Conficker Causes Rise in Hoax Security Software

This article directly relates to chapter 7. Chapter 7 deals with viruses and other threats to the computer system. Computer owners can take many precautions in order to protect their computers. One of these precautions is installing a virus protection system on their computer. These program can be free, such as AVG, which I use, or the program can cause money, such as Norton, which I used previously. Microsoft says that hoax security software is on the rise and may gain even more momentum and ground. Conflicker is a new virus that has been widely publicized. Consequently, this has scared many people into getting anti-virus software. Therefore, criminals take advantage of these vulnerable people. “Conflicker Causes Rise in Hoax Security Software” is another sad case of internet forgery. It never ends. The amount of people trying to con others on the internet is alarming. Due to the increase in demand for internet protection, criminals are selling protection software that does not exist. Cyber criminals are the worst type of criminals. They prey on the most vulnerable and ignorant of people. Cyber criminals take a lot of information from people. Cyber criminals charge a subscription for this software. The criminal then fires a two-pronged attack on the victim. The criminal gets money from a subscription that is invalid and also they obtain credit card information. The victim can now go into much debt because a criminal has their credit card details. This is a lesson to all of us to be vigilant in doing our due diligence when we give our personal information out on the internet. We all want virus protection software, especially in these times, but we must make sure that we are buying form legitimate sources. It is often difficult to tell which sites/sources are legitimate and which ones are criminal. I suggest only giving out information on well known, trusted sites.

Reference : Skinner, Carrie-Ann. (April 9, 2009). Conficker Causes Rise in Hoax Security Software. Retrieved April 26, 2009 from PC magazine. Website:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/162862/conficker_causes_rise_in_hoax_security_software.html

Ch. 8 Case Study : A Stolen Laptop at the Department of Veterans Affairs: The Worst Data Theft Ever?

1) There were numerous security weaknesses at the Department of Veterans Affairs. The VA inspector general reported to Congress that his office had been concerned with the department’s security controls since 2001. The operating system, password system, and detection alerts were all vulnerable to security breaches. Centralized management of all IT programs and activities was paramount. Decentralized management was deep rooted in the agency, making it resistant to change. Such “cultural impediments” were some reasons why central management of IT at the departmental level or a strong information security program was not instated earlier. The VA CIO and the chief information security officer needed to have greater authority to enforce security policies and mandates. The VA needed to consolidate the two IT domains to centralize IT programs and activities completely. The VA should not have given employees authorization to take home a laptop and work from home. Employees were able to use at home special software designed to manipulate large amounts of data, and to access social security numbers of millions of veterans. Data was not classified or encrypted. The VA should also install extra security systems around their data systems so they are not stolen as easily.

3) The VA did not effectively deal with these problems. Their response to the data crisis was extremely poor. The VA primarily stated that it could find no evidence suggesting that the stolen data had been used illegally. The department did not report the incident to law enforcement until two weeks after it found out about it. This might have inhibited the FBI’s ability to perform a thorough investigation and solve the case. Even Jim Nicholson, Secretary of Veterans Affairs, did not learn about the theft until 13 days after it occurred. This is completely unacceptable. Nicholson and the appropriate authorities should have been informed of the theft the moment the first person found out about the theft. The VA tried to ignore their problems at first instead of adequately dealing with and reconciling them. The VA did not increase their precautions enough so that people’s information would never be compromised again. In fact, another VA computer was stolen from someone that the VA outsourced their computer work to. This is a shame, because the VA should have learned to protect their computer and information the first time.

4) To prevent these problems, I have many suggestions. The VA must encrypt its information. It must also increase access control. Access control consists of all the policies and procedures a company uses to prevent improper access to systems by unauthorized insiders and outsiders. The user must be authorized and authenticated in order to gain access. New authentication technologies, such as tokens, smart cards, and biometric authentication, overcome some of these problems. A token proves the identity of a single user. A smart card contains a chip formatted with access permission and other data. Biometric authentication uses systems that read and individual characteristics.

Playing by the Rules

Having efficient Information Technology Systems are key to maintaining good business practices and upholding the law. Many laws are set in place that protect the private information of consumers. But one of the flaws of Information Systems is that they sometimes have poor data security, as is reviewed in Chapter 6. It is important to have an information system that has strong data security because if consumer information gets leaked out, it could mean the downfall of a business. There are particular laws that hold firms directly accountable if data is not secured. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 holds publicly traded companies accountable for maintaining control over their financial reporting. Companies must keep their infrastructure and processes against accounting errors and deceptive procedures. It is monumental that PCs are secure from unauthorized access and data interception.
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 sets standardized methods for the exchange, security, and confidentiality of health-care data. Strong firewalls need to be installed to protect data. Strong password policies need to be in place and data must be encrypted. The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) of 1999 requires financial institutions to protect consumers’ nonpublic personal information. In many states, a business that divulges customers’ personal information must notifiy them of the breach, this is very costly and time consuming. The right network and data-security solutions can stop the theft of private data. This information is directly related to the problems that traditional database systems face, which was the topic of chapter 6. Data must be secure and information systems must have ways in order to maintain and ensure the utmost security. I enjoyed this article because it gave me new insight to all the laws around information systems. Not only is it ethical to protect private information, it is also the law.

Ch. 5 Case Study : Merrill Lynch Connects Past and Future Technology

1) Merrill Lynch needed to update its IT infrastructure in order to remain competitive. The IT system is one of the most critical components of Merrill Lynch’s operations. IT infrastructure has played a major role in the company’s gains in the past 5 years. Merrill Lynch needed to create internet based applications that gave customers access to their portfolios and tools to work with them. Merrill Lynch needed to create such applications while leveraging the processing power and wealth of data in its mainframe.


2) Information technology is at the heart of Merrill Lynch’s business strategy. They internally develop new IT systems that give them a great competitive advantage. Its Web services initiative was integral to that strategy. Merrill Lynch constructed a proprietary Web development platform from the ground up. Merrill Lynch created its own set of in-house proprietary tools that enable its mainframe legacy programs and the functions they perform to be exposed as Web services. Merrill Lynch’s system has a lack of middleware which means that the system’s users could request information directly from the mainframe from their desktops. Merrill Lynch’s investment in Web services saved the company $41 million in application development costs. The company obtained even more value by selling X4ML. Merrill Lynch has a long history of selling internally developed technology and selling X4ML was a great move.

4) Merrill Lynch’s decision to sell off its successful technology initiatives was a good idea. Merrill Lynch has a long history of selling internally developed technology, and the sale of X4ML optimized its investment. The company obtained even more value out of X4ML by selling it. Merrill Lynch most likely obtained a great amount of money during the sale of X4ML. This money can be invested back into the company to develop a more efficient system and grow the company even further.

Wanted: Programmers with Ethics

The article “Wanted: Programmers with Ethics” directly related to chapter 4. Chapter four talked about the ethical and social issues in Information Systems and this article revealed that employers are keenly aware of these ethical dilemmas and are seeking employees who will choose to make sound ethical decisions. Those who work in Information Systems have significant power and are able to access a lot of information that the common man does not have access to. This can lead to many moral and ethical dilemmas. Ethics and morals are on the top of the list of traits wanted in Programmers. Ethics and morals were even more desirable than communications skills and business acumen. Many employers are worried about their employees doing unethical things such as circumventing security systems. Information Technology organizations have ethics and morals on their radar. Employees will determine where the firm goes in terms of its morals. Employees decide it they will spy on customers, or if they will use their power and reach for illegal, or questionable activities. Employers can gauge potential employees from conception. Many employers ask potential employees ethical questions and dilemmas at the interview stage. This can weed out the employees that do not make the correct ethical decisions, especially with regard to privacy. I liked this article because we need ethics in the workplace in all fields, especially in IT.

Reference :
Hoffman, Thomas. Sunday, November 16, 2008. Wanted: Programmers with Ethics. Retrieved April 12, 2009, from PC World Magazine.
Website : http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/153951/wanted_programmers_with_ethics.html

Chapter 3 : Blockbuster vs. Netflix

1. Blockbuster’s business model is mainly based on having physical stores in many different and convenient locations. Blockbuster has 9,100 stores in 25 countries. In order to compete with competition from Netflix, Blockbuster made some changes to its business model. It added Movie Pass, an online rental service. Blockbuster tried two approaches to maintain its dominance in the marketplace. It focused on its traditional business (having a physical location) and it launched an online store similar to Netflix. Blockbuster’s business model was very successful before Blockbuster had to compete with Netflix. Blockbuster possessed a 40 percent share of the U.S. video rental market by 2004. Blockbuster had video sales of around $16 billion. The changes that Blockbuster had to make to compete with Netflix has decreased its market share. In order to compete with Netflix, Blockbuster added Game Pass, a subscription service for video games, and the “No More Late Fees” program in addition to Movie Pass. The “No More Late Fees” program cost Blockbuster $250 million to $300 million dollars.

2. Netflix is a great challenge to Blockbuster. Netflix is very convenient, movie renters do not have to physically leave their house in order to rent a movie. Netflix also does not give late charges. Renters can keep the movies as long as they want. This was a great challenge to Blockbuster and forced them to adopt the “No more late fees” model. Netflix customers have access to thousands of movies. Netflix forces Blockbuster to maintain an efficient, cheap online subscription model that can compete with the amount of movies that Netflix offers. Video on Demand and TiVo also challenge Blockbuster. These programs could make video rentals obsolete because they are very convenient and require even less than a subscription model. Convenience is the key.


4. Netflix is very successful. Netflix has surpassed three million subscribers and is on its way to four million by the end of the year in 2004. Netflix’s market share rose from 2 to 7 percent between 2003 and 2004. Netflix’s business model forced Blockbuster to change its business model to more closely resemble that of Netflix. It brought customer convenience to the forefront and currently has no match in efficiency and movie titles available.

About Me.

Hi. I'm Candace Wilson. I was born in Guyana, South America. My family then moved to Dominica, a small island in the Caribbean. We lived there for 3 and 1/2 years. We then moved to Ontario, California for a year, then to Nashville, Tennessee. We lived in Tennessee for 3 and 1/2 years and subsequently moved to Rancho Cucamonga, California. We have been in Rancho since I was in 7th grade and I love it. However, my studies have led me to migrate from Rancho Cucamonga many times. I moved to Riverside for my undergraduate education. I attened the University of California, Riverside from 2002-2006. I majored in Biology and obtained a minor in Spanish. During the summer after my sophomore year at UCR I completed a research project in Mexico City which looked for a therapeutic vaccine for the HPV virus. This experience inspired me to attend graduate school. I began the Masters in Biotechnology/ MBA program at CSUCI in the fall of 2006. My time at CSUCI led me to my career at Oxnard College. I currently teach Biology lecture and laboratory at Oxnard College. I will be teaching Microbiology Laboratory at Oxnard College during the summer months. When my time here at Channel Islands comes to an end, I plan to attend medical school. I should be starting this last leg of my educational career in August if all goes well. But I will definately miss eveyone I met here at Channel Islands!!