Assignment: Worms and Viruses and Trojans

This assignment consists of two parts: a written paper and a PowerPoint presentation. YOU MUST SUBMIT BOTH PARTS AS SEPARATE FILES FOR THE COMPLETION OF THIS ASSIGNMENT. Additionally, you may create and / or assume all necessary assumptions needed for the completion of this assignment.

Imagine you work as an information security specialist for a large financial company and your CISO has asked you to prepare education materials for employees regarding the threats of malicious software.

Part 1: Written Paper

Write a 4-5 page paper in which you:

1. Identify the common targets of malware. Explain why these targets are so attractive to hackers and what they benefit from each.

2. Determine the best practices that should be implemented by the security department to help reduce the risks of malware introductions to the network. Propose what users and systems administrators should do when a potential infection has been suspected.

3. Compare and contrast viruses, worms, and Trojans, and indicate which of these you consider to be the greatest danger to computer users and / or greatest challenge for security personnel to protect against.

4. Use the proliferation of scareware as an example to theorize what you believe the next big challenge in malware protection could be, and determine whether or not you believe the end user population is prepared.

5. Use at least three 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.

Part 2: PowerPoint Presentation

Use Microsoft PowerPoint or an open source alternative, such as OpenOffice, to:

Create a five to ten slide PowerPoint presentation in which you:

1. Summarize the concepts from your written paper in Part 1 of this assignment for the employees regarding the threats of malicious software.

2. Use a professional technically written style to graphically convey the information.

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

• Analyze system vulnerabilities exploited by hackers.
• Design plans that remove Trojans, backdoors, and malware from infected systems.
• Use technology and information resources to research issues in cybercrime techniques and response.
• Write clearly and concisely about topics related to cybercrime techniques and response using proper writing mechanics and technical style conventions.