become very specialized to the extent that form the rudimentary service it began with, namely the basic IT security administration. It has now encompassed the role of addressing every threat and risk management especially in financial organizations that have large customer bases, ATMs and online banking. It was formerly a necessary periphery service that included just maintenance of firewalls, upgrading antivirus and…

Social Engineering and Information Security

We are in an age of information explosion and one of the most critical problems facing us is the security and proper management of information. Advanced hardware and software solutions are being constantly developed and refined to patch up any technical loopholes that might allow a hacker attack and prevent consequent breach of information security. While this technical warfare continues, hackers are now pursuing other vectors of attack. Social engineering refers to the increasing employment of techniques, both technical and non-technical, that focus on exploiting the cognitive bias in humans as the weakest link in computer security. What is shocking is the fact that in spite of the great vulnerability to human exploitation, there prevails a seemingly careless attitude in this regard in the corporate world. While more and more money is spent on beefing up hardware security and in acquiring expensive software solutions, little…

Security Metrics

Governance of Information Security: Why Metrics Do Not Necessarily Improve Security

The objective of this study is to examine the concept that the use of various Metrics has tended to improve security however, Metrics alone may not necessarily improve security. This study will focus on two well-known metrics.

The work of arabanov, Kowalski and Yngstrom (2011) states that the greatest driver for information security development in the majority of organizations "is the recently amplified regulatory environment, demanding greater transparency and accountability. However, organizations are also driven by internal factors, such as the needs to better justify and prioritize security investments, ensure good alignment between securities and the overall organizational mission, goals, and objectives, and fine-tune effectiveness and efficiency of the security programs." (p.1)

It is reported that a survey conducted by Frost and Sullivan demonstrated "that the degree of interest in security metrics among many companies (sample consisted…

isk analysis projects are relatively expensive, and were so even in the mainframe computing era, because they involved the collection and evaluation of a significant volume of data. Earlier risk studies were conducted by in house staff or consultants and the in house people did not have much experience regarding the matter and the consultants did not know much about the requirements of the organization.

Presently, the familiarization task has become more complicated with the complex, multi-site networked and client server-based technology used now. A new system has developed now and here the first description is of the security entry classification and this classification involves object identifiers which will help the security officer to work. For developing this system, the risk assessors have significant knowledge of operating systems, the documentation procedures are versatile and comprehensive enough to makes the data collection task achievable and since the basic system is ready,…

Policy Case Study

The author of this report has been asked to act as a consultant for a major security consulting firm. Contained within this report will be several topics that were requested to be covered and thus they will be with the appropriate amount of vigor and detail. The first topic will be a brief overview of the overall legal environment for non-information technology managers when it comes to things like constitutional law, administrative law, civil law, criminal law, due care, due diligence and overall fiduciary duty. Another major topic that will be covered is the applicable information security laws and practices. Next up will be the impact of policies, regulations and laws when it comes to the information security sphere. The next topic, and a very controversial one in the eyes of many, is the Central Intelligence Agency including is practices, what has been in the news about…

Phishing Spea Phishing and Phaming

The following is intended to povide a vey bief oveview of examples of some the most dangeous and pevasive secuity isks in the online and netwoked wold. One of the most insidious of identity theft is known as phishing. The tem 'phishing' efes to the pactice of "fishing fo infomation." This tem was oiginally used to descibe "phishing" fo cedit cad numbes and othe sensitive infomation that can be used by the ciminal. Phishing attacks use "…spoofed emails and faudulent websites to deceive ecipients into divulging pesonal financial data, such as cedit cad numbes, account usenames and passwods, social secuity numbes etc." (All about Phishing) . Thompson ( 2006) clealy outlines the basics of a phishing attack.

A typical phishing sends out millions of faudulent e-mail messages that appea to come fom popula Web sites that most uses tust, such as eBay, Citibank, AOL, Micosoft…

Identity heft in Modern Society

Identity heft Report Prep

he topic chosen by this student is "Identity heft in our Contemporary Society." he reason the author chose this is because it is a topic that is becoming more and more prevalent as even major organizations like arget and JX, among others, have been victimized over the recent years. It applies to the author's life as well as everyone else's because the only way that anyone can avoid being the victim of identity theft is to be a financial hermit and never use credit cards or any things that could hit a credit profile and that is basically impossible. Even if it were possible, even children are having their Social Security Numbers stolen and used for electricity bills or even credit accounts. Quite often, the perpetrators of this and other identify crimes are the victim's own families. his topic is universal…

Lessons From Target Data Breach

There are several lessons learnt from this case. First, I have learnt that the experience of Target on its data breach continues to jeopardize the confidentiality of stored information and the market value of the firm. Therefore, the company deserves to invest much attention, especially in research. Worry of disclosure of credit card information, private details, and other IDs is often the reason why customers leave companies. After identification of breach, Target Company is compelled to pay court costs, charges and has to get into enhancing its data security. The traders lose assurance in the company and the eventual fall in market value. Many studies have been performed to assess the speculation as further explored in this study (Bayuk, 2010). The primary objective of this document is to evaluate the chance of forecast of a Target data violation and assess its effect on industry value…

Security Finance & Payback

Security Finance

A strong effective information security program consists of many layers that create a "defense in depth" (Spontak, 2006). The objectives of information security is to make any unauthorized, unwanted access extremely difficult, easily detected, and well documented. Components of strong defense include firewalls, virus filters, intrusion detection, monitoring, and usage policies. Some businesses are missing the business culture, policies and procedures, separation of duties, and security awareness.

The Finance Department is critical to the security of the information system. Financial executives can set the tone, encourage compliance with security policies, and lead by example. Allowing the sharing of passwords puts the information security at risk, especially where financial, employee, and customer information is concerned. When employees are uneducated regarding compliance regulation, the organization can end up in trouble with authorities. Employees should be evaluated on information security measures, not just on customer service measures.…

Security Manager Leadership

Analysis & Assessment of Main Management Skills of Security Managers

The role of security managers and their progression to Chief Information Security Officers (CISO) in their careers is often delineated by a very broad base of experiences, expertise, skills and the continual development of management and leadership skills. The intent of this analysis and assessment is to define the most critically important management skills for security managers, including those most critical to their setting a solid foundation for attaining a senior management as a CISO in an enterprise (Whitten, 2008). What most differentiates those who progress in their careers as security managers to CISOs is the ability to interpret situations, conditions, relative levels of risk while continually learning new techniques, technologies and concepts pertaining to security and leadership. Those that attain CISO roles progress beyond management and become transformational leaders of the professionals in their department. It…

Security Standards & Least Privilege

Security Standards and Legislative Mandates

Industries are required by law to follow regulations to protect the privacy of information, do risk assessments, and set policies for internal control measures. Among these polices are: SOX, HIPAA, PCI DSS, and GLA. Each of these regulations implements internal control of personal information for different industries. Where GLA is for the way information is shared, all of them are for the safeguard of sensitive personal information.

Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) created new standards for corporate accountability in reporting responsibilities, accuracy of financial statements, interaction with auditors, and internal controls and procedures (Sarbanes-Oxley Essential Information). When audits are done to verify the validity of the financial statements, auditors must also verify the adequacy of the internal control and procedures. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is designed to protect personal health information held by covered entities and…

Both types -- qualitative and quantitative -- have their advantages and disadvantages. One of the most well-known of the quantitative risk metrics is that that deals with calculation of annual loss expectancy (ALE) (Bojanc & Jerman-Blazoc, 2008). ALE calculation determines the monetary loss associated form a single occurrence of the risk (popularly known as the single loss exposure (SLE)). The SLE is a monetary amount that is assigned to a single event that represents the amount that the organizations will potentiality lose when threatened. For intangible assets, this amount can be quite difficult to assess.

The SLE is calculated by multiplying the monetary value of the asset (AV) with the exposure factor (EF). The EF represents the percentage of loss that a threat can have on a particular asset. The equation, therefore, is thus: SLE=AV*EF. Applying this practically, if the AV of an e-commerce web server is $50,000 and a…

Security management
1. In a civil action, how can a claim of negligent hiring have a greater chance of succeeding?
Jurisdictions have been increasingly putting laws in place pertaining to what makes organizations a potential target for a lawsuit on negligent hiring. Though in most instances, claims of negligent hiring may be effectively fended off, it proves increasingly tricky in the following cases:
· If the individual harming or injuring another is an employee of the company.
· If the employee is found guilty of harming, injuring or doing any damage to the complainant.
· If the organization was aware of, or ought to have been aware of, the employee’s tendency to inflict harm or injury.
· If the organization was inattentive when hiring the individual and failed to carry out a proper background check which could have identified the individual’s tendency to cause harm to clients or colleagues (McCrie, 57-60).…

To offer an information security awareness training curriculum framework to promote consistency across government (15).

Security awareness is needed to ensure the overall security of the information infrastructure. Security awareness programs is the can help organizations communicate their security information policies, as well as tips for users, to help keep systems secure, and the practices the entire organization should be utilizing. However, as Kolb and Abdullah reiterate, "security awareness is not about training but rather designed to change employee behavior" (105).

A program concerning security awareness should work in conjunction with the information technology software and hardware JCS utilizes. In this way, it mitigates the risks and threats to the organization. Security awareness is a defensive layer to the information system's overall security structure. Although not a training program, per se, security awareness does provide education to the end users at JCS, regarding the information security threats the organization faces,…

Security eport

In the present day, organizations are reliant on information in order to continue being relevant and not become obsolete. To be specific, organizations are reliant on the controls and systems that have been instituted in place, which provide the continuing privacy, veracity, and accessibility of their data and information (Lomprey, 2008). There is an increase and rise in threats to information contained within organizations and information systems (Lomprey, 2008). There is also a rise in the intricacy of such systems and information, which places emphasis on the importance for organizations to understand and gain an understanding of how to better safeguard their information as well as information systems. As stated by Briggs (2005), globalization has instigated the world to become a global village. This, in turn, has increased the level of complexity and intricacy of the information security aspect of the organizations across the world. There is greater…

emote access controls.

Network security management.

Password policies.

Compliance with the policies and procedures of the company is very vital to the organization, and the policies and procedures should be clearly communicated to the appropriate business teams.

Intruder: The suggested treatment for the attack by the external intruder such as hacker is to ensure that all communication within the organization is encrypted to deter the unauthorized access to the company data. Moreover, the organization should use antivirus to protect the company data from the attack such as Trojan horse, worm, virus etc. Compliance to policies and procedure is so vital to assure an organizational IT security.

Disgruntled Employee: Company needs to evaluate each personnel before being allowed to handle sensitive information. There is a need to conduct background check on each employee. The background check could verify potential employee criminal background, and social background. Employee should be asked to sign…

This researcher rejects the existence of online communities because computer mediated group discussions cannot possibly meet this definition. Weinreich's view is that anyone with even a basic knowledge of sociology understands that information exchange in no way constitutes a community.

For a cyber-place with an associated computer mediated group to be labeled as a virtual settlement it is necessary for it to meet a minimum set of conditions. These are: (1) a minimum level of interactivity; (2) a variety of communicators; (3) a minimum level of sustained membership; and (4) a virtual common-public-space where a significant portion of interactive computer mediated groups occur (Weinreich, 1997). The notion of interactivity will be shown to be central to virtual settlements. Further, it will be shown that virtual settlements can be defined as a cyber-place that is symbolically delineated by topic of interest and within which a significant proportion of interrelated interactive computer…

This leaves those clients that are inside unsupervised while the guard is outside. There is also a lack of signage inside displaying rules and regulations along with directions. This propagates a lot of unnecessary questions being asked of the surety officer on duty. In order to alleviate these issues it would be essential to place distinct parking signage outside in order to help facilitate clients parking in the correct spaces. It is also necessary to place directional signage within the facility along with general rules and policies. All of these signs together would cost approximately $1,000 to install.

The last security issue that needs to be addressed is that of the security information processes that is in place. As each client arrives at the facility, their license plate numbers are recorded and they are then assigned a number. They are seen by the appropriate medical personnel based upon the order…

Security Plan: Pixel Inc.

About Pixel Inc.

We are a 100-person strong business dedicated to the production of media, most specifically short animations, for advertising clients worldwide. Our personnel include marketing specialists, visual designers, video editors, and other creative staff.

This security plan encompasses the general and pragmatic characteristics of the security risks expected for our business and the specific actions that aim to, first and foremost, minimize such risks, and, if that's not possible, mitigate any damage should a breach in security happen.

Scope

The measures to be taken and the assigned responsibilities stated in this document apply to all the departments that make up the company. Exemptions can be given but will be only under the prerogative of the CEO under the consultation of the Chief Security Officer that will be formally assigned after the finalization of this document. Otherwise, there will be no exception to the security…

" (Harman, Flite, and ond, 2012) the key to the preservation of confidentiality is "making sure that only authorized individuals have access to that information. The process of controlling access -- limiting who can see what -- begins with authorizing users." (Harman, Flite, and ond, 2012) Employers are held accountable under the HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules for their employee's actions. The federal agency that holds responsibility for the development of information security guidelines is the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). NIST further defines information security as "the preservation of data confidentiality, integrity, availability" stated to be commonly referred to as "the CIA triad." (Harman, Flite, and ond, 2012)

III. Risk Reduction Strategies

Strategies for addressing barriers and overcoming these barriers are inclusive of keeping clear communication at all organizational levels throughout the process and acknowledging the impact of the organization's culture as well as capitalizing on all…

If not, what other recommendations would you make to Harold? Explain your reasons for each of recommendations.

No, the actions that were taken by Harold are not adequate. The reason why, is because he has created an initial foundation for protecting sensitive information. However, over the course of time the nature of the threat will change. This could have an impact on his business, as these procedures will become ineffective. Once this occurs, it means that it is only a matter of time until Harold will see an increase in the number of cyber attacks. At first, these procedures will help to prevent hackers from accessing the company's files. Then, as time goes by they will be able to overcome his defenses. This increases the chances that he will see some kind of major disruptions because of these issues. ("Security Policies," n.d, pp. 281 -- 302) ("Computer-ased Espionage," n.d, pp.…

A system possesses authenticity when the information retrieved is what is expected by the user -- and that the user is correctly identified and cannot conceal his or her identity. Methods to ensure authenticity include having user names and secure passwords, and even digital certificates and keys that must be used to access the system and to prove that users 'are who they say they are.' Some highly secure workplaces may even use biological 'markings' like fingerprint readers (Introduction, 2011, IBM).

Accountability means that the source of the information is not anonymous and can be traced. A user should not be able to falsify his or her UL address or email address, given the requirements of the system. "Non-repudiation is a property achieved through cryptographic methods which prevents an individual or entity from denying having performed a particular action related to data... Through the use of security-related mechanisms, producers and…

Security Failures and Preventive Measures

Summary of the Case

The Sequential Label and Supply company is a manufacturer and supplier of labels as well as distributor of other stationary items used along with labels. This company is shown to be growing fast and is becoming highly dependent on IT systems to maintain their high end inventory as well as the functioning of their department.

The case started with the inception of a troubled employee who called up the helpdesk agent to resolve the issue he is facing. Likewise, other employees start calling in to launch similar complaints. Later, the technical support help desk employee, while checking her daily emails, accidentally opened an untrusted source file sent from a known work colleague. This led to a number of immediate problems in her network computer which led to her being not able to access the information over the network and the call…

Information echnology Annotated Bibliography

Annotated Bibliography

Cloud Computing and Insider hreats

Bhadauria, R., Chaki, R., Chaki, N., & Sanyal, S. (2011) A Survey on Security Issues in Cloud Computing. CoRR, abs/1109.5388, 1 -- 15.

his article is very explanatory in nature. his article would serve best in the opening sections of a research paper, such as in the introduction or the historical review. his article has a formal and academic tone; the intention to be informative. Readers who have little to no knowledge in this area would be served well by this article. Furthermore, more advanced readers and more knowledgeable readers would benefit from this article as it is comprehensive and would be favorable for review purposes or purposes of additional research. he article explains with texts and with graphic representations the nature of cloud computing, provides a brief history, and lists implications for use and research. he article is…

Information System Security Plan

The information security system is required to ensure the security of the business process and make the confidential data of the organization secure. The organization's management is required to analyze the appropriate system to be implemented and evaluate the service provided on the basis of their required needs. The implementation of the system requires the compliance of organizational policies with the service provider to ensure the maximum efficiency of the system. The continuous update and maintenance of the system is required to ensure the invulnerability of the system towards the potential internal and external threats.

Data Security Manager and Coordinator

Develop Plan

Implement Plan

Employees Training

Test Safeguards

Evaluate Service Providers

Internal isks

Change Passwords Periodically

estricted access to personal information

Safeguard paper records

eport unauthorized use of customer information

Terminated Employees 1

3. External isks 1

3.1 Firewall Protection 1

3.2 Data Encryption 1

3.3…

The first time that they attempted to build this system they did not follow the life cycle plan and the system ended up failing. Developing a new claims payment system that will talk to and be user friendly with the customer service management system would help to speed up efficiency and enhance quality of all departments within the organization. This streamlining would help the company as a whole to reduce costs and ultimately become more competitive and successful within the insurance market.

Being able to answer the following question is vital to any business. How would your organization continue to deliver mission-critical services if normal business operations were interrupted? Being able to quickly resume functioning enough to continue delivering the services that are critical to a company's mission are very important. When normal business operations are interrupted, an organization should use its business continuity plan to prevent disruption in the…

Information Technology Issues

It could help me to identify my customer base and target them. Data as a Service platforms for marketing verticals are instrumental in providing this sort of assistance (Harper, 2016). I can use the cloud for infrastructure purposes in general, as well.

Information systems are both a strategic weapon and a survival tool. They are strategic in that they are a viable means to effect competitive advantage. They are survival tools because one must have them to serve customers today.

Information Silos
Information silos are individual databases or data marts not connected to other data assets (Harper, 2016). Enterprise integration application systems and ERP systems provide a holistic means of organization-wide integration with top down views.

Topic 2: Customer Relationship Management

CRM systems help organizations by mastering data pertaining to a specific domain, typically customer or product (Harper, 2016). They provide a centralized platform for this data…

Security Plan Target Environment

Amron International Inc.

Amron International Inc. is a division of Amtec and manufactures ammunition for the U.S. military. Amron is located in Antigo, Wisconsin. Amron also manufacturer's mechanical subsystems including fuses for rockets and other military ammunitions as well as producing TNT, a highly explosive substance used in bombs.

Floor Plan Target Environment

The target environment in this security plan is the manufacturing operation located in Antigo, Wisconsin, a manufacturing plant with personnel offices adjacent to the facility. The work of Philpott and Einstein (nd) reports the fact that more than 50% of U.S. businesses do not have a crisis management plan and for those who do have a plan, it is generally not kept up-to-date. Philpott and Einstein states that even fewer businesses and organizations "have integrated physical security plans to protect the facility and the people who work in it.

The challenge is reported…

security and governance program is "a set of responsibilities and practices that is the responsibility of the Board and the senior executives." This is the procedures by which the company ensures information security in the organization. The program consists of desired outcomes, knowledge of the information assets, and process integration (ITGI, 2013). Security of information is important because of the value of information, especially proprietary, in today's business world. The biggest differentiator between governance and IT security is that the latter is about the physical constructs of the IT program but governance incorporates everything include spoken communication so any form of information creation or handling.

The first thing is the desired outcomes. The company has to know what it wants to accomplish with this program. Ideally there is alignment between the information security strategy and the organization's overall strategy. There should be risk management, so understanding the different risk and…

Indeed, the problem identified above is the very technical capabilities of those designing these technical security measures, and thus any security measure could likely be overridden with a fair amount of ease by these individuals (ITSP, 2005). Human resource control must also be implemented as a security measure, then, and this is done not through technology but rather through policy. A comprehensive and detailed information policy produced b the SANS Institute (2012) lists quite clearly the responsibilities and prohibitions of all employees in regards to information access, transmission, and utilization, covering far more than the issue being examined here. There are also policies for the control of information security personnel, however, and guidelines for executives and managers to control risks and exposures as a result of employee malice or avarice (SANS Institute, 2012). Simple procedural elements such as separating the work of various parts of the information security system and…

The greater the employee ownership and vested interest in a program's success, the greater the probability of its success. This emanates from a leader's choosing to endorse and actively support an information security program and show consistency of effort and focus to attain tis objectives (Madnick, 1978).

A third critical success factors is the providing of periodic feedback as to the progress of the information security program. The ability to actively monitor an information security program's progress using analytics and metrics of performance will significantly increase the likelihood of continued support (Straub, Welke, 1998). As is the case with many change management initiatives, the use of analytics and metrics also provide feedback to the employees and leadership of an organization, reinforcing adoption to the information security program over time (Guttman, Herzog, 2005).

Conclusion

The basis of effective change management is predicated on giving employees the ability to attain autonomy of…

" (Muntenu, 2004)

According to Muntenu (2004) "It is almost impossible for a security analyst with only technical background to quantify security risk for intangible assets. He can perform a quantitative or qualitative evaluation using dedicated software to improve the security of the information systems, but not a complete risk assessment for the whole information system. Qualitative assessment based on questionnaires use in fact statistical quantitative methods to obtain results. Statistical estimation represents the basis for quantitative models." Muntenu states conclusion that in each of these approaches the "moral hazard of the analyst has influence on the results because human nature is subjective. He must use a sliding window approach according to business and information systems features, balancing from qualitative to quantitative assessment." (2004) qualitative study of information systems security is reported in a study conducted in U.S. academic institutions in the work of Steffani a. urd, Principal Investigator for…

IT Security Plan

The technological advances that have been witnessed in the past twenty to thirty years, has placed a tremendous emphasis on data and information. Computers have changed the world in many facets and the ability to communicate and perform work have been greatly assisted by the digital age. Along with these new found powers, there exists also new found threats. The ability to protect these investments and resources of an informational matter, has produced new sciences and approaches to accomplishing such a task.

The purpose of this essay is to discuss and analyze how to establish an information security program to protect organizational information. This essay will address the specific guidelines and elements that compose such a program and explore ways in which these methods can be exploited for the fullest possible benefit. Specific guidelines will be discussed however this is a general overview of a program and…