Cyber Security Assignment on Emerging Safety Issues within Industries

Question

Task: The following course learning outcomes are assessed by completing this assessment:

The purpose of this assessment is to enable students to demonstrate a critical awareness of previous research in an IT context within a chosen topic area through a basic understanding of research theory and techniques. It requires clear communication of ideas in a professional manner so that the reader can easily understand the purpose and results of your research. Overall goals of this assignment are to help you to:

• Become more knowledgeable about finding and using varied research sources in your chosen area in IT.
• Further develop your critical thinking skills and back up your points with evidence.
• Become more adept at synthesizing information and developing informed views.
• Discipline yourself to follow a scholarly research format to document in-text sources and a references page (bibliography).
• Compose a well-organized, clear, concise, research proposal to expand your knowledge on a research question in your chosen area. 

Answer

The current research study sheds light on the aspects of cyber security and the associated threats faced by different industries and business entities. The technologies of cyber security become one of the essential parts of modern world, however, the threats and negative consequence of this study affects the progress and acceleration rate. The first chapter provided in this Cyber security assignment highlights the main problem related with this context, based on which the aim, objectives, and the research questions are developed. The primed focus of this study is to explore the dark sides of cyber security technologies and its impacts on the current globalised business world.

The second chapter reflects the previous research findings about the chosen topic, in which the researcher(s) includes the viewpoints of different scholarly writers and researches. As per the findings, it can be stated that from the initial period of globalisation, the digitalisation along with cyber security plays effective roles, as it can maintain the global connections among the people. Apart from this, the organisation members can also incorporate cyber security technologies for continuous growth and development in the current competitive market. However, there are enormous threats, which have distinctive negative impacts on the operational settings, employee morale, and customer satisfaction level, all of which are required to control.

Therefore, in order to understand about the current issues in cyber security, the researcher(s) selects primary and secondary data collection methods, for obtaining authentic, valid, reliable, and applicable information. Total 100 customers of Australian IT sector and 3 managers of the IT companies will be included in the research study. Apart from this, 20 recent journals will be analysed during the secondary data interpretation method. The researcher(s) will follow realism research philosophy, deductive approach, and exploratory design, simple random probability sampling and purposive sampling methods. Additionally, frequency analysis, narrative analysis, and thematic analysis will be done for obtaining accurate data about the chosen research topic.

1. Introduction
1.1 Background of the topic explored in this Cyber security assignment: Over the past several years, rapid changes in the overall operations of human lives are observed as evidence suggest that the entire world started connecting with each other. This can be considered as an impact of the globalisation process. However, only globalisation cannot incorporate the changes in such as quick manner, there are some other supportive occurrences happened worldwide. Digitalisation, along with emerging cyber security technology is one of such supportive process, through which the global people remain connected without facing any troubles or obstacles (The Importance of Cyber Security, 2016). The emerging story of cyber security helps in the progressiveness and the advancement of all the societies and communities present in the world. This affects not only the individual lives, but also the professional lives of human, as without cyber security, modern organisations could not deal with their current complicated operations.

1.2 Problem Statement
The accelerated growth the cyber security systems helps in connecting all the human and the companies operating in the whole world, without considering their geographic distance. According to the statement of Benson, McAlaney & Frumkin (2019), when a business organisation incorporate cyber security system inside their office and connects all their systems and networks, then all the other systems, especially the programs operated by their customers and significant stakeholders, become connected with the global network connection. However, just like the opposite side of the coin, there are also some vulnerabilities or risk factors associated with this emerging trend of cyber security, due to which all the computer or networking system connected with one another might reach to a considerable risk, which is the main concern regarding this topic.

1.3 Aim and objectives
The aim of the research will be to understand the types, prevalence, and consequence of cyber security and the common threats facing by different globalised industries. The proposed objectives of this research will be as follows-

• To explore the significance behind the emerging trends of cyber security
• To understand the types of cyber security and there frequency occurrence
• To analyse the threats caused by this application
• To recommend some strategies by which the cyber attacks can be controlled

1.4 Research questions
Based on the objectives of the research, the research questions will be as follows-

• What is the significance behind the trends of cyber security?
• How many types of cyber security issues might influence the frequency outcomes?
• Which types of threats are associated with the application of cyber security technologies?
• What will be the strategic recommendations for dealing or mitigating the issues of Cyber attack or vulnerability?

1.6 Significance of the study
From the above discussion, it can be assumed that the overall aspects of cyber security play contributory roles in managing the accelerated services f the modern world. Without implementing proficient cyber-security mechanisms, people could not maintain the constant connections with the external world, which is the main element behind the continuous changing process. Therefore, as per the statement of Pandey & Misra (2016), a significance of the study illustrated in this Cyber security assignment would be its applicability in different personal and professional fields. Since the study would identify the types of cyber security and the associated negative threats, therefore, people would try to eliminate or provide more concentration on those particular areas. On the other hand, the process of cyber hacking and other attack procedures covered in this assignment might help people in understanding from which direction the threats may arise. Therefore, the significance of the study is higher compared to the other studies.

1.7 Research Outline for this Cyber security assignment

Figure 1: Research Outline
(Source: Created by learner)

2. Literature Review
2.1 Significance of Cyber security in the modern world
It is evidential that along with the continuous passing time, the application of cyber security is also continuously increasing, as per the requirements of the modern population. As reported by Abomhara (2015), due to the impact of globalisation, people living in this global world try to live a fast and forward lifestyle, for being a part of the increasing competitive environment. Not only the individual people but also the business organisations try to acquire the distinctive phases of the progressive computerisation system, which can be considered as one of the most significant and potential part of the current business world.

The concept of Cyber security explored in this cyber security assignment can be defined as a systematic process, through all the computer systems and network devices are subjected to enhanced protection, especially from the cyber attack. Apart from this, cyber security is also necessary for reducing the possibility of physical damage, internal damage, and many other problematic situations. Roberts & Roberts (2018) mentioned that there are number of reasons reflecting the significance of understanding the concept of cyber security, for example, digital transformation, risk of cyber crimes, e-government, crypto-currency, internet of things, online theft of identity, and so on. Advanced cyber securities are integrated in the following channels, such as-

• Communication systems, like texting, chatting via internet, emails, and phone calls
• Government database, including tax records, different licenses, and Social Security Numbers
• Financial systems, including pay-check, loans, and other economic services
• Medical systems, such as keeping medical records, and maintaining clinical database
• Education systems, including publication of final results, research-based information, and so on
• Transportation system, including navigation system traffic control and car engines (Zhou et al. 2018)

2.2 Theories regarding Cyber security and cyber attacks

Since the concept of cyber security has a broader range of involvement with the modern world, therefore, a number of principles, theories, and concepts are also associated with this concept. According to the statement of Skopik, Settanni & Fiedler (2016), there are total 3 principles aligned with the subjective area, which are confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The three principles are described in the following table-

Table 1: Principles of cyber security
(Source: Created by learner)

Apart from the above-mentioned principles stated in this Cyber security assignment, a renowned theory, named Game Theory can be applied for understanding the causal relationship among cyber security and security breaches. According to the statement of Do et al. (2017), since internet is increasingly become a daunting place for human due to the presence of excessive cyber attack as well as identity theft, therefore, the theory can effectively answer about the process of defending followed by the defenders against the hackers or attackers, or vice-versa. The theory is actually dependent on the strategic interactions occurred during the two-player game, in which the strategies of the defenders remain completely dependent on the actions taken by the attackers, or vice-versa. Do et al. (2017) commented that game theoretical approach is generally applied for performing tactical analysis, in order to investigate about the types of attack from a single to the multiple nodes. As per the theory, some approaches for overcoming the traditional aspects are proven mathematics, reliable defence, timely action, and distributed solutions.

2.3 Types of threats and associated statistics regarding Cyber security in industrial operations
Along with the increasing potentiality of the cyber security, it is reported about the increasing percentage of threats also. According to the government report of Australia, it is evident that around $1.9 million average cost is invested in each year for overcoming the issues related with the cyber crime and cyber attack. Apart from this, almost 550,000 organizations currently operating in Australia, both larger and SMEs become the victims of the cyber threats. Evidence also suggests that the threats of cyber-security might corrupt the business operations for more than 25 hours or long (Nurse, Creese & De Roure, 2017).

There are different types of cyber threats, some of them are described in this cyber security assignment. They are:

• Phishing Scams- This is an activity performed by the scammers, for collecting all types of personal information, such as bank account details, credit card or debit card numbers, and user ID-password of different personal systems. They often send fraud mails and text messages, or even incorporate some phishing links into the social media profiles.
• Malware and Virus Dissemination- This is a shortened term used for representing the impacts of Malicious Software, which can effectively cause internal damages of the networking system and the operating devices. Different types of malwares, such as Spyware, Trojan can enter into the systems, and hack all the information included in the system. Hughes et al. (2017) mentioned that virus dissemination is a process, through which the malware or virus can spread in the overall system and cause unsolvable damage.
• Social media hacking- Hackers often target the social media platforms used by different people, incorporate a malicious link on the page, and collect all details about the user whenever the user clicks on the link. Apart from this, unwanted contents can also spread on the page of social media, which can cause physical and mental distress to them. Brown, Gommers & Serrano (2015) reported another negative occurrence is development of duplicate account and creating negative reputation, especially by trolling.
• Denial-of-services and Man-in-the-middle attack- Organisations often face these two issues, which are adverse for their operational process. During the first one, hackers often corrupt an official webpage of a company, as the company authorities could not access their personal websites, which leads to inaccessibility. Bellekens et al. (2016) mentioned the other process could mask the hackers, especially while two business entities communicate with each other via internet, then some malicious actors take entry into their conversation process and actively collect all the confidential information.

Apart from the above, several other types of threats might occur, such as Electronic Money Laundering, identity theft, email bombing, investment and sales fraud, and so on. All of the activities might affect the operational systems of different organisations, along with affecting the reputation of the companies. For example, identity theft or data loss might affect the internal and external members, including customers, as they become the sole victims of such fraudulent activities (Ahmed et al. 2017). Apart from this, website hacking or other process of cyber threats might corrupt the financial account details of the employees and employers, due to which the companies often face severe economic downturn in their business.

3. Methodology
In order to obtain suitable and adequate types of information for completing the research and answering the research question, it is necessary to adopt some appropriate research strategies and well-established research frameworks, for understanding the actual situations regarding the emerging issues in cyber security, especially in the business world.

3.1 Research Strategies
In the research strategies provided in this Cyber security assignment, the main three research elements remain included, which are research philosophy, research approach, and research design. Based on the chosen topic of this dissertation, the best suitable research philosophy will be realism, as this can be considered the best applicable research element for interpreting such real consequences of the world. According to the statement of Brannen (2017), realism philosophy is actually the combined output of the positivism and interpretivism philosophy, through which the researcher(s) can explore the real phenomenon of cyber attack on the world and its associated impacts on professional lives of human.

Through considering the requirements of current research study, the researcher(s) will choose the deductive approach, which is appropriate for the topics having pre-existing theoretical concepts. The concept of cyber-security does not need any development of novice theories through the inductive approaches, rather than it requires interpretation through using deductive top-to-bottom approaches. Additional to that, the research study will incorporate the exploratory research design, as according to the statement of Mertens (2014), this is the most adaptable and flexible research design, through which the changes can be made easily.

3.2 Explain Sampling technique and Data collection method used in this Cyber security assignment?

Since the research study includes a broad field research topic, therefore, it is necessary to arrange some broad-field data collection methods suitable with the topic (Eriksson and Kovalainen, 2015). Therefore, the researcher(s) will choose mixed types of data collection method, including both primary and secondary. In case of primary data collection technique, the researcher(s) will choose 3 IT sector managers for the qualitative interview and 100 employees working in current Australian IT industry for the quantitative survey. The data collection tools will be open-ended and close-ended questionnaires. Apart from this, the researcher(s) will also choose secondary data collection method, in which total 20 journals will be selected.

For choosing the 3 qualitative interview managers, the researcher(s) will select the non-random purposive sampling technique, for choosing the sample participants based on some specific criteria. On the other hand, for the 100 quantitative survey employees, the simple random probability sampling technique will be chosen, as this will provide an equal opportunity to the every participant of being selected. In case of secondary research method, the researcher(s) will also follow the purposive sampling technique, as the selection of journals will be performed according to the some inclusion and exclusion criteria.

3.3 Data analysis method
In this Cyber security assignment research, since mixed type of methodology will be followed, therefore, any single data analysis method will not be appropriate for the study. According to the statement of Flick (2015), there are distinctive types of analysis method for the primary and secondary data. Therefore, in order to interpret the primary data, the researcher(s) will choose narrative analysis for the qualitative interview process and frequency analysis for the quantitative survey process. On the other hand, the secondary data will be interpreted through the thematic analysis process.

3.4 Limitations
However, like any other broad field research project, this research study will also face some limitations. One of the main limitations will be the limited budget. Since this will include two types of data collection method, therefore, the monetary coercion might be an obstacle for the researcher(s). Apart from this, the researcher(s) will also face time limitation, as conduction of mixed data collection method will require sufficient time, which might not be present due to the limited duration of academic course.

4. Discussion and implications of research
4.1 Ethical considerations
This Cyber security assignment research will include both the primary and secondary research methods; therefore, the researcher(s) will require maintaining both types of ethics while doing the study. For example, in case of the primary research method, the researcher(s) will provide informed consents to every participant for explaining the main purpose of this research. Apart from this, the researcher(s) will also ensure that participants can leave the interview or survey whenever they want, and there would not be any forceful conduction of activities. On the other hand, the data collected from the participants would be maintained under the Data Protection Act 1998. In case of the secondary data collection method, the researcher(s) would maintain all the inclusion and exclusion criteria while selecting the journals, such as presence of peer-reviewed journals, full articles, English language, and availability of recent updated information.

4.2 Possible outcomes
Although there are various previous researches done on the topic of computer networking and cyber security, however, the phases, concepts, and internal features of the cyber threats are continuously changing. All the cyber attackers create new and innovative ideas for developing problems through the internet or networking systems. Apart from this, the types, process, and pathways of attacks are also changing, therefore, it often becomes difficult for the organisations to defend the attacks and protect their computer systems. Based on this reason, it can be stated that this research will find out the new and innovative ways of cyber hacking currently followed by the hackers and spammers. For example, the Denial-of-service and Man-in-the-middle attack are two most recent types of cyber issue faced by the organisations, which are required to be controlled. Therefore, this Cyber security assignment research will shed light on such types of problems through collecting evidence from the study participants and other resources. On the other hand, the future researchers can find discussion about the possible solutions, as per the emerging issues, which might explore a new world of the computer networking system. Cyber security assignments are being prepared by our information technology assignment help experts from top universities which let us to provide you a reliable assignment help online service.

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