Assignment 1: Business Continuity Plan Report Due Week 3 and worth 50 points   During your first week as a Senior Information Systems Security director, you met with the Chief Information Officer (CIO) and Chief Security Officer (CSO). During the meeting, they revealed their deep concerns with the organizations business continuity plans (BCP). Since you were previously responsible for BCPs for a large enterprise they are requesting that you review the companys BCP staffing plans and training plans.     They would like you to provide a report with your findings and recommendations for corrective action.     Additionally, include why it is important to include legal representatives on the business continuity planning team and provide an example of laws or regulation the company should include to remain compliant.     While there is not a specific page requirement for this assignment, students are required to fully develop ideas and answer questions to the point that no further questions are left in the mind of the reader. If the instructor can clearly find the answers to their questions, the ideas within the report are fully developed. If there are unanswered or under-answered questions, further development of the report is required.  Keep the following in mind:  More words do not necessarily indicate more meaning.  When an employee is tasked with a project in the workplace that requires a report, the report should fully answer all the questions needing to be answered. In this school environment, students are learning how to prepare such documents.   Consider your audience. Although instructors are very knowledgeable on the subject matter, they need to verify that the student has absorbed the material through a written report. Students should therefore write to an audience of a co-worker or classmate who does not know the answers to the questions posed.  For students who are more comfortable with more specific guidelines, ideas can generally be developed in one to three paragraphs. The goal of writing in this class is to demonstrate what you have learned.

Now that we have had an introduction to security protocols that will help reduce the risk of a security incident we are going to study security incidents.  Each student will select a recent security incident that had their data stolen by an outside attack, insider threat, or some other mechanism.  There are multiple examples that can be used, i.e., Target, Capital One, Home Depot, OPM, etc.  As you evaluate the incident you evaluate several components throughout the remainder of the course.  

1. select our incident

2. create a 1-page introduction of the security incident

3. Your response must be properly APA formatted with every sentence that comes from another source cited or quoted. 

Whats the Worst That Could Happen? 

This is a question you should (and will be) asking yourself as you take on a security officer role.  Quite honestly, this statement could become your undoing if you do not think it through or try to avoid answering such a question; however, the extreme voice of doom is not one you will be visiting very often.  You should be evaluating the possible circumstances and ask yourself the above question as it pertains to something that could happen, such as a fire or user error. 

For this exercise, you should think about a local company (one which you work or have worked) or a fake marketing firm in Kansas City Missouri.  Ask yourself this question as you think through what they have and what could be lost.  Think of a minimum of 7 threats to this network (one for each of the 7 IT Infrastructure Domains [pg.7]) and describe Whats the Worst That Could Happen? if these threats came true.  For the threats, you should think of 5 within the realm of possibility and 2 on the fringe of possibilities.

Organize this response as an APA formatted paper.  For each threat, you should write at least one paragraph responding to the question to each threat.

Course Outcomes Assessed:

1. Identify and define risk and risk management techniques.

2. Identify and evaluate threats, vulnerabilities, countermeasures, and mitigation recommendations.

Locate an article or example of a real use case based on this week’s lesson. If you can’t find an article or use case example make one up. Write a summary of the use case and describe how it is similar or different from the use case described in this week’s lesson.

Be sure to include the following requirements in the paper.

• Description of real use case
• Comparison of real use case and textbook use case. 

Your writeup should include:

• Title Page
• Content
• References (if applicable)

The vast majority of the population associates Blockchain with cryptocurrency Bitcoin; however, there are many other uses of blockchain; such as Litecoin, Ether, and other currencies. In this discussion, please describe at least two cryptocurrencies with applicable examples. Discuss some similarities and differences. Lastly, discuss if you have any experience using any cryptocurrencies.

Please make your initial post and two response posts substantive. A substantive post will do at least TWO of the following:

• Ask an interesting, thoughtful question pertaining to the topic
• Answer a question (in detail) posted by another student or the instructor
• Provide extensive additional information on the topic
• Explain, define, or analyze the topic in detail
• Share an applicable personal experience
• Provide an outside source (for example, an article from the UC Library) that applies to the topic, along with additional information about the topic or the source (please cite properly in APA)
• Make an argument concerning the topic.

At least one scholarly source should be used in the initial discussion thread. Be sure to use information from your readings and other sources from the UC Library. Use proper citations and references in your post.

Answer has to be 2 pages at the most including references. 

 Follow APA6 guidelines. It should include an introduction, a body with fully developed content, and a conclusion 

  Support your answers with the readings from the course and at least two scholarly journal articles to support your positions, claims, and observations, in addition to your textbook. The UC Library is a great place to find resources. 

Application Tool (10 points)

Many of you will be involved in decisions related to the selection of hardware/software for a

fictitious organization (describe organization & industry). As executives, we need to look

beyond the CNet & PC Magazines reviews and seek to examine these things in terms of

value for the organization and cost benefits. For this assignment you will choose to

compare one set the following products, hands-on (you are not to just read about them,

you must try them out). Choose one:

1. Microsoft Office & Google Docs

2. Apple iPhone & Android Phones

3. Microsoft Outlook & Google Calendar System

4. Blockchain & Ethereum

5. Select Two Different APPs (for comparable application such as Zoom and

Skype) to Compare

You will compare based on functionality for a business setting, initial cost maintenance costs, and other tangible & intangible criteria you have established. Proof of hands on interaction might include photos, screen shots, a scanned business card etc. Submit the completed work in Word 2003-2007, 2010, 2013, 2017 or pdf format through the integrated Assignment.