Week 5 (Chapter 3)

1.Provide an IT example that relates to the ethical issues for the ideas of privacy, accuracy, property, and accessibility.

-Privacy: disclosing, collecting and storing personal information that was not permitted by the individual.
-Accuracy: Collecting data that is not directly from the source
-Property: Claiming ownership of a source, information that does not belong to the individual and using an unlicensed software.
-Accessibility: Disclosing trusted information and data to an unauthorized group or entity.

2.What are the 4 general types of IT threats? Provide an example for each one.

1.Natural threats: Bushfire, infrastructure is destroyed.
2.Unintentional threats: Deleting an important file from database.
3.Technical threats: CPU overload and system crash.
4.Malicious threats: Viruses, spam, Trojans and phishing.

3.Describe/discuss three types of software attack and a problem that may result from them.

Viruses are softwares that that inhibit the functioning of the computer. This can be solved by installing an updated anti-virus software and routinely scanning computer for threats. Spam mailing and ad-ware are similar to viruses, that once installed onto the system the program causes continuous streaming of advertisements and pop-ups on the email or when connected to the internet. Trojan horse are a software that can infiltrate a system and can record information from the user and then relays them to another computer.

4.Describe the four major types of security controls in relation to protecting information systems.

1.Backing up data: This involves saving data and information on external sources either on-site or off-site.
2.Training personnel: Training the users about basic precautionary protection of the information system will reduce the amounts of security breaches.
3.Software protection: Installing anti-virus software and having strong password protections for the system can prevent malicious behavior and information theft.
4.Hardware protection: placing the information system in a secure and protected area can reduce theft to the information system.

5.Name one recent software threat and briefly discuss it's effects and resolutions ?

A recent trend in software threats is phishing. Phishing involves sending emails that resemble a bank requesting for personal bank details to be used to hank into an account to gain access to money. Thus phishing is basically a modern example of software theft. To combat phishing could involve installing anti-phishing software but the most effective method is having some basic principles when dealing with accounts on the internet. One way is recognizing the difference between a authentic bank email and a phishing email. Another is never giving bank details over the internet and lastly making sure the banking websites URL is genuine and security coded.

6.What is the difference between authentication and authorization and why are they important to e-Commerce/give an example of their relevance to e-Commerce

Authentication refers to the origin of the source and that it comes form the original person. Authorization refers to the ability of the beholder to change and modify the contents. This is important in e-commerce as verifying that it is the authentical individual that is making a purchase on the internet and that the business itself has the authorization to sell the product. An example of this is an Internet banking transaction. The website must identify the authenticity of the individual and the bank itself must be able to authorize the transfer of funds.