Case

Part I: Network Administration

The case for this module asks you to think in some detail about the job of the systems or network managers and the nature of the tools available to them to carry out their responsibilities. Systems administration is a fairly technical field, requiring rather specialized training; it's much more likely that as an ITM professional, you will be called upon to mediate between the systems people and general management. Under such circumstances, however, it becomes particularly important that you understand what the systems administration role entails and the kind of pressures brought to bear upon such managers. Although they may appear to hold almost godlike power over the information processing resources of the organization, they are nonetheless highly dependent on other parts of the organization to provide data in appropriate ways, and often find themselves blamed for the failures in other parts of the organization to learn from or apply data correctly. It's very difficult to balance all these pressures.

To begin with, let's review the general tasks of network management and monitoring. Here's a fairly good summary of the issues involved:

PacNog6 (2009), Network Management and Monitoring Overview

Now take a look at what one analyst regards as the basic tasks that a database or network manager needs to be able to carry out; it looks fairly intimidating:

McGehee (2010) Brad's Sure DBA Checklist. Simple-Talk. J anuary 20.

The next step in this assignment calls for you to do a little online research of your own. Using Google or some similar search source, locate 2-4 advertised position descriptions for "systems administrator" or "network manager" or "database administrator". These are not likely to be identical job requirements, but there is likely to be a fairly high degree of overlap among the tasks associated with each kind of title. Please review these advertised descriptions in light of both network-management tasks and McGehee's checklist.

Case Assignment Part I

When you've had a chance to read this article, review information from the background readings and research other sources on your own, please prepare a 4- to 5-page paper on the topic:

- Define the job of the systems administrator: task requirements, skills, and training.

Assignment Overview Part II

Part II: Network Security

The general area of network security is obviously of enormous corporate and national importance. And there's no doubt that intrusion detection and prevention is a principal concern. Lately there have been a number of concerted security attacks on major corporations that apparently feature mixed motives on the part of the attackers: some combination of ideological objections to the corporations combined with an appetite for identity theft. The attackers in this case appeared to be shifting collectives of individuals rather than highly organized rings, as is the case with purely criminal enterprises. One of the most publicized of these recent security attacks is that made on Sony Corporation's PlayStation Network. This has featured at least two and possibly three waves of security assault, accompanied by a singularly lackluster response from the Corporation. Here's a basic introduction to the situation; you may wish to do your own research to fill in the details further, since there's no shortage of information online about this problem:

Kuchera, B. (2011) PlayStation Network hacked, data stolen: how badly is Sony hurt? ArsTechnica.

The traditional way to respond to intrusions of this sort is to deal with them as individual actions. This article suggests that what the Corporation needs is simply better firefighting:
Evans, G. (2011) Security Expert: Sony, Microsoft Should Hire Hackers. GamePolitics.com. June 2.

On the other hand, the recently published ISACA "business model for information security" suggests that a more systematic approach ought to be taken, including fundamental changes to the organization's culture, in order to build an environment in which security pervades all aspects of the systems. Please review this outline of the so-called "business model":

ISACA (2009) An Introduction to the Business Model for Information Security.

Case Assignment Part II

When you've read through the case articles noted above and other related material, scanned the websites and any other sources you think relevant, and thought about it carefully, please compose a 4- to 5-page paper on the topic:

- How application of parts of the ISACA business model might help Sony Corp. be prepared for any further hacker attacks.
Assignment Expectations
Your paper should be from 8 to 10 pages (Parts I and II combined). Take a definite stand on the issues, and develop your supporting argument carefully. Using material from the background information and any other sources you can find to support specific points in your argument is highly recommended; try to avoid making assertions for which you can find no support other than your own opinion.
Your paper should be structured as a point/counterpoint argument, in the following manner. You are expected to:
- Begin this paper by stating your position on this question clearly and concisely.
- Citing appropriate sources, present the reasons why you take this position. Be sure to make the most effective case you can.
- Then present the best evidence you can, again citing appropriate sources, against your position -- that is, establish what counterarguments can be made to your original position.
- Finally, review your original position in light of the counterarguments, showing how they are inadequate to rebut your original statement.
By the end of your paper, you should be able to unequivocally re-affirm your original position.
You will be particularly assessed on:
- Precision: Your draw on a range of sources, and to establish your understanding of the historical context of the question. You carried out the exercise as assigned, or carefully explained the limitations that might have prevented your completing some parts (running out of time isn't generally considered an adequate limitation).
- Support for assertions: You use examples, citations (especially to the required readings), and elaboration to support assertions. You provide evidence that you have read the required background materials.
- Clarity: Your answers are clear and show your good understanding of the topic. You see what the module is all about and to structure your paper accordingly.
- Breadth and Depth: The scope covered in your paper is directly related to the questions of the assignment and the learning objectives of the module.
- Critical thinking: The paper incorporates YOUR reactions, examples, and applications of the material to business that illustrate your reflective judgment and good understanding of the concepts. It is important to read the "required readings" posted in the background material plus others you find relevant. Your informed commentary and analysis is vital -- simply repeating what your sources say does not constitute an adequate paper.
- Overall quality: Your paper is well written and the references, where needed, are properly cited and listed (refer to Trident's Student Guide to Writing a High-Quality Academic Paper) if you are uncertain about formats or other issues.

SLP:

Specifically, for the Session Long Project for this Module, you are to review WebMaster-Toolkit . They describe themselves as follows:
"This site came into existence as a collection of webmaster tools developed to help myself and a few other webmasters with our daily webmaster chores. After creating a fair number of online tools, it was decided that we should make the site public, so that other webmasters around the world would have access to them for free. The suite of free tools and resources offered continues to grow to this day, and we aim to offer something useful for the beginner to the advanced webmaster alike."

You are also to review the Mitnick Security Consulting website. Kevin Mitnick was for a number of years one of the most successful bad-guy hackers in the world; at the moment he's presiding over a group of reformed hackers. An interesting group, no doubt!
You should do the following:
- Look over the range of articles and other resources linked there.
- Follow up links that interest you. In general, become familiar with the contents of both sites. Pay special attention on the subject of this module and learn as much as you can.
- Look over the career links. Anything interest you? Any interesting themes there?
SLP Assignment Expectations
Your paper should be 4-6 pages in length covering both answers, and reflect your personal experiences with this issue. The important part of all these project assignments is to carefully assess your own experiences with the topic, and then reflect critically on what you might have learned about yourself and about situations through this assessment process.
The more that you can use the exercise to develop personal implications for your growth as a potential business person as well as a moral individual, the more value you'll get out of the exercise.
The general format valid for such reviews in ALL your SLPs here is:
- a short summary description of the website's structure, purpose, pros and cons
- a comprehensive discussion on what you learn from this website regarding the subject of this module (at least half of your write-up should be devoted to this discussion). You can choose to provide a general review, or focus on one theme of your most interest.
- links that you find helpful to follow up
- why you will or will not find it a useful addition to your professional resources list
- any other things about the site that you find salient and worth noting to others
- bottom-line evaluation of its value to you in this program
Your paper will be evaluated on the following criteria:
- Precision: You carried out the exercise as assigned, or carefully explained the limitations that might have prevented your completing some parts (running out of time isn't generally considered an adequate limitation).
- Clarity: Your answers are clear and show your good understanding of the topic.
- Breadth and Depth: The scope covered in your paper is directly related to the questions of the assignment and the learning objectives of the module.
- Critical thinking: The paper incorporates YOUR reactions, examples, and applications of the material to business that illustrate your reflective judgment and good understanding of the concepts.
- Overall quality: Your paper is well written and the references, where needed, are properly cited and listed (refer to Trident's Student Guide to Writing a High-Quality Academic Paper) if you are uncertain about formats or other issues.