Computer Science Assignment 1

ISEC-635 Info Sec Operations Management Assignment 1 Guidelines

Objectives

Nowadays, security planning and operations management has become a top priority in small, medium and large organizations. This assignment aims to explore senior managers’ strategic approach to security operations. The learning outcomes for this assignment are to provide students the ability to examine the placement of security functions in a system and describe the strengths and weaknesses (CPM1). Another learning outcome is to outline and explain the roles of personnel in planning and managing security, including: board of directors, senior Management, Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), IT management (CIO, IT Director, etc.), functional area managers, Information Security personnel, and end users (CPM4). Students will become familiar and learn to apply the Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-Threats (SWOT) Matrix to security weakness in the functional areas and relate them to the appropriate stakeholder units in the organization. Finally, students will propose a strategic direction to mitigate such weaknesses.

Structure

This security operations management assignment is designed to provide students with hands-on experience solving real-world security challenges. Students will select an organization that they are familiar with to use as the basis for this assignment.

The project will consist of one executive summary and one presentation. The presentation will require the preparation of a 10-minute presentation (using PowerPoint) on a specific company.

Assignment 1 Guidelines

Prepare a 10-minute presentation with an executive summary of your analysis and solution, focusing on the following guidelines:

1. Overview of a small to medium business that you are familiar with (current workplace, family business, etc.)

2. Description of the security functions in the organization (hardware, software, practices, and people)

3. SWOT Matrix 3.1. Express in your own words what is a SWOT Matrix (p. 16). 3.2. Provide a complete SWOT Matrix related to the information security perspective

of the organization and its departments (Hint: Box 1.2 on p. 16 – but note that this SWOT Matrix is more focused on marketing, where yours should be focused on information security operations!).

Strengths 1. Market share is high

Weaknesses 1. Gross profit is tight with price increases

2. Widely regarded as best in class 3. Leader in innovation within its industrial sector

difficult to achieve 2. Foreign competition is growing with fresh marketing approaches 3. Income is too cyclical with no strategy to deal with troughs

Opportunities 1. Can build on growth using e-commerce better 2. May expand into new foreign markets 3. Monetization of assets through partnerships with noncompetitive organizations

Threats 1. Substantial competitors are poised to be entering the market 2. Execution risk with growth plans untested for market expansion 3. Regulatory environment changing that could impinge on profit and operations

4. Outline the strategic roles of the following organizational stakeholders in planning and managing security, as well as mitigating the weaknesses that you identified above, including:

− Board of Directors − Senior Management − Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) − IT Management (CIO, IT Director, etc.) − Functional Area Management − Information Security personnel − End users (employees, customers, etc.)

5. The anticipated top three biggest challenges that correspond to the weaknesses that you identified in SWOT Matrix.

You will need to present your ideas to Dr. Ramim, and classmates via the live session. Your PowerPoint presentation file (about 5 slides) should be submitted to the assignment box via Canvas prior to the presentation. Feedback will be provided following your presentation in class. Also, you will need to provide an executive summary to Dr. Ramim (Word document format) addressing the key guidelines points above. Ensure to include a cover page with your name, the term (Summer 2019), the course name (ISEC-635), and the professor’s name (Dr. Ramim), and a reference page.

**This box has been set to accept multiple files submissions.

Any question about this assignment should be communicated to Dr. Ramim before, during, or after class sessions.