Investing in cyber security infrastructure - Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Discuss about the Investing in cybersecurity infrastructure. Answer: Introduction The introduction of digital technology has resulted in a rise in the use of smartphones as well as online services used by people and corporations. The use of smartphones has made it easier to access internet and online services by people. The use of internet-based services varies from assisting in performing operations such as banking, entertainment, communication, shopping and others not mentioned. Modern companies have developed techniques to utilize this platform to offer their product and services directly to the consumers. With this, the use of intermediaries has been drastically reduced resulting in lower operations cost. Despite the advantages brought by internet and smartphones, its increasing popularity is posing a threat to individuals and corporations. There has been an emergence of cybercriminals who attack companies and individuals to gain an unfair advantage. The remedy to this is the need for a cybersecurity software. In this research will concentrate on identifying a nd evaluating the challenges that cybersecurity has brought to the modern companies as well as individuals relying on the use of internet-based services. Afterwards, it will give a few recommendations that can assist minimize the issues identified. Project Objectives The primary objective of the research is to evaluate the challenges that the modern companies face regarding cybersecurity as the use of the internet as well as online-based services goes up. Afterwards will conduct a literature review on the topic. The research will use information from companies that have faced cybercrime to understand and expound on the problem. The secondary target will then be to offer recommendations that can help firms enhance their cybersecurity. Project Scope One of the areas the report will cover is the vulnerability of corporations to cyber-attacks as well as the problems they face from the occurrence of cyber-attacks. The report will use various theories that have been designed by researchers on the issue, also, will illustrate several recommendations that canna assists fight cyber-crime. Literature Review The past decade has seen the use of internet and online services grow tremendously among modern firms hence enabling provision of services via online platforms (Lenhart, et al., 2010). The increasing popularity has been a significant contributor to the growth of internet use as it also attracts companies online. Modern businesses rely on online platforms to perform several operations like recruitment, conducting surveys as well as customer interaction (Holm, et al., 2013). The use of internet has given small-scale entrepreneurs an equal opportunity to interact with the potential clients. There are firms like Uber, Facebook, and others whose entire services are provided online while others use the platform to improve the quality of their operations (Edelman Geraldin, 2015). The use and popularity of internet have enabled these firms to gain a competitive advantage. Due to the rapid growth of the use of the web, there is need to increase the capital allocated to cyber security (Howard Mazaheri, 2009.). Cybercrimes have also increased with the increase in the use of the internet with online servers most prone to attack as they lack security guidelines. The attacks are directed towards gaining information regarding individuals and companies that can be used to cause financial as well as reputational damage. The number of glo0bal social media users have grown from 1.22 billion in 2011 to 2.26 billion in 2017 this shows the rapid increase in social media popularity a factor which has fueled cybercrimes (Sanchex, et al., 2012.). Considering that the number is estimated to hit 3.02 billion by 2021 and with more users acting as an attraction to companies to the online platforms then cybersecurity is an issue of concern. Corporations like Oreo, old Spice have successfully implemented the social media marketing strategy to gain a competitive advantage in the market. On the other hand, several firms like HBO, Yahoo, BBC, and Sony have been hit with cyberattack issues. The increase in the use of mobile applications is also a contributor to cyber-attacks (Islam Mazumder, 2010.). As smartphones' usage increases so are the expansion of the mobile applications industry. Smartphones usage grew from 1.57 billion in 2014 to 2.32 billion in 2017; this number is projected to be around 2.87 billion globally by 2020, with this company like Facebook and WhatsApp are a potential target of cybercriminals. Most of the people who use social media have little information on cyber-crimes and end up avoiding the security features of the applications due to their complexity (Wright Dawson, 2012). Below are several examples of online security problems faced by modern companies. DDoS As the increase in online users increases internet traffic for firms' cybercriminals take advantage of this to send Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) with this, the criminals can cause the failure of the company servers and then gain access to the company system to collect confidential information (Zargar Tipper, 2013). Internet of things The internet popularity has increased the number of gadgets connected to the internet. These gadgets are called internet of things. They pose a security challenge as hackers can gain access to one and use it to collect sensitive information to the other connected systems (Covington, 2013). Smartphone Malware Cybercriminals sometimes attack peoples' phones directly as they contain personal information which can be used to blackmail companies and gain access to sensitive data like the case of Plankton and Drone KungFu (Covington, 2009). Hacktivism According to Kelly (Kelly, 2012), the emergence of Hacktivism which involves hacking organizations systems to protest their political agendas is a risk firm face. The aim is to destroy the firm's reputation hence a dangerous trend. Other harmful cybercrime trends involve Ransomware, Machine Learning, Insider threats, Malware as well as Phishing. Justification More and more firms are entering the internet-based service provision, with social media also seeing individuals uploading their personal information online. The enormous number of people and companies in the online platform need information security to guarantee their confidentiality. The rise of cybercrime is a direct threat to this which makes it a threat to the growth of online businesses the research is, therefore, Vitol as it aims to come up with means which will assist minimize cybercrimes. Literature problems The information composing of the literature review is generated from diverse sources; it's, therefore, hard to identify the relevant information without getting buried and to lose focus on the research scope. Gaps The gap in the research is the actual economic damage caused by cyber-crimes as most of the data regarding that is treated as confidential by confirmed firms. Opportunities The literature review has availed a chance to see the impact of the use of internet on social interaction and business operations. Also, it has highlighted some of the most commonly used paths by cybercriminals Hypothesis Cybercrime is limiting the growth of online business Cybercrimes can be contained by appropriate security policies by firms operating online. Research Questions Primary Highlight Cybersecurity challenges facing modern organizations and internet users? Secondary What's the reason behind the increased usage of internet? Reasons why more firms are implementing online marketing strategies/ What's are some of the techniques cybercriminals employ to commit cybercrimes? Illustrate ways of minimizing cybercrimes Research Design and Methodology The research will include both the qualitative and quantitative design. Qualitative design This design will be employed to gain an insight of some of the underlying opinions, reasons, and motivations concerning the research. This will give an insight into the issues and generate the research hypothesis as well as pave the way for the quantitative analysis. To enhance reliability and validity of the information, the data will be collected in a structured manner mainly from interviewing employees concerned with internet security in organizations. In addition, the research will take into consideration the previous reports of agencies on cybercrime issues. The data will be collected from a randomly selected sample of three companies. Apart from the interviews with the concerned company employees, the data collection will be concentrated on articles and reports availed in the company websites and other platforms used for public communication. The variable of concern will be the prevalence of cyber-crimes as well as financial impacts to the firms. Quantitative research The quantitative design will be applicable in quantifying the issues and generating numerical data which can be analyzed to obtain useful statistics. This way the patterns of the problems will be developed. The research will involve a collection of numerical data online from company websites, reports, and journals. To hence obtain a reliable trend the data collection will be restricted to companies which operate globally and have clients all over the globe. Five companies will be selected at random and the numerical data obtained analyzed using statistical instruments; charts, diagrams, and graphs will then be applied in presenting the data. The analysis that will be done is t-test, descriptive analysis, and variance test. Microsoft Excel will be the primary analytical software applied. Research Limitations One of the biggest challenge that the research faces are the availability of too much information on the online platforms. Since time is always a limited resource, it is not possible to access, vary and use all the information available online hence the report may end up ignoring some vital aspects. Also, the availability of too much information means validity and reliability may not be accurately assessed as some information are not easily vetted. The over-reliance on secondary data may mean the research conclusion may end up being backed by information on whose reporter was biased when presenting. The situation is like data obtained from interviews as they are tough to verify. Finally accessing some of the people whose responses might assist make vital judgments may be difficult as highly skilled IT professionals are busy people with minimal time to allocate to surveys and interviews. Time Schedule Month Research goal Task Projected completion date Responsible individuals January 2017 Illustrate and expound on the need for internet security on individuals and companies using internet-based services. Assess the internet usage trend In progress Project assistant manager January 2017 Book time and location for expected interviews In progress Project assistant manager April 2017 Expand on the extent to which companies have suffered cyber attack View company reports regarding experience with cybercriminals May 2017 Project assistant manager May 2017 Understand the economic consequence of cybercrimes -conduct the research interviews -compile the information obtained from online reports June 2017 Research manager June 2017 Understand the actual and verify the pre-generated hypothesis Data analysis Report writing August 2017 Project manager Conclusion In conclusion, the increasing popularity of the internet has attracted millions of people to the platform. This in return is making social media marketing as one of the best strategies companies apply to edge out their competitors in the market. The use of the internet has made it possible for firms to avail their products online an activity which minimizes intermediaries hence reducing the final cost of the products to the consumers. Despite the numerous advantages brought by the introduction of internet in doing business and social interaction, cyber-crime threats have emerged. The increasing number of people and firms turning to the internet have in turn increased the need to enhance cyber-security policies due to the increase in cyber-crime attacks. Modern companies now must face emerging cybercrime issues like Ransomware, DDoS, mobile malware, insider threat, hacktivism and many others. Inadequate security has seen several firms fall victims of cyber criminals HBO, Yahoo, BBC and Sony being some of the examples. For firms to tackle the issues they must upgrade their security policies and accommodate factors like; data encryption, physical security of the servers, secure passwords and others that might be relevant. Its mandatory for firms to understand the importance of cybersecurity and invest inadequate measures to protect the organizations and its clients in case of an attack (IBM., 2016) References Covington, P., 2009. The growing phenomenon of crime and the internet: A cybercrim execution and analysis model. Computer Law Security Review, 25(6), pp. 528-535. Edelman, G. Geraldin, D., 2015. Efficiencies and regulatory shortcuts: How should we regulate companies like Airbnb and Uber. Stan. Tech. L., Volume 19, p. 293. Holm, H., Flores, W. Ericsson, G., 2013. Cyber security for a smart grid-what about phishing?. In Innovative Smart Grid Technologies Europe (ISGT EUROPE), 2013 4th IEEE/PES (pp. 1-5). IEEE., 3(1),pp.15. Howard, P. Mazaheri, N., 2009.. Telecommunications reform, Internet use and mobile phone adoption in the developing world.. World Development, 37(7), pp. 1159-1169. IBM., 2016. An integrated approach to insider threat protection. 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