Project Guidelines

Overview

The final project for this course is the creation of an information technology incident report.

Successful management in information technology requires knowledge of the legal and ethical environment. Globalization, increasing commerce between graphical locations brought on by the ability to connect online, and the increasing mix of cultures bring additional complexity to the considerations of law and ethics in cyber security and information technology (IT). The final project for this course will require you to research a recent (within the last five years) incident or event in the field of IT, e-commerce, or cyber security in the context of the legal and ethical standards of that time period. You will identify the issues the organization(s) had, recommend changes for that organization(s), and write a report that highlights your recent analysis, findings, and recommendations.

The project is divided into three milestones, which will be submitted at various points throughout the course to scaffold learning and ensure quality final submissions. These milestones will be submitted in Modules Two, Four, and Seven. The final submission will occur in Module Nine.

In this assignment you will demonstrate your mastery of the following course outcomes:

• Apply cyberlaw principles appropriately to everyday circumstances, business models, and information technology issues
• Assess legal and compliance issues related to information technology for their impact to organizations, society, and culture
• Propose relevant changes to organizations and standards that ensure legal and ethical cyber practice and behavior
• Determine the impact of various legal cases on compliance and regulatory standards within information technology
• Analyze the impact of various cultural attitudes and legal issues related to global communication on information technology

Prompt

You will select a recent or current incident from the public record and analyze the case to identify the issues that led to the incident. What recommendations can you make to ensure the incident will not occur again? What were the results of the incident? And, finally, what were the cultural, societal, or global impacts of this case and the subsequent changes to the legal environment? Please note: Your selection will need to be submitted and approved by the instructor.

Specifically the following critical elements must be addressed:

I. Introduction

a) Apply cyberlaw and security principles to the business, e-commerce, and e-communication industries. What purpose does the application of cyber principles serve for these industries?

b) Summarize the selected case, including the necessary organizational information, industry, problem, and time period of the incident.

II. Case Analysis

a) Analyze the case to determine the ethical issues within the organization that may have led to the incident. What are these issues and why do you credit them for the incident?

b) Determine legal compliance issues within the organization that may have led to the incident or could lead to future incidents. Were there any legal and ethical standards in existence at the time that were not followed by the organization? What were these issues and how did they impact the organization?

c) Determine the societal and cultural impact of these compliance issues. Some things to consider in your assessment include specific targeting of demographic groups, victimization of certain customers, and so on.

III. Incident Impact

a) Determine the impact this incident may have had on the ethical and legal IT regulations of the time. If there were no direct results of this case, what may have been the indirect impact and/or what was the impact of similar cases? For example, what regulatory changes resulted from this or similar cases? What is your reasoning?

b) Determine the connection between the industry standards and the standards in existence for information technology. Specifically, determine if the organization was lacking in either industry-specific or IT-specific alignment with regulations that may have contributed to the incident, and provide support for your conclusions. For example, misalignment with HIPAA laws in healthcare is an industry-specific deviation from standards.

c) Cultural Impact: Analyze the influence this incident may have had on various cultural attitudes toward IT and cyber communication or commerce. In other words, how could this incident impact views of information technology use?

IV. Recommendations

a) Propose relevant changes to the organization that may have prevented the incident. How would these changes have helped to prevent the occurrence?

b) Propose reasonable ethical guidelines that could have helped prevent the incident and that might help the organization prevent future incidents.

c) Propose changes to the standards external to the organization that might have helped prevent the incident. This can include changes to regulations and regulatory and ethical standards that might exist today but did not exist or were not properly delivered at the time of the incident. Be sure to support your conclusions.

V. Global Considerations

a) What international compliance standards (either at the time of the incident or today) would have been relevant to the incident, and how? If your company is not global, imagine that is.

b) Analyze the impact of the incident on global communication and commerce (again, if your organization is not global, imagine otherwise). In other words, what impact did (or would) the incident have on views and use of information technology and communication in global contexts?

c) Global Technology Environment: Based on your research and analysis of this case, determine the global legal and regulatory impacts this case had on the information technology overall. In other words, determine the relationship between this case and the global regulatory standards that are now in place, will be put in place shortly, or should be put in place as a result of this or related incident(s).

VI. Summary: Given your knowledge of cyberlaw principles, ethical needs, and legal compliance standards, summarize how you applied these principles to your analysis of the case. In other words, how did you apply cyberlaw principles to the circumstances, business model, and IT issues that the selected organization faced?

Milestones

Milestone One: Introduction

In Module Two, you will submit the introduction. In this assignment you will identify the cyberlaw principles and explain how each applies to the business, e- commerce, or e-communication industries chosen. Describe the purpose of the application of the principles serve for the industry. You will also need to include the necessary organizational information, industry, problem, and the time period of the incident that occurred. The format of this assignment will be a one- to two-page Word document.

Milestone Two: Case Analysis and Incident Impact

In Module Four, you will submit the Case Analysis and Incident Impacts. In this assignment you will analyze the ethical issues and determine the legal compliance issues within the organization as well as the social and cultural impacts of these compliance issues. You will be expected to address the impact the incident may have had on the ethical and legal IT regulations at the time. The connection between the industry standards and the standards for informational technology should be determined, as well as the influence of the cultural impact to IT and cyber communication or commerce. The format of this assignment will be a three- to five-page Word document.

Milestone Three: Recommendations and Global Considerations

In Module Seven, you will submit the Recommendations and Global Considerations. In this assignment you will suggest relevant changes to the organization itself and changes to the ethical guidelines that could have prevented the incident. Standards external to the organization that may have helped prevent the incident should also be proposed. This assignment will also address international compliance standards and how they would have been relevant to the incident. The impact of the incident on global communication and commerce will be analyzed, as well as the impact on the global technology environment. The format of this assignment will be a three- to five-page Word document.

Final Submission: Information Technology Incident Report and Summary

In Module Nine, you will submit your Information Technology Incident Report along with a summary explaining how you applied the principles to your analysis of the case. It should be a complete, polished artifact containing all of the critical elements of the final product. It should reflect the incorporation of feedback gained throughout the course.