Course Outcomes:

IT537-1: Assess appropriate cybersecurity processes for addressing appropriate outcomes.

Scenario:

In June 2015, it was revealed that hackers, possibly supported by the Chinese government, had breached several databases containing PII for approximately 4 million federal workers. Current and former federal workers from almost every U.S. government agency were affected. U.S. law enforcement officials speculate that the primary goal of the breach is to build a database of federal employees which would aid hackers seeking to fool or impersonate government workers in advance of setting up insider attacks.

Cybersecurity experts advising the government have reported that a number of government agencies have not been following recommended best practices, such as updating older operating systems with current protection. Other recommendations include encryption of data at rest.

Instructions:

Following the process described in the “Writing an Informative Essay” document found in the Writing Center, write a 5–6-page research paper that discusses the possible role of encryption in preventing the breach described in the scenario. You may take either a pro or con position. The minimum page count is 5–6 pages (excluding cover page, etc.). If you require more pages to thoroughly defend your position, feel free to include them.

Your paper should use Times New Roman 12-point font, be double spaced, and use correct APA formatting (cover page, table of contents, abstract, and reference page). Be sure to use proper APA in-text citations that match your reference list.

A minimum of three peer-reviewed articles should be used to support your arguments in the informative essay. Use the Library to search for supporting articles and use the “peer reviewed” filter to find the appropriate material. You may also use additional material, such as trade magazine articles, but avoid Wikipedia.

In accordance with the Academic Integrity policy, your Assignment will be automatically submitted to TurnItIn (see http://turnitin.com/en_us/features/originalitycheck). The policy states that papers submitted for credit in any course should contain less than 25% non-original material, so avoid large sections of direct quotes and be sure that you use APA formatting to properly cite and reference all non-original material.

No more than one figure and/or one table should be included, and any figures or tables used must clearly support a specific point of the informative essay. Any figure or table must use an APA formatted figure or table caption.

Project Requirements:

• The informative essay follows the Writing Guide requirements and establishes a main point or position, uses a minimum of three peer-reviewed sources in support of that position, and provides a clearly worded conclusion.
• The essay is 5–6 pages of content (excluding cover sheet, etc.) and uses Times New Roman 12-point font, is double spaced, and uses correct APA formatting (cover page, table of contents, abstract, and reference page) .
• No more than one figure and/or table in the content.
• No spelling errors.
• No grammar errors.
• No APA errors.

Also review the Policy on Plagiarism. If you have any questions, please contact your professor.