For BRAVO BRAINS ONLY

Due Sunday by 5pm Eastern Time 10/23

Case Study 1: Stuxnet and U.S. Incident Response

Read the article titled “When Stuxnet Hit the Homeland: Government Response to the Rescue,” from ABC News, located at http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/06/when-stuxnet-hit-the-homeland-government-response-to-the-rescue/ and consider this threat in terms of incident response and recovery procedures.

Write a three to four (4-5) page paper in which you:

1 Explain the role of US-CERT in protecting the nation’s industrial systems and analyze its efforts in relation to preparedness and incident and recovery management. 

2 Discuss the efforts of ICS-CERT specifically to the Stuxnet threat and examine its incident response efforts to mitigate this risk against U.S. industrial systems.

3 With the sophistication of the primary sites of industrial system implementations, determine whether or not alternate sites (e.g., hot site) are feasible for organizations that utilize ICS technologies. Provide a rationale.

4 Explain the high-level planning needed for an industrial systems organization that utilizes ICS technologies to prepare for attacks from cyber threats such as Stuxnet. 

5 Use at least four (4) quality resources in this assignment. Note: Wikipedia and similar Websites do not qualify as quality resources. 

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:

· Summarize the various types of disasters, response and recovery methods.

· Describe detection and decision-making capabilities in incident response.

· 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.

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Due Thursday by 5pm Eastern Time 10/27

Assignment 2: Incident Response (IR) Revamp

Imagine you have just taken over the manager position for your organization’s incident response team, after coming from another division in the company. Your first realization is that proper procedures, best practices, and sound technologies are not being utilized. You decide to revamp the team’s efforts.

Write a two to three (3-4) page paper in which you:

1 Explicate the main efforts that would be included in the incident response efforts, including but not limited to personnel and team structure, tools and utilities, and proper procedures.

2 Discuss in detail the role that an IDS / IPS would play in the IR efforts, and explain how these systems can assist in the event notification, determination, and escalation processes.

3 Explain how the NIST SP800-61, Rev. 1 could assist the personnel in classifying incidents so each is identified appropriately and the proper incident-handling procedures are taken.

4 Explain how the use of log management systems (e.g., Splunk) could be a legitimate and useful component of the IR efforts, and describe the potential issues that could arise if not utilized.5.Use at least three (3) quality resources in this assignment. Note: Wikipedia and similar Websites do not qualify as quality resources. 

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:

· Summarize the various types of disasters, response and recovery methods.

· Describe detection and decision-making capabilities in incident response. 

· 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.

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Due Thursday by 5pm Eastern Time 10/27

Assignment 2: External and Internal Environments 

Choose an industry you have not yet written about in this course, and one publicly traded corporation within that industry. Research the company on its own Website, the public filings on the Securities and Exchange Commission EDGAR database ( http://www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml ), in the University's online databases, and any other sources you can find. The annual report will often provide insights that can help address some of these questions.

Write an eight to ten (9-10) page paper in which you:

1 Choose the two (2) segments of the general environment that would rank highest in their influence on the corporation you chose. Assess how these segments affect the corporation you chose and the industry in which it operates.

2 Considering the five (5) forces of competition, choose the two (2) that you estimate are the most significant for the corporation you chose. Evaluate how well the company has addressed these two (2) forces in the recent past.

3 With the same two (2) forces in mind, predict what the company might do to improve its ability to address these forces in the near future.

4 Assess the external threats affecting this corporation and the opportunities available to the corporation. Give your opinions on how the corporation should deal with the most serious threat and the greatest opportunity. Justify your answer.

5 Give your opinion on the corporation's greatest strengths and most significant weaknesses.  Choose the strategy or tactic the corporation should select to take maximum advantage of its strengths, and the strategy or tactic the corporation should select to fix its most significant weakness. Justify your choices.

6 Determine the company’s resources, capabilities, and core competencies.

7 Analyze the company’s value chain to determine where they can create value using the resources, capabilities, and core competencies discussed above.

8 Use at least three (3) quality references. Note: Wikipedia and other Websites do not quality as academic resources.

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; 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 page length.

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

· Identify how the six segments of the general environment affect an industry and its firms.

· Identify the five forces of competition.

· Analyze the external environment for opportunities and threats that impact the firm.

· Analyze the internal environment of a company for strengths and weaknesses that impact the firm’s competitiveness.

· Use technology and information resources to research issues in business administration.

Write clearly and concisely about business administration using proper writing mechanics.