Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy for your financial Assignment

Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy for your financial organisation for the 21st Century - Assignment Example suggests that corporations have a duty to society to act in ways that benefit everyone and promotes social justice—to try to neuter the capitalist impulses that allow companies to be competitive and make profits. Nevertheless, many companies have done it to try to burnish their reputations in crowded marketplaces. The truth is that there are many ways to go about instilling this kind of thinking within the company. Part of it can be external, with us investing in causes that we think are appropriate. Another way to do it is through values and codes of ethics. Some say that spending money on CSR is a waste and that we should focus on improving profitability and returning money to our shareholders. That idea may be short-sighted. As one leading researcher recently wrote: Opinion and research has been divided regarding the relationship between CSR and financial performance. On the one had, conventional wisdom would assume that CSR has been considered as a zero-sum tradeoff with profitability: more money spent on CSR means less spent on increasing market share, or re-investment. Conversely, academic thought has also suggested that those companies, who appear to be more responsible in the areas of environment and societal behavior, would more attractive for investors, and therefore perform better financially (Cavett-Goodwin 2007). All of these are important considerations as we look at the pluses and minuses of this possible strategy in the next section. We must be mindful that CSR is not zero-sum, but that everyone can benefit from using it. It can do a lot of good for a great many people. A question that has troubled many people since the dawn of time is how should a person lead a good, ethical life? Furthermore, how should a business behave in an ethical manner? There are as many theories as there are grains of sand on the beach, but a few ideas over the years have been more popular than others. Some people are born into religions where these questions are

My Life Learning Experience with R.S.V Essay Example for Free

My Life Learning Experience with R.S.V Essay R. S. V My Life Learning Experience with R. S. V Name Course Title Teacher Date Abstract Many individuals have experienced problems with their hospitals or health care facilities. An important concept that I learned from facing this family crisis that will be examined in this paper is that, when a family member becomes seriously ill, they need quality medical care. Sometimes, when a persons life is at stake, the further a person lives from medical facilities which can offer quality care can be a grave factor. R. S. V 1 R. S. V in Infants This paper will examine several lessons and concepts which I learned from personal life-learning experiences. Three examples that will be addressed in this paper will examine a different aspect of a certain life-learning experience. In researching and analyzing each aspect of a life-learning experience, this paper will examine the four elements of Kolbs Model of Experimental Learning. The first aspect of the lessons I learned after enduring a family crisis which this paper will explore includes how I learned about an illness that frequently affects infants called Respiratory Syncytial Virus. Respiratory Syncytial Virus, or RSV, is a respiratory virus which has many of the same symptoms as the common cold and is usually contracted by children during winter months. After my newborn son, Carter Forrest Barnhart began displaying symptoms of a common cold, my husband and I took Carter to his local pediatrician. Unfortunately, the pediatrician improperly diagnosed the virus as a simple common cold and sent Carter, my husband and I back home. However, after we returned home, his symptoms did not improve. Instead, he began coughing profusely and did not want to eat. I became greatly concerned about our sons health. Within a few days, Carter had lost weight and become weak. Then his breathing appeared to be abnormal, and my husband and I began to suspect that something else was wrong with Carter. R. S. V 2 By April 7th, 2002, Carters breathing problems got considerably worse, and my husband and I thought that he could possibly suffocate. So, in a desperate attempt to help Carters health, we brought our son to the nearest hospital. He was then hospital, arrangements needed to be made to send him to Charleston Area Medical Center. Carter later arrived safely at the Women and Childrens Hospital, a division of the Charleston Area Medical Center in Charleston, West Virginia. He was then placed in the hospitals Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, where he remained for five days. Looking back, I now realize the high importance of residing in communities which have high quality health care facilities. I learned that the first doctor who diagnosed my son did not diagnose Carter properly by failing to recognize that what looked like the common cold was actually Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV). The pediatricians error could have cost my son his life. After Carter was taken to the emergency room at our local hospital, I learned that, when someones life is at stake, the distance from a medical facility which can provide quality care is sometimes a life and death matter. Thus, one of the lessons that I learned by this life-learning experience is that it is important for all individuals to have quick access to a state of the art hospital or medical facility. A medical facility must be able to provide the excellent care that a seriously ill R. S. V 3 ndividual needs. In this example, a baby needed to be treated by a special infant care unit, which our local hospitals did not have. Therefore, the baby did not have ready access to the kind of medical facility that he needed. The proper medical facility can mean the difference of life or death, thus, I now understand that the quality of the medical facilities, and the services received from those facilities provided, is one of the important issues facing people today. Learning about the importance of living near a high quality health care facility helped me become amiliar with the idea that a person should be fully educated about the health services in his or her community before something critical occurs. I regretted the fact that we were not more prepared to deal with this crisis. Thus, I have since learned that I need to research the qualifications of any professional my child will be receiving treatment from. In the future, I will research hospitals or schools before enrolling my child in them. I can also apply the concept that quality care is an important aspect of a persons life to other situations as well. For example, I will have o make sure that my child has a qualified pediatrician and dentist to take care of his health needs in the future. I will also have to ensure that my child gets his vaccinations. Moreover, I learned that there is no substitute for being prepared for an emergency situation. I plan on researching the response time of our police and fire departments and plan to learn about the efficiency of our ambulance services. Another part of the lessons I learned while confronting this family crisis is how I learned that high quality heath care is best provided by highly qualified doctors. I lso learned that an unqualified doctor may easily misdiagnose a patients symptoms. The discussion below will show how I have learned to ask questions before selecting a pediatrician. My son was initially treated by a pediatrician who misdiagnosed the babys medical symptoms and declared that our infant was we were told to take our child home and give him some cold medicine. This was our childs only treatment, and the medicine did not work. Carters symptoms did not improve after a reasonable period of time. Thus, my husband and I began to suspect that something else could be wrong. Then, when our baby turned pasty in color, started to cry inconsolably, refused to eat or drink anything, lost weight, and then hardly cried or moved in his crib, my husband and I became more concerned. We later learned that Carter had RSV and double pneumonia. Since then, I have spoken to many doctors about rural medicine. One of the doctors I spoke to that works at our local hospital explained in a recent personal interview which I conducted with him that many people do not ask enough questions of their doctors after they have been told the results of a diagnosis. He advised that potential atients should ask about all terms that describe the problem and that the doctor should fully explain the R. S. V 5 condition to the patient. More importantly, when the patient is a baby, the infants parents need to understand the complete diagnosis of their childs condition The doctor also said that a great deal of rural patients do not know how to properly ask their doctors specific questions related to the diagnosis. Therefore, rural doctors need to take more time to explain things to their patients, especially in cases where doctors are not absolutely sure of the diagnosis. I was also told that some patients have no reason to be told when something is misdiagnosed as nothing more than the common cold, especially when a childs doctor confidently tells an infants parents that the symptoms should improve when the baby took the cold medicine. The lesson is that parents must be very careful when choosing a pediatrician. I learned that a good pediatrician knows how to check a baby for a variety of diseases. In the case of my son, the first pediatrician failed to properly diagnose the baby because he was, at the very least, was not familiar with the symptoms of RSV. Thus, I learned that receiving treatment from a qualified pediatrician is an essential part of a childs health care. I also realized, in other areas of my life, I need to be certain that I am qualified to perform any Job that I might later want to undertake. So it is imperative that I take my education as serious as possible so that I will later be prepared to succeed in my chosen career. R. S. V6 Another important concept that I learned through my life-learning experience is that Just like other people, doctors make errors too. Unfortunately, a doctors mistake can cause the loss of ones life. Any professional should avoid making unnecessary mistakes at all times. Therefore, I would like to avoid making mistakes which would be considered negligence in my chosen career. Thus, I now believe that I need as much training in the field of health care management as possible, because that is the field which I intend to begin my professional career once I have received my Bachelors Degree. I also now would like to become actively involved in professional organizations and associations in which school friends and successful will help me exchange information with other health care management professionals hich will hopefully help me keep atop of current developments in my field. The third aspect of the lessons I learned which this paper will explore is that many rural health care facilities in America do not have up to date equipment. I also learned that, for the past several years, many local family health care facilities have suffered from recent cutbacks in federal grant money. This paper will now discuss my findings about the importance of selecting a health care facility which has up to date equipment and employees that keep on top of current developments in the medical ield. R. S. V7 Not only were the doctors more knowledgeable at the Women and Childrens Hospital in Charleston, but the doctors at the hospital in Charleston also had more current equipment and also performed their duties much more quickly and efficiently than the doctors at the local hospital. I learned that, when the life of a loved one is at stake, a hospital with modern equipment and trained staff can mean the difference between life and death. I also now believe that parents should visit the local hospitals before their first child is ever born to make sure those hospitals re not understaffed, dirty, or not funded properly. While larger hospitals may charge more money for visits, the money paid for a proper diagnosis at a quality facility is far less than the money one might pay if an illness is misdiagnosed. In addition, local medical care facilities need to provide quality, up to date services to their patients. In this situation, Carter needed to be treated in a special care unit in which patients are attached to electronic monitors which track vital functions as well as to other equipment that support breathing (Roberts, 1993, p. 170). Unfortunately, only larger acilities usually have modern pediatric intensive care units, and large hospitals are not all cities. I have learned that a high quality health care facility should have up to date equipment. Modern equipment is essential to provide patients with the best possible R. S. V8 health care. However, a lot of rural hospitals cannot afford this. The issue of a facility which does not have modern equipment is a very important one, and the concept applies to other situations which I may have to deal with later on. For instance, I will want to make sure that, any school my child is enrolled in should have adequate acilities. I will want to ensure that the school has smoke detectors in every classroom and that the fire extinguishers are in proper working order. This paper analyzed the various lessons and concepts that I learned from some life-learning experiences. Each of the papers three parts explored a different aspect of my experiences. This paper used the four elements of Kolbs Model of Experimental Learning to detail how I used the lessons during a family crisis. R. S. V9 References Mesa, CA: ICN Pharmaceuticals. Roberts, M. J. (1993). Your Money or Your Life: The Health Care Crisis Explained. New York: Doubleday.

Security information and event management

Security information and event management Introduction: Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) automates incident identification and resolution based on built in business rules to help improve compliance and alert staff to critical intrusions. IT audits, standards and regulatory requirements have now become an important part of most enterprises day-to-day responsibilities. As part of that burden, organizations are spending significant time and energy scrutinizing their security and event logs to track which systems have been accessed, by whom, what activity took place and whether it was appropriate. Organizations are increasingly looking towards data-driven automation to help ease the burden. As a result, the SIEM has taken form and has provided focused solutions to the problem. The security information and event management market is driven by an extremely increasing need for customers to meet compliance requirements as well as continued need for real-time awareness of external and internal threats. Customers need to analyze sec urity event data in real time (for threat management) and to analyze and report on log data and primarily this has made security information and event management market more demanding. The market remains fragmented, with no dominant vendor. This report entitled Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) Solutions gives a clear view of the SIEM solutions and whether they can help to improve intrusion detection and response. Following this introduction is the background section which deeply analyzes the evolution of the SIEM, its architecture, its relationship with the log management and the need for SIEM products. In the analysis section, I have analyzed the SIEM functions in detail along with real world examples. Finally the conclusion section summarizes the paper. Background: What is SIEM? Security Information and Event Management solutions are a combination of two different products namely, SIM (security information management) and SEM (security event management). SIEM technology provides real-time analysis of security alerts generated by network hardware and applications. The objective of SIEM is to help companies respond to attacks faster and to organize mountains of log data. SIEM solutions come as software, appliances or managed services. Increasingly, SIEM solutions are being used to log security data and generate reports for compliance purposes. Though Security Information and Event Management and log management tools have been complementary for years, the technologies are expected to merge. Evolution of SIEM: SIEM emerged as companies found themselves spending a lot of money on intrusion detection/prevention systems (IDS/IPS). These systems were helpful in detecting external attacks, but because of the reliance on signature-based engines, a large number of false positives were generated. The first-generation SIEM technology was designed to reduce this signal-to-noise ratio and helped to capture the most critical external threats. Using rule-based correlation, SIEM helped IT detect real attacks by focusing on a subset of firewall and IDS/IPS events that were in violation of policy. Traditionally, SIEM solutions have been expensive and time-intensive to maintain and tweak, but they solve the big headache of sorting through excessive false alerts and they effectively protect companies from external threats. While that was a step in the right direction, the world got more complicated when new regulations such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard follo wed much stricter internal IT controls and assessment. To satisfy these requirements, organizations are required to collect, analyze, report on and archive all logs to monitor activities inside their IT infrastructures. The idea is not only to detect external threats, but also to provide periodic reports of user activities and create forensics reports surrounding a given incident. Though SIEM technologies collect logs, they process only a subset of data related to security breaches. They werent designed to handle the sheer volume of log data generated from all IT components, such as applications, switches, routers, databases, firewalls, operating systems, IDS/IPS and Web proxies. With an idea to monitor user activities rather than external threats, log management entered the market as a technology with architecture to handle much larger volumes of data and with the ability to extend to meet the demands of the largest enterprises. Companies implement log management and SIEM solutions to satisfy different business requirements, and they have also find out that the two technologies work well together. Log management tools are designed to collect report and archive a large volume and breadth of log data , whereas SIEM solutions are designed to correlate a subset of log data to point out the most critical security events. On looking at an enterprise IT arsenal, it is likely to see both log management and SIEM. Log management tools often assume the role of a log data warehouse that filters and forwards the necessary log data to SIEM solutions for correlation. This combination helps in optimizing the return on investment while also reducing the cost for implementing SIEM. In these tough economic times it is likely to see IT trying to stretch its logging technologies to solve even more problems. It will expect its log management and SIEM technologies to work closer together and reduce overlapping functionalities. Relation between SIEM and log management: Like many things in the IT industry, theres a lot of market positioning and buzz coming around regarding how the original term of SIM (Security Information Management), the subsequent marketing term SEM (Security Event Management), the newer combined term of SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) relate to the long standing process of log management. The basics of log management are not new. Operating systems, devices and applications all generate logs of some sort that contain system-specific events and notifications. The information in logs may vary in overall usefulness, but before one can derive much value out of them, they first need to be enabled, then transported and eventually stored. Therefore the way that one does gather this data from an often distributed range of systems and get it into a centralized (or at least semi-centralized) location is the first challenge of log management that counts. There are varying techniques to accomplish centralization, ranging from standardizing on the syslog mechanism and then deploying centralized syslog servers, to using commercial products to address the log data acquisition, transport and storage issues. Some of the other issues in log management include working around network bottlenecks, establishing reliable event transport (such as syslog over UDP), setting requirements around encryption, and managing the raw data storage issues. So the first steps in this process are figuring out what type of log and event information is in need to gather, how to transport it, and where to store it. But that leads to another major consideration about what should one person want to do with all those data. It is at this point where the basic log management ends and the higher-level functions associated with SIEM begins. SIEM products typically provide many of the features that remain essential for log management but add event-reduction, alerting and real-time analysis capabilities. They provide the layer of technology that allows one to say with confidence that not only are logs being gathered but they are also being reviewed. SIEM also allows for the importation of data that isnt necessarily even t-driven (such as vulnerability scanning reports) and it is known as the Information portion of SIEM. SIEM architecture: Long term log management and forensic queries need a database built for capacity, with file management and compression tools. Short term threat analysis and correlation need real time data, CPU and RAM. The solution for this is as follows: >Split the feeds to two concurrent engines. >Optimize one for real time and storage up to 30 days of data. (100-300GB) >Optimize the second for log compression, retention, and query functions. (1TB+) The block diagram showing the architecture of the SIEM is as follows: [Source: Reference 2] A collector is a process that gathers data. Collectors are produced in many shapes and sizes from agents that run on the monitored device, to centralized logging devices with pre-processors to split stream the data. These can be simple REGEX file parsing applications, or complex agents for OPSEC, LEA, for .Net/WMI, SDEE/RDEP, or ODBC/SQL queries. Not all security devices are kind enough to forward data, and multiple input methods, including active pull capabilities, are very essential. Also, since SYSLOG data is not encrypted, it may need a collector to provide encrypted transport. A threat analysis engine will need to run in real time, continuously processing and correlating events of interest passed to it by the collector, and reporting to a console or presentation layer application about the threats found. Typically reporting events that has happened for 30 days are sufficient for operational considerations. A log manager will need to store a great deal of data, and may take either raw logs or filtered events of interest, and need to compress store and index the data for long term forensic analysis and compliance reporting. Capacity for 18 months or more of data is likely to be required. Year end closing of books and the arrival of the auditors often necessitate the need for 12 months of historic data plus padding of several months while books are finalized and an audit to be completed. At the presentation layer a console will present the events to the security staff and managers. This is the primary interface to the system for day to day operations, and should efficiently prioritize and present the events with a full history and correlation rationale. SIEM functions: With some subtle differences, there are four major functions of SIEM solutions. They are as follows: 1. Log Consolidation centralized logging to a server 2. Threat Correlation the artificial intelligence used to sort through multiple logs and log entries to identify attackers 3. Incident Management workflow What happens once a threat is identified? (link from identification to containment and eradication). Notification email, pagers, informs to enterprise managers (MOM, HP Openview) Trouble Ticket Creation Automated responses execution of scripts (instrumentation) Response and Remediation logging 4. Reporting Operational Efficiency/Effectiveness Compliance / SOX, HIPPA, FISMA. Ad Hoc / Forensic Investigations Coming to the business case for SIEM, all engineers are perpetually drawn to new technology, but purchasing decisions should by necessity be based on need and practicality. Even though the functions provided by SIEM are impressive they must be chosen only if they fit an enterprises needs. Why use a SIEM? There are two branches on the SIEM tree namely, operational efficiency and effectiveness, and log management/compliance. Both are achievable with a good SIEM tool. However since there is a large body of work on log management, and compliance has multiple branches, this coursework will focus only on using a SIEM tool effectively to point out the real attackers, and the worst threats to improve security operations efficiency and effectiveness. It can be believed that the most compelling reason for a SIEM tool from an operational perspective is to reduce the number of security events on any given day to a manageable, actionable list, and to automate analysis such that real attacks and intruders can be discerned. As a whole, the number of IT professionals, and security focused individuals at any given company has decreased relative to the complexity and capabilities demanded by an increasingly inter networked web. While one solution may have dozens of highly skilled security engineers on staff pouring through individual event logs to identify threats, SIEM attempts to automate that process and can achieve a legitimate reduction of 99.9+% of security event data while it actually increases the effective detection over traditional human driven monitoring. This is why SIEM is preferred by most of the companies. Reasons to use a SIEM: To know the need for a SIEM tool in an organization is very important. A defense in depth strategy (industry best practice) utilizes multiple devices: Firewalls, IDS, AV, AAA, VPN, User Events LDAP/NDS/NIS/X.500, Operating System Logs which can easily generate hundreds of thousands of events per day, in some cases, even millions. No matter how good a security engineer is, about 1,000 events per day is a practical maximum that a security engineer is about to deal with. So if the security team is to remain small they will need to be equipped with a good SIEM tool. No matter how good an individual device is, if not monitored and correlated, each device can be bypassed individually, and the total security capabilities of a system will not exceed its weakest link. When monitored as a whole, with cross device correlation, each device will signal an alert as it is attacked raising awareness and threat indications at each point allowing for additional defences to be brought into play, and i ncident response proportional to the total threat. Even some of the small and medium businesses with just a few devices are seeing over 100,000 events per day. This has become usual in most of the companies says the internet. Real world examples: Below are event and threat alert numbers from two different sites currently running with 99.xx% correlation efficiency on over 100,000 events per day, among which one industry expert referred to as amateur level, stating that 99.99 or 99.999+% efficiency on well in excess of 1,000,000 events per day is more common. Manufacturing Company Central USA 24 hour average, un-tuned SIEM day of deployment Alarms Generated 3722 Correlation Efficiency 99.06% Critical / Major Level Alerts 170 Effective Efficiency 99.96% [Source: Reference 2] In this case, using a SIEM allows the companys security team (2 people in an IT staff of 5), to respond to 170 critical and major alerts per day (likely to decrease as the worst offenders are firewalled out, and the worst offenses dealt with), rather than nearly 400,000. Financial Services Organization 94,600 events 153 actionable alerts 99.83% reduction. [Source: Reference 2] The company above deals with a very large volume of financial transactions, and a missed threat can mean real monetary losses. With respect to the Business Case, a good SIEM tool can provide the analytics, and the knowledge of a good security engineer can be automated and repeated against a mountain of events from a range of devices. Instead of 1,000 events per day, an engineer with a SIEM tool can handle 100,000 events per day (or more). And a SIEM does not leave at night, find another job, take a break or take vacations. It will be working always. SIEM Selection Criteria: The first thing one should look at is the goal. (i.e.) what should the SIEM do for them. If you just need log management then make the vendor can import data from ALL of the available log sources. Not all events are sent via SYSLOG. Some may be sent through: Checkpoint LEA Cisco IDS RDEP/SDEE encryption Vulnerability Scanner Databases Nessus, Eeye, ISS AS/400 Mainframes flat files Databases ODBC/SQL queries Microsoft .Net/WMI Consider a product that has a defined data collection process that can pull data (queries, retrieve files, WMI api calls), as well as accept input sent to it. And it is essential to be aware that logs, standards, and formats change, several (but not all), vendors can adapt by parsing files with REGEX and importing if one can get them a file. However log management itself is not usually an end goal. It matters about for what purpose these logs are used for. They may be used for threat identification, compliance reporting or forensics. It is also essential to know whether the data captured is in real-time. If threat identification is the primary goal, 99+% correlation/consolidation/aggregation is easily achievable, and when properly tuned, 99.99+% efficiency is within reach (1-10 actionable threat alerts / 100,000 events). If compliance reporting is the primary goal, then consider what regulations one is subject to. Frequently a company is subject to multiple compliance requirements. Consider a fortune 500 company like General Electrics. As a publicly traded company GE is subject to SOX, as a vendor of medical equipment and software they are subject to HIPPA, as a vendor to the Department of Defense, they are subject to FISMA. In point of fact, GE must produce compliance reports for at least one corporate division for nearly each and every regulation. Two brief notes on compliance, and one should look at architecture: Beware of vendors with canned reports. While they may be very appealing, and sound like a solution, valid compliance and auditing is about matching output to ones stated policies, and must be customized to match each companys published policies. Any SIEM that can collect all of the required data, meet ISO 177999, and provide timely monitoring can be used to aid in compliance. Compliance i s a complex issue with many management, and financial process requirements, it is not just a function or report IT can provide. Advanced SIEM Topics: Risk Based Correlation / Risk Profiling Correlation based on risk can dramatically reduce the number of rules required for effective threat identification. The threat and target profiles do most of the work. If the attacks are risk profiled, three relatively simple correlation rules can identify 99%+ of the attacks. They are as follows: IP Attacker repeat offenders IP Target repeat targets Vulnerability Scan + IDS Signature match Single Packet of Doom Risk Based Threat Identification is one of the more effective and interesting correlation methods, but has several requirements: >A Metabase of Signatures Cisco calls the attack X, ISS calls it Y, Snort calls it Z Cross Reference the data >Requires automated method to keep up to date. >Threats must be compiled and threat weightings applied to each signature/event. Reconnaissance events are low weighting but aggregate and report on the persistent (low and slow) attacker Finger Printing a bit more specific, a bit higher weighting Failed User Login events a medium weighting, could be an unauthorized attempt to access a resource, or a forgotten password. Buffer Overflows, Worms and Viruses -high weighting -potentially destructive events one need to respond to unless one has already patched/protected the system. >The ability to learn or adjust to ones network Input or auto-discover which systems, are business critical vs. which are peripherals, desktops, and non-essential >Risk Profiling: Proper application of trust weightings to reporting devices (NIST 800-42 best practice), can also help to lower cry wolf issues with current security management Next-generation SIEM and log management: One area where the tools can provide the most needed help is in compliance. Corporations increasingly face the challenge of staying accountable to customers, employees and shareholders, and that means protecting IT infrastructure, customer and corporate data, and complying with rules and regulations as defined by the government and industry. Regulatory compliance is here to stay, and under the Obama administration, corporate accountability requirements are likely to grow. Log management and SIEM correlation technologies can work together to provide more comprehensive views to help companies satisfy their regulatory compliance requirements, make their IT and business processes more efficient and reduce management and technology costs in the process. IT organizations also will expect log management and intelligence technologies to provide more value to business activity monitoring and business intelligence. Though SIEM will continue to capture security-related data, its correlation engine can be re-appropriated to correlate business processes and monitor internal events related to performance, uptime, capability utilization and service-level management. We will see the combined solutions provide deeper insight into not just IT operations but also business processes. For example, we can monitor business processes from step A to Z and, if a step gets missed, well see where and when. In short, by integrating SIEM and log management, it is easy to see how companies can save by de-duplicating efforts and functionality. The functions of collecting, archiving, indexing and correlating log data can be collapsed. That will also lead to savings in the resources required and in the maintenance of the tools. CONCLUSION: SIEM is a complex technology, and the market segment remains in flux. SIEM solutions require a high level of technical expertise and SIEM vendors require extensive partner training and certification. SIEM gets more exciting when one can apply log-based activity data and security-event-inspired correlation to other business problems. Regulatory compliance, business activity monitoring and business intelligence are just the tip of the iceberg. Leading-edge customers are already using the tools to increase visibility and the security of composite Web 2.0 applications, cloud-based services and mobile devices. The key is to start with a central record of user and system activity and build an open architecture that lets different business users access the information to solve different business problems. So there is no doubt in SIEM solutions helping the intrusion detection and response to improve. References: 1. Nicolett.M., Williams.A.T., Proctor.P.E. (2006) Magic Quadrant for Security Information and Event Management, 1H06 RA3 1192006. 2. Swift.D. (2006) A Practical Application of SIM/SEM/SIEM Automating Threat Identification 3. SIEM: A Market Snapshot (2007) from http://www.crn.com/security/197002909;jsessionid=BVQXTH11HH14JQE1GHPSKH4ATMY32JVN [Date Accessed: 20th November,2009]. 4. WHAT IS SIEM (2008) from http://www.exploresiem.com/resource-center.html [Date Accessed: 24th November, 2009]. 5. Securing and Managing Your Enterprise: An Integrated Approach (2008) from http://www.exploresiem.com/images/WP-Securing-and-Managing-Your-Enterprise.pdf [Date Accessed: 25th November, 2009]. 6. Shipley .G.(2008) Are SIEM and log management the same thing? from http://www.networkworld.com/reviews/2008/063008-test-siem-log-integration.html [Date Accessed: 26th November, 2009] 7. Levin.D. (2009) The convergence of SIEM and log management from http://www.networkworld.com/news/tech/2009/031909-tech-update.html [Date Accessed: 26th November, 2009]

A Tyrants Cruelty in Pakistan :: essays research papers

"I declare emergency" The screen of the TV blurred and then, it went pitch-black, shut down to the millions of stunned expressions across Pakistan, their ears echoing its final call. It was time. He had done this before, but now, he'd simply crossed the line. The Constitution pronounced its final vows, justice was heartlessly cremated, lives bid farewell with a lonely tear, and not even the ashes of liberty were able to be whiffed in the monoxodized morning sky. Pakistan and its civilians had plunged into deepest mourning as an onyx blanket leisurely wove its tendrils over the nation, plaguing it, depriving the once-united country of its birthright. Was this an epidemic like the Bubonic Plague, a warfare like the WWII, a revolution like its own, a natural disaster like a massive earthquake, or perhaps mass destruction under the hands of "terrorists." Staggered as you may be, the ultimate choice is the closest possible answer. Under its hands, we have suffered so much?it murders without regret, it knows no bounds of means to quenching its thirst for power, it throws ministers, judges, and the poorest alike into the relentless walls of prison. It says that emergency occurred to PROTECT Pakistan, since it was supposedly under threat of disunity. Emergency is replaced by a more appropriate term for the events happening there now, MARTIAL LAW, as it purely and apparently is. It has given a new face to Hitler, releasing bombs in the houses of God, little children and huffaz perishing without mercy, it has created destruction and chaos amidst a cloud of weeping citizens, straining his teacup of those who timidly agree with him and callously disposing of the remnants. It is known by titles of both President and General. It is quoted to have said: "We don't want anyone in agitation mode, and I will tell Negroponte and the US that Pakistan comes first, and there are certain realities on the ground -- extremism and terrorism -- that made me decide to go with emergency law." It took over in a 1999 coup, swearing oath in the name of integrity, constitutional law, and endless loyalty. And here we are, nearly a decade past, and where have those promising words been concealed during that lingering epoch? Those who have the courage to fight in the name of independence are flung into the dim enclosed chambers of jail, comparable to rubbish on the streets, though they are persistent and determined to overcome this deadly poison.

Cisa

1. A benefit of open system architecture is that it: A. facilitates interoperability. B. facilitates the integration of proprietary components. C. will be a basis for volume discounts from equipment vendors. D. allows for the achievement of more economies of scale for equipment. ANSWER: A NOTE: Open systems are those for which suppliers provide components whose interfaces are defined by public standards, thus facilitating interoperability between systems made by different vendors. In contrast, closed system components are built to proprietary standards so that other suppliers' systems cannot or will not interface with existing systems. . An IS auditor discovers that developers have operator access to the command line of a production environment operating system. Which of the following controls would BEST mitigate the risk of undetected and unauthorized program changes to the production environment? A. Commands typed on the command line are logged B. Hash keys are calculated periodica lly for programs and matched against hash keys calculated for the most recent authorized versions of the programs C. Access to the operating system command line is granted through an access restriction tool with preapproved rights D.Software development tools and compilers have been removed from the production environment ANSWER: B NOTE: The matching of hash keys over time would allow detection of changes to files. Choice A is incorrect because having a log is not a control, reviewing the log is a control. Choice C is incorrect because the access was already granted—it does not matter how. Choice D is wrong because files can be copied to and from the production environment. 3. In the context of effective information security governance, the primary objective of value delivery is to: A. optimize security investments in support of business objectives.B. implement a standard set of security practices. C. institute a standards-based solution. D. implement a continuous improvement culture. ANSWER: A NOTE: In the context of effective information security governance, value delivery is implemented to ensure optimization of security investments in support of business objectives. The tools and techniques for implementing value delivery include implementation of a standard set of security practices, institutionalization and commoditization of standards-based solutions, and implementation of a continuous improvement culture considering security as a process, not an event. 4.During a review of a business continuity plan, an IS auditor noticed that the point at which a situation is declared to be a crisis has not been defined. The MAJOR risk associated with this is that: A. assessment of the situation may be delayed. B. execution of the disaster recovery plan could be impacted. C. notification of the teams might not occur. D. potential crisis recognition might be ineffective. ANSWER: B NOTE: Execution of the business continuity plan would be impacted if the organizat ion does not know when to declare a crisis. Choices A, C and D are steps that must be performed to know whether to declare a crisis.Problem and severity assessment would provide information necessary in declaring a disaster. Once a potential crisis is recognized, the teams responsible for crisis management need to be notified. Delaying this step until a disaster has been declared would negate the effect of having response teams. Potential crisis recognition is the first step in responding to a disaster. 5. When implementing an IT governance framework in an organization the MOST important objective is: A. IT alignment with the business. B. accountability. C. value realization with IT. D. enhancing the return on IT investments.ANSWER: A NOTE: The goals of IT governance are to improve IT performance, to deliver optimum business value and to ensure regulatory compliance. The key practice in support of these goals is the strategic alignment of IT with the business (choice A). To achieve alignment, all other choices need to be tied to business practices and strategies. 6. When reviewing an implementation of a VoIP system over a corporate WAN, an IS auditor should expect to find: A. an integrated services digital network (ISDN) data link. B. traffic engineering. C. wired equivalent privacy (WEP) encryption of data.D. analog phone terminals. ANSWER: B NOTE: To ensure that quality of service requirements are achieved, the Voice-over IP (VoIP) service over the wide area network (WAN) should be protected from packet losses, latency or jitter. To reach this objective, the network performance can be managed using statistical techniques such as traffic engineering. The standard bandwidth of an integrated services digital network (ISDN) data link would not provide the quality of services required for corporate VoIP services. WEP is an encryption scheme related to wireless networking.The VoIP phones are usually connected to a corporate local area network (LAN) and are not ana log. 7. An IS auditor selects a server for a penetration test that will be carried out by a technical specialist. Which of the following is MOST important? A. The tools used to conduct the test B. Certifications held by the IS auditor C. Permission from the data owner of the server D. An intrusion detection system (IDS) is enabled ANSWER: C NOTE: The data owner should be informed of the risks associated with a penetration test, what types of tests are to be conducted and other relevant details.All other choices are not as important as the data owner's responsibility for the security of the data assets. 8. Which of the following is a risk of cross-training? A. Increases the dependence on one employee B. Does not assist in succession planning C. One employee may know all parts of a system D. Does not help in achieving a continuity of operations ANSWER: C NOTE: When cross-training, it would be prudent to first assess the risk of any person knowing all parts of a system and what exposur es this may cause. Cross-training has the advantage of decreasing dependence on one employee and, hence, can be part of succession planning.It also provides backup for personnel in the event of absence for any reason and thereby facilitates the continuity of operations. 9. The use of digital signatures: A. requires the use of a one-time password generator. B. provides encryption to a message. C. validates the source of a message. D. ensures message confidentiality. ANSWER: C NOTE: The use of a digital signature verifies the identity of the sender, but does not encrypt the whole message, and hence is not enough to ensure confidentiality. A one-time password generator is an option, but is not a requirement for using digital signatures. 0. A retail outlet has introduced radio frequency identification (RFID) tags to create unique serial numbers for all products. Which of the following is the PRIMARY concern associated with this initiative? A. Issues of privacy B. Wavelength can be absor bed by the human body C. RFID tags may not be removable D. RFID eliminates line-of-sight reading ANSWER: A NOTE: The purchaser of an item will not necessarily be aware of the presence of the tag. If a tagged item is paid for by credit card, it would be possible to tie the unique ID of that item to the identity of the purchaser.Privacy violations are a significant concern because RFID can carry unique identifier numbers. If desired it would be possible for a firm to track individuals who purchase an item containing an RFID. Choices B and C are concerns of less importance. Choice D is not a concern. 11. A lower recovery time objective (RTO) results in: A. higher disaster tolerance. B. higher cost. C. wider interruption windows. D. more permissive data loss. ANSWER: B NOTE: A recovery time objective (RTO) is based on the acceptable downtime in case of a disruption of operations. The lower the RTO, the higher the cost of recovery strategies.The lower the disaster tolerance, the narrower the interruption windows, and the lesser the permissive data loss. 12. During the requirements definition phase of a software development project, the aspects of software testing that should be addressed are developing: A. test data covering critical applications. B. detailed test plans. C. quality assurance test specifications. D. user acceptance testing specifications. ANSWER: D NOTE: A key objective in any software development project is to ensure that the developed software will meet the business objectives and the requirements of the user.The users should be involved in the requirements definition phase of a development project and user acceptance test specification should be developed during this phase. The other choices are generally performed during the system testing phase. 13. The BEST filter rule for protecting a network from being used as an amplifier in a denial of service (DoS) attack is to deny all: A. outgoing traffic with IP source addresses external to the network . B. incoming traffic with discernible spoofed IP source addresses. C. incoming traffic with IP options set.D. incoming traffic to critical hosts. ANSWER: A NOTE: Outgoing traffic with an IP source address different than the IP range in the network is invalid. In most of the cases, it signals a DoS attack originated by an internal user or by a previously compromised internal machine; in both cases, applying this filter will stop the attack. 14. What is the BEST backup strategy for a large database with data supporting online sales? A. Weekly full backup with daily incremental backup B. Daily full backup C. Clustered servers D. Mirrored hard disks ANSWER: ANOTE: Weekly full backup and daily incremental backup is the best backup strategy; it ensures the ability to recover the database and yet reduces the daily backup time requirements. A full backup normally requires a couple of hours, and therefore it can be impractical to conduct a full backup every day. Clustered servers provide a redundant processing capability, but are not a backup. Mirrored hard disks will not help in case of disaster. 15. Which of the following is a feature of Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) in wireless networks? A. Session keys are dynamicB. Private symmetric keys are used C. Keys are static and shared D. Source addresses are not encrypted or authenticated ANSWER: A NOTE: WPA uses dynamic session keys, achieving stronger encryption than wireless encryption privacy (WEP), which operates with static keys (same key is used for everyone in the wireless network). All other choices are weaknesses of WEP. 16. The ultimate purpose of IT governance is to: A. encourage optimal use of IT. B. reduce IT costs. C. decentralize IT resources across the organization. D. centralize control of IT. ANSWER: ANOTE: IT governance is intended to specify the combination of decision rights and accountability that is best for the enterprise. It is different for every enterprise. Reducing IT costs may not be the best IT governance outcome for an enterprise. Decentralizing IT resources across the organization is not always desired, although it may be desired in a decentralized environment. Centralizing control of IT is not always desired. An example of where it might be desired is an enterprise desiring a single point of customer contact. 17. The MAIN purpose of a transaction audit trail is to:A. reduce the use of storage media. B. determine accountability and responsibility for processed transactions. C. help an IS auditor trace transactions. D. provide useful information for capacity planning. ANSWER: B NOTE: Enabling audit trails aids in establishing the accountability and responsibility for processed transactions by tracing them through the information system. Enabling audit trails increases the use of disk space. A transaction log file would be used to trace transactions, but would not aid in determining accountability and responsibility.The objective of capacity planning is the efficient an d effective use of IT resources and requires information such as CPU utilization, bandwidth, number of users, etc. 18. An IS auditor invited to a development project meeting notes that no project risks have been documented. When the IS auditor raises this issue, the project manager responds that it is too early to identify risks and that, if risks do start impacting the project, a risk manager will be hired. The appropriate response of the IS auditor would be to: A. tress the importance of spending time at this point in the project to consider and document risks, and to develop contingency plans. B. accept the project manager's position as the project manager is accountable for the outcome of the project. C. offer to work with the risk manager when one is appointed. D. inform the project manager that the IS auditor will conduct a review of the risks at the completion of the requirements definition phase of the project. ANSWER: A NOTE: The majority of project risks can typically be i dentified before a project begins, allowing mitigation/avoidance plans to be put in place to deal with these risks.A project should have a clear link back to corporate strategy and tactical plans to support this strategy. The process of setting corporate strategy, setting objectives and developing tactical plans should include the consideration of risks. Appointing a risk manager is a good practice but waiting until the project has been impacted by risks is misguided. Risk management needs to be forward looking; allowing risks to evolve into issues that adversely impact the project represents a failure of risk management.With or without a risk manager, persons within and outside of the project team need to be consulted and encouraged to comment when they believe new risks have emerged or risk priorities have changed. The IS auditor has an obligation to the project sponsor and the organization to advise on appropriate project management practices. Waiting for the possible appointment of a risk manager represents an unnecessary and dangerous delay to implementing risk management. 19. A data center has a badge-entry system. Which of the following is MOST important to protect the computing assets in the center?A. Badge readers are installed in locations where tampering would be noticed B. The computer that controls the badge system is backed up frequently C. A process for promptly deactivating lost or stolen badges exists D. All badge entry attempts are logged ANSWER: C NOTE: Tampering with a badge reader cannot open the door, so this is irrelevant. Logging the entry attempts may be of limited value. The biggest risk is from unauthorized individuals who can enter the data center, whether they are employees or not. Thus, a process of deactivating lost or stolen badges is important.The configuration of the system does not change frequently, therefore frequent backup is not necessary. 20. Which of the following would impair the independence of a quality assurance tea m? A. Ensuring compliance with development methods B. Checking the testing assumptions C. Correcting coding errors during the testing process D. Checking the code to ensure proper documentation ANSWER: C NOTE: Correction of code should not be a responsibility of the quality assurance team as it would not ensure segregation of duties and would impair the team's independence. The other choices are valid quality assurance functions. 1. Which of the following is the BEST type of program for an organization to implement to aggregate, correlate and store different log and event files, and then produce weekly and monthly reports for IS auditors? A. A security information event management (SIEM) product B. An open-source correlation engine C. A log management tool D. An extract, transform, load (ETL) system ANSWER: C NOTE: A log management tool is a product designed to aggregate events from many log files (with distinct formats and from different sources), store them and typically correlate them offline to produce many reports (e. . , exception reports showing different statistics including anomalies and suspicious activities), and to answer time-based queries (e. g. , how many users have entered the system between 2 a. m. and 4 a. m. over the past three weeks? ). A SIEM product has some similar features. It correlates events from log files, but does it online and normally is not oriented to storing many weeks of historical information and producing audit reports. A correlation engine is part of a SIEM product. It is oriented to making an online correlation of events.An extract, transform, load (ETL) is part of a business intelligence system, dedicated to extracting operational or production data, transforming that data and loading them to a central repository (data warehouse or data mart); an ETL does not correlate data or produce reports, and normally it does not have extractors to read log file formats. 22. To ensure authentication, confidentiality and integrity of a message, the sender should encrypt the hash of the message with the sender's: A. public key and then encrypt the message with the receiver's private key. B. private key and then encrypt the message with the receiver's public key.C. public key and then encrypt the message with the receiver's public key. D. private key and then encrypt the message with the receiver's private key. ANSWER: B NOTE: Obtaining the hash of the message ensures integrity; signing the hash of the message with the sender's private key ensures the authenticity of the origin, and encrypting the resulting message with the receiver's public key ensures confidentiality. The other choices are incorrect. 23. An IS auditor observes a weakness in the tape management system at a data center in that some parameters are set to bypass or ignore tape header records.Which of the following is the MOST effective compensating control for this weakness? A. Staging and job set up B. Supervisory review of logs C. Regular back-up of tapes D. Offsite storage of tapes ANSWER: A NOTE: If the IS auditor finds that there are effective staging and job set up processes, this can be accepted as a compensating control. Choice B is a detective control while choices C and D are corrective controls, none of which would serve as good compensating controls. 24. What is the MOST prevalent security risk when an organization implements remote virtual private network (VPN) access to its network?A. Malicious code could be spread across the network B. VPN logon could be spoofed C. Traffic could be sniffed and decrypted D. VPN gateway could be compromised ANSWER: A NOTE: VPN is a mature technology; VPN devices are hard to break. However, when remote access is enabled, malicious code in a remote client could spread to the organization's network. Though choices B, C and D are security risks, VPN technology largely mitigates these risks. 25. The activation of an enterprise's business continuity plan should be based on predetermine d criteria that address the: A. duration of the outage. B. ype of outage. C. probability of the outage. D. cause of the outage. ANSWER: A NOTE: The initiation of a business continuity plan (action) should primarily be based on the maximum period for which a business function can be disrupted before the disruption threatens the achievement of organizational objectives. 26. After observing suspicious activities in a server, a manager requests a forensic analysis. Which of the following findings should be of MOST concern to the investigator? A. Server is a member of a workgroup and not part of the server domain B. Guest account is enabled on the server C.Recently, 100 users were created in the server D. Audit logs are not enabled for the server ANSWER: D NOTE: Audit logs can provide evidence which is required to proceed with an investigation and should not be disabled. For business needs, a server can be a member of a workgroup and, therefore, not a concern. Having a guest account enab led on a system is a poor security practice but not a forensic investigation concern. Recently creating 100 users in the server may have been required to meet business needs and should not be a concern. 27. Minimum password length and password complexity verification are examples of: A. etection controls. B. control objectives. C. audit objectives. D. control procedures. ANSWER: D NOTE: Control procedures are practices established by management to achieve specific control objectives. Password controls are preventive controls, not detective controls. Control objectives are declarations of expected results from implementing controls and audit objectives are the specific goals of an audit. 28. Which of the following is an advantage of the top-down approach to software testing? A. Interface errors are identified early B. Testing can be started before all programs are complete C.It is more effective than other testing approaches D. Errors in critical modules are detected sooner ANSWER: A NOTE: The advantage of the top-down approach is that tests of major functions are conducted early, thus enabling the detection of interface errors sooner. The most effective testing approach is dependent on the environment being tested. Choices B and D are advantages of the bottom-up approach to system testing. 29. After initial investigation, an IS auditor has reasons to believe that fraud may be present. The IS auditor should: A. expand activities to determine whether an investigation is warranted.B. report the matter to the audit committee. C. report the possibility of fraud to top management and ask how they would like to proceed. D. consult with external legal counsel to determine the course of action to be taken. ANSWER: A NOTE: An IS auditor's responsibilities for detecting fraud include evaluating fraud indicators and deciding whether any additional action is necessary or whether an investigation should be recommended. The IS auditor should notify the appropriate authoritie s within the organization only if it has determined that the indicators of fraud are sufficient to recommend an investigation.Normally, the IS auditor does not have authority to consult with external legal counsel. 30. As a driver of IT governance, transparency of IT's cost, value and risks is primarily achieved through: A. performance measurement. B. strategic alignment. C. value delivery. D. resource management. ANSWER: A NOTE: Performance measurement includes setting and monitoring measurable objectives of what the IT processes need to deliver (process outcome) and how they deliver it (process capability and performance). Strategic alignment primarily focuses on ensuring linkage of business and IT plans.Value delivery is about executing the value proposition throughout the delivery cycle. Resource management is about the optimal investment in and proper management of critical IT resources. Transparency is primarily achieved through performance measurement as it provides informati on to the stakeholders on how well the enterprise is performing when compared to objectives. 31. A technical lead who was working on a major project has left the organization. The project manager reports suspicious system activities on one of the servers that is accessible to the whole team.What would be of GREATEST concern if discovered during a forensic investigation? A. Audit logs are not enabled for the system B. A logon ID for the technical lead still exists C. Spyware is installed on the system D. A Trojan is installed on the system ANSWER: A NOTE: Audit logs are critical to the investigation of the event; however, if not enabled, misuse of the logon ID of the technical lead and the guest account could not be established. The logon ID of the technical lead should have been deleted as soon as the employee left the organization but, without audit logs, misuse of the ID is difficult to prove.Spyware installed on the system is a concern but could have been installed by any user an d, again, without the presence of logs, discovering who installed the spyware is difficult. A Trojan installed on the system is a concern, but it can be done by any user as it is accessible to the whole group and, without the presence of logs, investigation would be difficult. 32. When using a universal storage bus (USB) flash drive to transport confidential corporate data to an offsite location, an effective control would be to: A. carry the flash drive in a portable safe. B. assure management that you will not lose the flash drive. C. equest that management deliver the flash drive by courier. D. encrypt the folder containing the data with a strong key. ANSWER: D NOTE: Encryption, with a strong key, is the most secure method for protecting the information on the flash drive. Carrying the flash drive in a portable safe does not guarantee the safety of the information in the event that the safe is stolen or lost. No matter what measures you take, the chance of losing the flash drive still exists. It is possible that a courier might lose the flash drive or that it might be stolen. 33. The FIRST step in a successful attack to a system would be: A. gathering information. B. aining access. C. denying services. D. evading detection. ANSWER: A NOTE: Successful attacks start by gathering information about the target system. This is done in advance so that the attacker gets to know the target systems and their vulnerabilities. All of the other choices are based on the information gathered. 34. An IS auditor finds that conference rooms have active network ports. Which of the following is MOST important to ensure? A. The corporate network is using an intrusion prevention system (IPS) B. This part of the network is isolated from the corporate network C. A single sign-on has been implemented in the corporate network D.Antivirus software is in place to protect the corporate network ANSWER: B NOTE: If the conference rooms have access to the corporate network, unauthorized us ers may be able to connect to the corporate network; therefore, both networks should be isolated either via a firewall or being physically separated. An IPS would detect possible attacks, but only after they have occurred. A single sign-on would ease authentication management. Antivirus software would reduce the impact of possible viruses; however, unauthorized users would still be able to access the corporate network, which is the biggest risk. 5. While observing a full simulation of the business continuity plan, an IS auditor notices that the notification systems within the organizational facilities could be severely impacted by infrastructural damage. The BEST recommendation the IS auditor can provide to the organization is to ensure: A. the salvage team is trained to use the notification system. B. the notification system provides for the recovery of the backup. C. redundancies are built into the notification system. D. the notification systems are stored in a vault. ANSWER: CNO TE: If the notification system has been severely impacted by the damage, redundancy would be the best control. The salvage team would not be able to use a severely damaged notification system, even if they are trained to use it. The recovery of the backups has no bearing on the notification system and storing the notification system in a vault would be of little value if the building is damaged. 36. The human resources (HR) department has developed a system to allow employees to enroll in benefits via a web site on the corporate Intranet. Which of the following would protect the confidentiality of the data?A. SSL encryption B. Two-factor authentication C. Encrypted session cookies D. IP address verification ANSWER: A NOTE: The main risk in this scenario is confidentiality, therefore the only option which would provide confidentiality is Secure Socket Layer (SSL) encryption. The remaining options deal with authentication issues. 37. Regarding a disaster recovery plan, the role of an IS auditor should include: A. identifying critical applications. B. determining the external service providers involved in a recovery test. C. observing the tests of the disaster recovery plan. D. etermining the criteria for establishing a recovery time objective (RTO). ANSWER: C NOTE: The IS auditor should be present when disaster recovery plans are tested, to ensure that the test meets the targets for restoration, and the recovery procedures are effective and efficient. As appropriate, the auditor should provide a report of the test results. All other choices are a responsibility of management. 38. Which of the following is the BEST practice to ensure that access authorizations are still valid? A. Information owner provides authorization for users to gain access B. Identity management is integrated with human resource processes C.Information owners periodically review the access controls D. An authorization matrix is used to establish validity of access ANSWER: B NOTE: Personnel a nd departmental changes can result in authorization creep and can impact the effectiveness of access controls. Many times when personnel leave an organization, or employees are promoted, transferred or demoted, their system access is not fully removed, which increases the risk of unauthorized access. The best practices for ensuring access authorization is still valid is to integrate identity management with human resources processes.When an employee transfers to a different function, access rights are adjusted at the same time. 39. The application systems of an organization using open-source software have no single recognized developer producing patches. Which of the following would be the MOST secure way of updating open-source software? A. Rewrite the patches and apply them B. Code review and application of available patches C. Develop in-house patches D. Identify and test suitable patches before applying them ANSWER: D NOTE: Suitable patches from the existing developers should be selected and tested before applying them.Rewriting the patches and applying them is not a correct answer because it would require skilled resources and time to rewrite the patches. Code review could be possible but tests need to be performed before applying the patches. Since the system was developed outside the organization, the IT department may not have the necessary skills and resources to develop patches. 40. Which of the following is a prevalent risk in the development of end-user computing (EUC) applications? A. Applications may not be subject to testing and IT general controls B. Increased development and maintenance costsC. Increased application development time D. Decision-making may be impaired due to diminished responsiveness to requests for information ANSWER: A NOTE: End-user developed applications may not be subjected to an independent outside review by systems analysts and frequently are not created in the context of a formal development methodology. These applicati ons may lack appropriate standards, controls, quality assurance procedures, and documentation. A risk of end-user applications is that management may rely on them as much as traditional applications.End-user computing (EUC) systems typically result in reduced application development and maintenance costs, and a reduced development cycle time. EUC systems normally increase flexibility and responsiveness to management's information requests. 41. The MAJOR consideration for an IS auditor reviewing an organization's IT project portfolio is the: A. IT budget. B. existing IT environment. C. business plan. D. investment plan. ANSWER: C NOTE: One of the most important reasons for which projects get funded is how well a project meets an organization's strategic objectives.Portfolio management takes a holistic view of a company's overall IT strategy. IT strategy should be aligned with the business strategy and, hence, reviewing the business plan should be the major consideration. Choices A, B and D are important but secondary to the importance of reviewing the business plan. 42. Which of the following is an attribute of the control self-assessment (CSA) approach? A. Broad stakeholder involvement B. Auditors are the primary control analysts C. Limited employee participation D. Policy driven ANSWER: ANOTE: The control self-assessment (CSA) approach emphasizes management of and accountability for developing and monitoring the controls of an organization's business processes. The attributes of CSA include empowered employees, continuous improvement, extensive employee participation and training, all of which are representations of broad stakeholder involvement. Choices B, C and D are attributes of a traditional audit approach. 43. The BEST method for assessing the effectiveness of a business continuity plan is to review the: A. plans and compare them to appropriate standards. B. results from previous tests.C. emergency procedures and employee training. D. offsite storage an d environmental controls. ANSWER: B NOTE: Previous test results will provide evidence of the effectiveness of the business continuity plan. Comparisons to standards will give some assurance that the plan addresses the critical aspects of a business continuity plan but will not reveal anything about its effectiveness. Reviewing emergency procedures, offsite storage and environmental controls would provide insight into some aspects of the plan but would fall short of providing assurance of the plan's overall effectiveness. 4. An organization has just completed their annual risk assessment. Regarding the business continuity plan, what should an IS auditor recommend as the next step for the organization? A. Review and evaluate the business continuity plan for adequacy B. Perform a full simulation of the business continuity plan C. Train and educate employees regarding the business continuity plan D. Notify critical contacts in the business continuity plan ANSWER: A NOTE: The business co ntinuity plan should be reviewed every time a risk assessment is completed for the organization.Training of the employees and a simulation should be performed after the business continuity plan has been deemed adequate for the organization. There is no reason to notify the business continuity plan contacts at this time. 45. Which of the following insurance types provide for a loss arising from fraudulent acts by employees? A. Business interruption B. Fidelity coverage C. Errors and omissions D. Extra expense ANSWER: B NOTE: Fidelity insurance covers the loss arising from dishonest or fraudulent acts by employees. Business interruption insurance covers the loss of profit due to the disruption in the operations of an organization.Errors and omissions insurance provides legal liability protection in the event that the professional practitioner commits an act that results in financial loss to a client. Extra expense insurance is designed to cover the extra costs of continuing operations following a disaster/disruption within an organization. 46. An IS auditor reviewing the risk assessment process of an organization should FIRST: A. identify the reasonable threats to the information assets. B. analyze the technical and organizational vulnerabilities. C. identify and rank the information assets. D. evaluate the effect of a potential security breach.ANSWER: C NOTE: Identification and ranking of information assets—e. g. , data criticality, locations of assets—will set the tone or scope of how to assess risk in relation to the organizational value of the asset. Second, the threats facing each of the organization's assets should be analyzed according to their value to the organization. Third, weaknesses should be identified so that controls can be evaluated to determine if they mitigate the weaknesses. Fourth, analyze how these weaknesses, in absence of given controls, would impact the organization information assets. 47.An organization is using an enterpr ise resource management (ERP) application. Which of the following would be an effective access control? A. User-level permissions B. Role-based C. Fine-grained D. Discretionary ANSWER: B NOTE: Role-based access controls the system access by defining roles for a group of users. Users are assigned to the various roles and the access is granted based on the user's role. User-level permissions for an ERP system would create a larger administrative overhead. Fine-grained access control is very difficult to implement and maintain in the context of a large nterprise. Discretionary access control may be configured or modified by the users or data owners, and therefore may create inconsistencies in the access control management. 48. The sender of a public key would be authenticated by a: A. certificate authority. B. digital signature. C. digital certificate. D. registration authority. ANSWER: C NOTE: A digital certificate is an electronic document that declares a public key holder is who the holder claims to be. The certificates do handle data authentication as they are used to determine who sent a particular message.A certificate authority issues the digital certificates, and distributes, generates and manages public keys. A digital signature is used to ensure integrity of the message being sent and solve the nonrepudiation issue of message origination. The registration authority would perform most of the administrative tasks of a certificate authority, i. e. , registration of the users of a digital signature plus authenticating the information that is put in the digital certificate. 49. Which of the following is the MOST reliable form of single factor personal identification? A. Smart card B. PasswordC. Photo identification D. Iris scan ANSWER: D NOTE: Since no two irises are alike, identification and verification can be done with confidence. There is no guarantee that a smart card is being used by the correct person since it can be shared, stolen or lost and found. Passwords can be shared and, if written down, carry the risk of discovery. Photo IDs can be forged or falsified. 50. A business application system accesses a corporate database using a single ID and password embedded in a program. Which of the following would provide efficient access control over the organization's data? A.Introduce a secondary authentication method such as card swipe B. Apply role-based permissions within the application system C. Have users input the ID and password for each database transaction D. Set an expiration period for the database password embedded in the program ANSWER: B NOTE: When a single ID and password are embedded in a program, the best compensating control would be a sound access control over the application layer and procedures to ensure access to data is granted based on a user's role. The issue is user permissions, not authentication, therefore adding a stronger authentication does not improve the situation.Having a user input the ID and passwo rd for access would provide a better control because a database log would identify the initiator of the activity. However, this may not be efficient because each transaction would require a separate authentication process. It is a good practice to set an expiration date for a password. However, this might not be practical for an ID automatically logged in from the program. Often, this type of password is set not to expire. 51. Which of the following should be the MOST important consideration when deciding areas of priority for IT governance implementation?A. Process maturity B. Performance indicators C. Business risk D. Assurance reports ANSWER: C NOTE: Priority should be given to those areas which represent a known risk to the enterprise's operations. The level of process maturity, process performance and audit reports will feed into the decision making process. Those areas that represent real risk to the business should be given priority. 52. An IS auditor has been asked to partic ipate in project initiation meetings for a critical project. The IS auditor's MAIN concern should be that the: A. omplexity and risks associated with the project have been analyzed. B. resources needed throughout the project have been determined. C. project deliverables have been identified. D. a contract for external parties involved in the project has been completed. ANSWER: A NOTE: Understanding complexity and risk, and actively managing these throughout a project are critical to a successful outcome. The other choices, while important during the course of the project, cannot be fully determined at the time the project is initiated, and are often contingent upon the risk and complexity of the project. 3. Which of the following would MOST effectively control the usage of universal storage bus (USB) storage devices? A. Policies that require instant dismissal if such devices are found B. Software for tracking and managing USB storage devices C. Administratively disabling the USB por t D. Searching personnel for USB storage devices at the facility's entrance ANSWER: B NOTE: Software for centralized tracking and monitoring would allow a USB usage policy to be applied to each user based on changing business requirements, and would provide for monitoring and reporting exceptions to management.A policy requiring dismissal may result in increased employee attrition and business requirements would not be properly addressed. Disabling ports would be complex to manage and might not allow for new business needs. Searching of personnel for USB storage devices at the entrance to a facility is not a practical solution since these devices are small and could be easily hidden. 54. When performing a database review, an IS auditor notices that some tables in the database are not normalized. The IS auditor should next: A. recommend that the database be normalized. B. review the conceptual data model.C. review the stored procedures. D. review the justification. ANSWER: D NOTE: If the database is not normalized, the IS auditor should review the justification since, in some situations, denormalization is recommended for performance reasons. The IS auditor should not recommend normalizing the database until further investigation takes place. Reviewing the conceptual data model or the stored procedures will not provide information about normalization. 55. Which of the following would be the GREATEST cause for concern when data are sent over the Internet using HTTPS protocol? A.Presence of spyware in one of the ends B. The use of a traffic sniffing tool C. The implementation of an RSA-compliant solution D. A symmetric cryptography is used for transmitting data ANSWER: A NOTE: Encryption using secure sockets layer/transport layer security (SSL/TLS) tunnels makes it difficult to intercept data in transit, but when spyware is running on an end user's computer, data are collected before encryption takes place. The other choices are related to encrypting the traffic, but the presence of spyware in one of the ends captures the data before encryption takes place. 56.At the completion of a system development project, a postproject review should include which of the following? A. Assessing risks that may lead to downtime after the production release B. Identifying lessons learned that may be applicable to future projects C. Verifying the controls in the delivered system are working D. Ensuring that test data are deleted ANSWER: B NOTE: A project team has something to learn from each and every project. As risk assessment is a key issue for project management, it is important for the organization to accumulate lessons learned and integrate them into future projects.An assessment of potential downtime should be made with the operations group and other specialists before implementing a system. Verifying that controls are working should be covered during the acceptance test phase and possibly, again, in the postimplementation review. Test data should be retained for future regression testing. 57. While reviewing the IT infrastructure, an IS auditor notices that storage resources are continuously being added. The IS auditor should: A. recommend the use of disk mirroring. B. review the adequacy of offsite storage. C. eview the capacity management process. D. recommend the use of a compression algorithm. ANSWER: C NOTE: Capacity management is the planning and monitoring of computer resources to ensure that available IT resources are used efficiently and effectively. Business criticality must be considered before recommending a disk mirroring solution and offsite storage is unrelated to the problem. Though data compression may save disk space, it could affect system performance. 58. Which of the following would be MOST important for an IS auditor to verify when conducting a business continuity audit? A.Data backups are performed on a timely basis B. A recovery site is contracted for and available as needed C. Human safety procedures a re in place D. Insurance coverage is adequate and premiums are current ANSWER: C NOTE: The most important element in any business continuity process is the protection of human life. This takes precedence over all other aspects of the plan. 59. While reviewing sensitive electronic work papers, the IS auditor noticed that they were not encrypted. This could compromise the: A. audit trail of the versioning of the work papers. B. approval of the audit phases.C. access rights to the work papers. D. confidentiality of the work papers. ANSWER: D NOTE: Encryption provides confidentiality for the electronic work papers. Audit trails, audit phase approvals and access to the work papers do not, of themselves, affect the confidentiality but are part of the reason for requiring encryption. 60. An IS auditor reviewing an accounts payable system discovers that audit logs are not being reviewed. When this issue is raised with management the response is that additional controls are not necessary bec ause effective system access controls are in place.The BEST response the auditor can make is to: A. review the integrity of system access controls. B. accept management's statement that effective access controls are in place. C. stress the importance of having a system control framework in place. D. review the background checks of the accounts payable staff. ANSWER: C NOTE: Experience has demonstrated that reliance purely on preventative controls is dangerous. Preventative controls may not prove to be as strong as anticipated or their effectiveness can deteriorate over time.Evaluating the cost of controls versus the quantum of risk is a valid management concern. However, in a high-risk system a comprehensive control framework is needed. Intelligent design should permit additional detective and corrective controls to be established that don't have high ongoing costs, e. g. , automated interrogation of logs to highlight suspicious individual transactions or data patterns. Effective ac cess controls are, in themselves, a positive but, for reasons outlined above, may not sufficiently compensate for other control weaknesses. In this situation the IS auditor needs to be proactive.The IS auditor has a fundamental obligation to point out control weaknesses that give rise to unacceptable risks to the organization and work with management to have these corrected. Reviewing background checks on accounts payable staff does not provide evidence that fraud will not occur. 61. A firewall is being deployed at a new location. Which of the following is the MOST important factor in ensuring a successful deployment? A. Reviewing logs frequently B. Testing and validating the rules C. Training a local administrator at the new location D. Sharing firewall administrative dutiesANSWER: B NOTE: A mistake in the rule set can render a firewall insecure. Therefore, testing and validating the rules is the most important factor in ensuring a successful deployment. A regular review of log fil es would not start until the deployment has been completed. Training a local administrator may not be necessary if the firewalls are managed from a central location. Having multiple administrators is a good idea, but not the most important. 62. When evaluating the controls of an EDI application, an IS auditor should PRIMARILY be concerned with the risk of: A. xcessive transaction turnaround time. B. application interface failure. C. improper transaction authorization. D. nonvalidated batch totals. ANSWER: C NOTE: Foremost among the risks associated with electronic data interchange (EDI) is improper transaction authorization. Since the interaction with the parties is electronic, there is no inherent authentication. The other choices, although risks, are not as significant. 63. The PRIMARY objective of implementing corporate governance by an organization's management is to: A. provide strategic direction. B. control business operations.C. align IT with business. D. implement best prac tices. ANSWER: A NOTE: Corporate governance is a set of management practices to provide strategic direction, thereby ensuring that goals are achievable, risks are properly addressed and organizational resources are properly utilized. Hence, the primary objective of corporate governance is to provide strategic direction. Based on the strategic direction, business operations are directed and controlled. 64. To determine if unauthorized changes have been made to production code the BEST audit procedure is to: A. xamine the change control system records and trace them forward to object code files. B. review access control permissions operating within the production program libraries. C. examine object code to find instances of changes and trace them back to change control records. D. review change approved designations established within the change control system. ANSWER: C NOTE: The procedure of examining object code files to establish instances of code changes and tracing these back t o change control system records is a substantive test that directly addresses the risk of unauthorized code changes.The other choices are valid procedures to apply in a change control audit but they do not directly address the risk of unauthorized code changes. 65. When reviewing an active project, an IS auditor observed that, because of a reduction in anticipated benefits and increased costs, the business case was no longer valid. The IS auditor should recommend that the: A. project be discontinued. B. business case be updated and possible corrective actions be identified. C. project be returned to the project sponsor for reapproval. D. project be ompleted and the business case be updated later. ANSWER: B NOTE: An IS auditor should not recommend discontinuing or completing the project before reviewing an updated business case. The IS auditor should recommend that the business case be kept current throughout the project since it is a key input to decisions made throughout the life o f any project. 66. Which of the following audit techniques would BEST aid an auditor in determining whether there have been unauthorized program changes since the last authorized program update? A. Test data run B. Code review C.Automated code comparison D. Review of code migration procedures ANSWER: C NOTE: An automated code comparison is the process of comparing two versions of the same program to determine whether the two correspond. It is an efficient technique because it is an automated procedure. Test data runs permit the auditor to verify the processing of preselected transactions, but provide no evidence about unexercised portions of a program. Code review is the process of reading program source code listings to determine whether the code contains potential errors or inefficient statements.A code review can be used as a means of code comparison but it is inefficient. The review of code migration procedures would not detect program changes. 67. Doing which of the following d uring peak production hours could result in unexpected downtime? A. Performing data migration or tape backup B. Performing preventive maintenance on electrical systems C. Promoting applications from development to the staging environment D. Replacing a failed power supply in the core router of the data center ANSWER: B NOTE: Choices A and C are processing events which may impact performance, but ould not cause downtime. Enterprise-class routers have redundant hot-swappable power supplies, so replacing a failed power supply should not be an issue. Preventive maintenance activities should be scheduled for non-peak times of the day, and preferably during a maintenance window time period. A mishap or incident caused by a maintenance worker could result in unplanned downtime. 68. Which of the following is the MOST robust method for disposing of magnetic media that contains confidential information? A. Degaussing B. Defragmenting C. Erasing D. Destroying ANSWER: DNOTE: Destroying magnetic media is the only way to assure that confidential information cannot be recovered. Degaussing or demagnetizing is not sufficient to fully erase information from magnetic media. The purpose of defragmentation is to eliminate fragmentation in file systems and does not remove information. Erasing or deleting magnetic media does not remove the information; this method simply changes a file's indexing information. 69. The MAIN criterion for determining the severity level of a service disruption incident is: A. cost of recovery. B. negative public opinion. C. geographic location. D. downtime.ANSWER: D NOTE: The longer the period of time a client cannot be serviced, the greater the severity of the incident. The cost of recovery could be minimal yet the service downtime could have a major impact. Negative public opinion is a symptom of an incident. Geographic location does not determine the severity of the incident. 70. During the design of a business continuity plan, the business impact a nalysis (BIA) identifies critical processes and supporting applications. This will PRIMARILY influence the: A. responsibility for maintaining the business continuity plan. B. criteria for selecting a recovery site provider.C. recovery strategy. D. responsibilities of key personnel. ANSWER: C NOTE: The most appropriate strategy is selected based on the relative risk level and criticality identified in the business impact analysis (BIA. ), The other choices are made after the selection or design of the appropriate recovery strategy. 71. What is the lowest level of the IT governance maturity model where an IT balanced scorecard exists? A. Repeatable but Intuitive B. Defined C. Managed and Measurable D. Optimized ANSWER: B NOTE: Defined (level 3) is the lowest level at which an IT balanced scorecard is defined. 2. During the system testing phase of an application development project the IS auditor should review the: A. conceptual design specifications. B. vendor contract. C. error repor ts. D. program change requests. ANSWER: C NOTE: Testing is crucial in determining that user requirements have been validated. The IS auditor should be involved in this phase and review error reports for their precision in recognizing erroneous data and review the procedures for resolving errors. A conceptual design specification is a document prepared during the requirements definition phase. A vendor ontract is prepared during a software acquisition process. Program change requests would normally be reviewed as a part of the postimplementation phase. 73. When reviewing procedures for emergency changes to programs, the IS auditor should verify that the procedures: A. allow changes, which will be completed using after-the-fact follow-up. B. allow undocumented changes directly to the production library. C. do not allow any emergency changes. D. allow programmers permanent access to production programs. ANSWER: A NOTE: There may be situations where emergency fixes are required to resol ve system problems.This involves the use of special logon IDs that grant programmers temporary access to production programs during emergency situations. Emergency changes should be completed using after-the-fact follow-up procedures, which ensure that normal procedures are retroactively applied; otherwise, production may be impacted. Changes made in this fashion should be held in an emergency library from where they can be moved to the production library, following the normal change management process. Programmers should not directly alter the production library nor should they be allowed permanent access to production programs. 4. Though management has stated otherwise, an IS auditor has reasons to believe that the organization is using software that is not licensed. In this situation, the IS auditor should: A. include the statement of management in the audit report. B. identify whether such software is, indeed, being used by the organization. C. reconfirm with management the usag e of the software. D. discuss the issue with senior management since reporting this could have a negative impact on the organization. ANSWER: B NOTE: When there is an indication that an organization might be using nlicensed software, the IS auditor should obtain sufficient evidence before including it in the report. With respect to this matter, representations obtained from management cannot be independently verified. If the organization is using software that is not licensed, the auditor, to maintain objectivity and independence, must include this in the report. 75. Which of the following would be BEST prevented by a raised floor in the computer machine room? A. Damage of wires around computers and servers B. A power failure from static electricity C. Shocks from earthquakes D. Water flood damage ANSWER: ANOTE: The primary reason for having a raised floor is to enable power cables and data cables to be installed underneath the floor. This eliminates the safety and damage risks pose d when cables are placed in a spaghetti-like fashion on an open floor. Static electricity should be avoided in the machine room; therefore, measures such as specially manufactured carpet or shoes would be more appropriate for static prevention than a raised floor. Raised floors do not address shocks from earthquakes. To address earthquakes, anti-seismic architecture would be required to establish a quake-resistant structural framework.Computer equipment needs to be protected against water. However, a raised floor would not prevent damage to the machines in the event of overhead water pipe leakage. 76. The network of an organization has been the victim of several intruders' attacks. Which of the following measures would allow for the early detection of such incidents? A. Antivirus software B. Hardening the servers C. Screening routers D. Honeypots ANSWER: D NOTE: Honeypots can collect data on precursors of attacks. Since they serve no business function, honeypots are hosts that have no authorized users other than the honeypot administrators.All activity directed at them is considered suspicious. Attackers will scan and attack honeypots, giving administrators data on new trends and attack tools, particularly malicious code. However, honeypots are a supplement to, not a replacement for, properly securing networks, systems and applications. If honeypots are to be used by an organization, qualified incident handlers and intrusion detection analysts should manage them. The other choices do not provide indications of potential attacks. 77. The purpose of a deadman door controlling access to a computer facility is primarily to: A. prevent piggybacking.B. prevent toxic gases from entering the data center. C. starve a fire of oxygen. D. prevent an excessively rapid entry to, or exit from, the facility. ANSWER: A NOTE: The purpose of a deadman door controlling access to a computer facility is primarily intended to prevent piggybacking. Choices B and C could be accomplish ed with a single self-closing door. Choice D is invalid, as a rapid exit may be necessary in some circumstances, e. g. , a fire. 78. The MOST important reason for an IS auditor to obtain sufficient and appropriate audit evidence is to: A. comply with regulatory requirements. B. rovide a basis for drawing reasonable conclusions. C. ensure complete audit coverage. D. perform the audit according to the defined scope. ANSWER: B NOTE: The scope of an IS audit is defined by its objectives. This involves identifying control weaknesses relevant to the scope of the audit. Obtaining sufficient and appropriate evidence assists the auditor in not only identifying control weaknesses but also documenting and validating them. Complying with regulatory requirements, ensuring coverage and the execution of audit are all relevant to an audit but are not the reason why sufficient and relevant evidence is required. 9. During the audit of a database server, which of the following would be considered the GREATEST exposure? A. The password does not expire on the administrator account B. Default global security settings for the database remain unchanged C. Old data have not been purged D. Database activity is not fully logged ANSWER: B NOTE: Default security settings for the database could allow issues like blank user passwords or passwords that were the same as the username. Logging all database activity is not practical. Failure to purge old data may present a performance issue but is not an immediate security concern.Choice A is an exposure but not as serious as B. 80. An IS auditor finds that a DBA has read and write access to production data. The IS auditor should: A. accept the DBA access as a common practice. B. assess the controls relevant to the DBA function. C. recommend the immediate revocation of the DBA access to production data. D. review user access authorizations approved by the DBA. ANSWER: B NOTE: It is good practice when finding a potential exposure to look for the best controls. Though granting the database administrator (DBA) access to production data might be a common practice, the IS auditor should evaluate the relevant controls.The DBA should have access based on a need-to-know and need-to-do basis; therefore, revocation may remove the access required. The DBA, typically, may need to have access to some production data. Granting user authorizations is the responsibility of the data owner and not the DBA. 81. What should be the GREATEST concern to an IS auditor when employees use portable media (MP3 players, flash drives)? A. The copying of sensitive data on them B. The copying of songs and videos on them C. The cost of these devices multipl