SEC 402– Cyber security
Week 2
7th November
Assignment 2: Security Assessment for a Financial Trading Platform
Due Week 2 and worth 75 points
Instructions: You are a cybersecurity consultant conducting a security assessment for a financial trading
platform that facilitates the buying and selling of financial instruments. Write a seven to nine-page paper
addressing the following questions:
1. Develop a secure architecture for the financial trading platform. Discuss strategies for securing
transactions, protecting sensitive financial data, and ensuring the integrity of trades.
2. Assess security challenges associated with high-frequency trading. Recommend measures to
mitigate risks, prevent market manipulation, and ensure fair and secure trading practices.
3. Propose a plan for conducting penetration testing and managing vulnerabilities in the trading platform.
Discuss the importance of regular testing and patch management to prevent exploitation.
4. Evaluate the security of communication channels within the trading platform. Recommend encryption
methods and secure communication protocols to protect sensitive financial information during
transactions.
5. Develop strategies for preventing insider threats within the financial trading platform. Discuss the role
of employee training, access controls, and monitoring in detecting and preventing unauthorized
activities.
Ensure that your papers provide practical recommendations and considerations for the specified
scenarios. Use relevant industry standards, best practices, and case studies to support your analysis and
suggestions.
Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:
Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all
sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your
professor for any additional instructions.
Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s
name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in
the required assignment page length.
The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:
Compare and contrast the methods of disaster recovery and business continuity.
Explain risk management in the context of information security.
Use technology and information resources to research issues in disaster recovery.
Write clearly and concisely about disaster recovery topics using proper writing mechanics and
technical style conventions.
Grading for this assignment will be based on answer quality, logic / organization of the paper, and
language and writing skills, using the following rubric.
Points: 75 Assignment 2: Security Assessment for a Financial Trading Platform
Criteria Unacceptable
Below 60% F
Meets
Minimum
Expectations
60-69% D
Fair
70-79% C
Proficient
80-89% B
Exemplary
90-100% A
1. Explain the basic
primary tasks, ongoing
evaluations, and major
policy and procedural
changes that would be
needed to perform as
the BC lead / manager.
Weight: 20%
Did not submit or
incompletely
explained the
basic primary
tasks, ongoing
evaluations, and
major policy and
procedural
changes that
would be needed
to perform as the
BC lead /
manager.
Insufficiently
explained the
basic primary
tasks, ongoing
evaluations,
and major
policy and
procedural
changes that
would be
needed to
perform as the
BC lead /
manager.
Partially
explained the
basic primary
tasks, ongoing
evaluations,
and major
policy and
procedural
changes that
would be
needed to
perform as the
BC lead /
manager.
Satisfactorily
explained the
basic primary
tasks, ongoing
evaluations,
and major
policy and
procedural
changes that
would be
needed to
perform as the
BC lead /
manager.
Thoroughly
explained the
basic primary
tasks, ongoing
evaluations,
and major
policy and
procedural
changes that
would be
needed to
perform as the
BC lead /
manager.
2. Provide insight on
how to plan the
presentation to garner
management and
