Sandlot Essays (619 words) - Baseball Films, 20th Century Fox Films

Sandlot The Days of the Sandlot Sandlot a vacant lot especially used for unorganized sports. It was a place during my childhood years where I could go and not have a worry on my mind, except being with my best friends and playing some sandlot ball. A place where the memories of endless fun and games took place, between my friends and I. I still hear the voices of neighbors yelling at us to go home because of the tennis balls we hit against their walls and windows. The sandlot was better than Turner Field to us. Nothing could compare to all the times we had there. It was a small field in between two apartment complexes. The spray painted lines we drew, the worn out rug squares we used as bases, the home plate we made out of wood and painted white were all the things we could do to make this old field our baseball park. But during our endless games we sure felt like we were playing on a real field. The rules aren't exactly like baseball, although things were very similar. Day after day we never chose a winner. We just played to satisfy our love for the game, not for bragging rights. Our games could be played with just four people and sometimes we had games that were nine on nine, just like the pros. Every morning I knew the call to meet at the lot was coming. By the time we all met up, we were all ready to play. Making teams was always a hassle because everyone always wanted to be on Tommy's team. So, we all took turns being on his team and his team usually won. Taking slides into the run-down grass around the bases, even getting cuts from the pebbles we missed picking up were all part of the lot. And every time a foot stomped on home plate, it was a reminder that the sandlot was ours. By the time lunch time came around we would be covered in sweat and ready to jump in the pool to cool off. Then we would always have a pizza delivered to the pool, it was kind of a tradition during the summer. After a nice long rest there we were back on the lot continuing our games as if we had nowhere to go. As dusk starts to roll in we still played until one of us was nailed by a screaming line drive in the head because it was too dark to see. Usually our game-ending announcement was my friend's mom, when I could hear her screaming his name to come home. That was the cue the game was over for the day. Soon it was just Tommy and I around and we are always the last to leave. Knowing tomorrow we all would be back to play again and again. As I reminisce back on the sandlot, I think back to the days when I had the most fun. Every day was like a new adventure to be conquered by my friends and I. The lot after a couple of years was moved down the road to a new location, by a new group of children in my old neighborhood. They too, had done a nice job taking care of the field, as I go back to take another look at what my friends and I had originally started. As I see the kids play today, I am reminded of the times when we were all children and carefree. With not a single worry on our little minds except what new toys to buy, the sandlot my home away from home as a kid. Sports and Games Essays

law of dimihisn returns essays

law of dimihisn returns essays The Law of diminishing returns is a key one in economics. It is used to explain many of the ways the economy works and changes. It is a relatively simple idea; spending and investing more and more in a product where one of the factors of production remains the same means the enterprise will eventually run out of steam. The returns will begin to diminish in the long run. If more fertilizer and better machinery are used on an acre of farmland, the yield will increase for a while but then begin to slow and become flat. A farmer can only get so much out of the land, and the more the farmer works, the harder it gets. The economic reason for diminishing returns of capital is as follows: When the capital stock is low, there are many workers for each machine, and the benefits of increasing capital further are great; but when the capital stock is high, workers already have plenty of capital to work with, and little benefit is to be gained from expanding capital further. For example, in a secretarial pool in which there are many more secretaries than computer terminals, each terminal is constantly being utilized and secretaries must waste time waiting for a free terminal. In this situation, the benefit in terms of increased output of adding extra terminals is high. However, if there are already as many terminals as secretaries, so that terminals are often idle and there is no waiting for a terminal to become available, little additional output can be obtained by adding yet another terminal. Another application for this law is in Athletics, for runners, their investment is the time and energy put into training and the yield is hopefully improved fitness. Early in their running careers or early in the training program a couple of weeks of regular training would be rewarded with a considerable increase in fitness. Having achieved a very fit state though, two weeks of regular training will achieve ...

Journal 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Journal 1 - Essay Example In the United States constitution, the term commerce clause is used to refer to Article 1, Section 8, and Clause 3 of the U.S. Constitution. This clause gives the Congress power to initiate regulations on the commerce between America and other nations, between states and between America and Indian tribes. This clause has for long been used in a way that the people of America and some interest groups feel that is a show of power by the Congress rather that the application of the law. The clause is used for instant in making regulations on the business that the business community in America is in, between themselves and with other nations. An application of this is the control of oil importation and prices. The statute of limitations is a type of federal or state statute or law that provides restrictions on the time within which the filing of a legal proceeding may be. The statute applies to both civil and criminal cases and is at preventing proceedings that have been shaped and spiced with fraudulent claims especially when the available evidence is not sufficient to allow the case to proceed or in case the evidence is. For example, the time allowed for a convicted criminal to appeal is usually 14 days. Beyond this time, an appeal cannot be filed. This ensures that obscure facts and defense evidence is not with to bring in a new picture of the case. A tort in legal terms refers to something that is wrong. It is an act by one person to cause harm to a different person. When this harm is unintended, then the act becomes known as unintentional tort or negligence. This means that the harm was caused through actions that resulted from negligence or unreasonable act, but the harm was intended. For example, if driving past a truck loaded with bricks and one brick fall from the truck and cause considerable damage to the car, then the person can file a lawsuit against the owner of the

Greece And Rome Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Greece And Rome - Essay Example The Gods’ presences affected the minds of every individual who lived in Rome among other regions. How is what someone does or does not do pertain to the Gods? Does it affect their lifestyle? Do certain Gods meet specific criteria for the citizens of Rome? All of these questions affect the anxiety of how life is lived based on how each God is viewed. Fortunately, these worries are often put to rest for most people when guidelines are implemented and stories are told that predict the aftermath of worshipping one God vs. another. Quintus Horatius Flaccus, or Horace as current society knows him by, is no exception to helping create and foster the ideas of life in the presence of Gods (Horace, par. 1). Horace describes his occupation as: â€Å"Ye worthy trio! we poor sons of song/ Oft find ‘tis fancied right that leads us wrong† (Flaccus, par. 3, ll. 33-34). We poor sons of song refers to other lyrical poets. The next line oft find ‘tis fancied right that leads u s wrong means their talent of repeating history, remarking on ideas and sharing them should not be an ego boost. In other words, their ability in performing odes is a good deed if it is done correctly and not interpreted the way the poet believes it should be to gain favoritism. Horace remarks on how poets, or artists, are not gods and that it is vital to remember that in lines 45-46: By sense of art, creates a new defect/ Fix on some casual sculpture; he shall know/ How to give nails their sharpness, hair its flow;/ Yet he shall fail, because he lacks the soul/ To comprehend and reproduce the whole. (Flaccus, par. 3) The key words mentioned first are art and defect because it indicates that citizens need to keep a level head. He lacks the soul furthers Horace’s argument in that soul is defined as the spiritual or immaterial part of a human being or animal, regarded as immortal. Horace is saying that people may understand how worldly things work, but they do not attain the ca pacity to create it based on the fact that he wrote reproduce the whole. Whole, in this case, meaning containing all its natural constituents, components, or elements states that humans cannot recreate life in its exact entirety the way Gods can when it is paired with the action of reproduction. Therefore, the Gods are viewed as being above the Romans, and they are entities that should be respected and worshipped in order to lead successful lives. Horace’s ode continues to discuss the theme of the Gods and how they impact Roman life. He says, â€Å"To Vesta’s temple and King Numa’s palace/†¦ Wild, love-lorn river god! He saw himself as/ Avenger of his long-lamenting llia† (Horace, tr Michie, 5, ll. 15, 17-18). The Gods are a part of Roman life. Here, Vesta is mentioned for she is the goddess of the hearth, and the first goddess to scorn if an outsider trespasses on a home. Also, the river God too, but what is most evident about this passage is that h uman emotion is personified on the Gods through words like love-lorn, which means being without love; forsaken by one’s lover, and avenger that is defined as to take vengeance on behalf of. The Romans did this in order to relate to the Gods and generate understanding. The Gods were viewed as having extensive influence in shaping the lives of the citizens of Rome. When some thing important happened, especially if it was a turn for the worse, people turned to the Gods. Horace says, â€Å"Which of the gods now shall the people summon/ To prop Rome’

The need for appropriate performance measures and management has been Essay

The need for appropriate performance measures and management has been a recurring theme in management and accounting over the la - Essay Example Current paper focuses on the examination of the need for appropriate performance measures and management for organizations operating in the healthcare industry; reference is made especially to the UK National Health Service. The review of the literature published in the specific field led to the assumption that the performance measures and the management policies currently used by managers in NHS cannot respond to the organization’s needs – as identified through its daily activities. Moreover, it has been made clear that the above failure is related not only to the external but also to the internal organizational environment – referring to employees of all levels. It is suggested that measures are taken for the improvement of these policies trying to keep close control on the resources engaged and the time required. 2. Performance measurement and management of hospitals and other healthcare organizations The understanding of the criteria used for measuring the pe rformance of healthcare organizations requires the reference to the characteristics and the needs of performance measurement – as a strategic tool for checking the level of achievement of organizational goals. At the same time, reference should be made to the challenges that managers face within modern organizations, as these challenges can negatively affect the quality and the effectiveness of the relevant management practices. All these issues should be also taken into consideration when evaluating the performance measurement and the management policies of NHS. 2.1 Performance measurement and management – overview, role One of the key characteristics of performance measurement is the fact that the specific activity has different forms across firms of different size and culture. This fact is made clear in the study of Taticchi (2010). In the above study emphasis is given on the limited scope of performance measurement in SMEs – implying that the effectiveness o f performance measurement in large enterprises is expected to be higher, probably because of the support provided to the individuals involved (Taticchi 2010). On the other hand, the potential barriers that performance measurement systems and plans face in SMEs cannot reduce the value of these systems as key strategic tools. Of course, in large organizations the resources available for the development of advanced management and performance measurement plans are significant; thus, in organizations of such size the effectiveness of performance measurement methods is expected to be high, a fact that will be taken into consideration further on where the effectiveness of the performance measurement systems used in NHS will be discussed. At this point it would be necessary to refer to the characteristics of performance measurement – as part of the strategic process of organizations in all industries; in accordance with Rose (2005) ‘performance measurement is the language of pr ogress for the organization’ (Rose 2005 in Taticchi 2010, p.3). In each organization, performance measurement needs to be combined with appropriate management techniques –

Types of Security Threats and Protection Against Them

Types of Security Threats and Protection Against Them Introduction While attacks on computers by outside intruders are more publicized, attacks perpetrated by insiders are very common and often more damaging. Insiders represent the greatest threat to computer security because they understand their organizations business and how their computer systems work. They have both the confidentiality and access to perform these attacks. An inside attacker will have a higher probability of successfully breaking into the system and extracting critical information. The insiders also represent the greatest challenge to securing the company network because they are authorized a level of access to the file system and granted a degree of trust. A system administrator angered by his diminished role in a thriving defense manufacturing firm whose computer network he alone had developed and managed, centralized the software that supported the company’s manufacturing processes on a single server, and then intimidated a coworker into giving him the only backup tapes for that software. Following the system administrator’s termination for inappropriate and abusive treatment of his coworkers, a logic bomb previously planted by the insider detonated, deleting the only remaining copy of the critical software from the company’s server. The company estimated the cost of damage in excess of $10 million, which led to the layoff of some 80 employees. An application developer, who lost his IT sector job as a result of company downsizing, expressed his displeasure at being laid off just prior to the Christmas holidays by launching a systematic attack on his former employer’s computer network. Three weeks following his termination, the insider used the username and password of one of his former coworkers to gain remote access to the network and modify several of the company’s web pages, changing text and inserting pornographic images. He also sent each of the company’s customers an email message advising that the website had been hacked. Each email message also contained that customer’s usernames and passwords for the website. An investigation was initiated, but it failed to identify the insider as the perpetrator. A month and a half later, he again remotely accessed the network, executed a script to reset all network passwords and changed 4,000 pricing records to reflect bogus information. This former employee ultimately was identified as the perpetrator and prosecuted. He was sentenced to serve five months in prison and two years on supervised probation, and ordered to pay $48,600 restitution to his former employer. A city government employee who was passed over for promotion to finance director retaliated by deleting files from his and a coworker’s computers the day before the new finance director took office. An investigation identified the disgruntled employee as the perpetrator of the incident. City government officials disagreed with the primary police detective on the case as to whether all of the deleted files were recovered. No criminal charges were filed, and, under an agreement with city officials, the employee was allowed to resign. These incidents of sabotage were all committed by â€Å"insiders:† individuals who were, or previously had been, authorized to use the information systems they eventually employed to perpetrate harm. Insiders pose a substantial threat by virtue of their knowledge of, and access to, employer systems and/or databases. Keeney, M., et al (2005) The Nature of Security Threats The greatest threat to computer systems and information comes from humans, through actions that are either malicious or ignorant 3 . Attackers, trying to do harm, exploit vulnerabilities in a system or security policy employing various methods and tools to achieve their aims. Attackers usually have a motive to disrupt normal business operations or to steal information. The above diagram is depicts the types of security threats that exist. The diagram depicts the all threats to the computer systems but main emphasis will be on malicious â€Å"insiders†. The greatest threat of attacks against computer systems are from â€Å"insiders† who know the codes and security measures that are in place 45. With very specific objectives, an insider attack can affect all components of security. As employees with legitimate access to systems, they are familiar with an organization’s computer systems and applications. They are likely to know what actions cause the most damage and how to get away with it undetected. Considered members of the family, they are often above suspicion and the last to be considered when systems malfunction or fail. Disgruntled employees create mischief and sabotage against systems. Organizational downsizing in both public and private sectors has created a group of individuals with significant knowledge and capabilities for malicious activities 6 and revenge. Contract professionals and foreign nationals either brought into the U.S. on work visas to meet labor shortages or from offshore outsourcing projects are also included in this category of knowledgeable insiders. Common Insider Threat Common cases of computer-related employee sabotage include: changing data; deleting data; destroying data or programs with logic bombs; crashing systems; holding data hostage; destroying hardware or facilities; entering data incorrectly, exposing sensitive and embarrassing proprietary data to public view such as the salaries of top executives. Insiders can plant viruses, Trojan horses or worms, browse through file systems or program malicious code with little chance of detection and with almost total impunity. A 1998 FBI Survey 7 investigating computer crime found that of the 520 companies consulted, 64% had reported security breaches for a total quantifiable financial loss of $136 millions. (See chart) The survey also found that the largest number of breaches were by unauthorized insider access and concluded that these figures were very conservative as most companies were unaware of malicious activities or reluctant to report breaches for fear of negative press. The survey reported that the average cost of an attack by an outsider (hacker) at $56,000, while the average insider attack cost a company excess $2.7 million. It found that hidden costs associated with the loss in staff hours, legal liability, loss of proprietary information, decrease in productivity and the potential loss of credibility were impossible to quantify accurately. Employees who have caused damage have used their knowledge and access to information resources for a range of motives, including greed, revenge for perceived grievances, ego gratification, resolution of personal or professional problems, to protect or advance their careers, to challenge their skill, express anger, impress others, or some combination of these concerns. Insider Characteristics The majority of the insiders were former employees. At the time of the incident, 59% of the insiders were former employees or contractors of the affected organizations and 41% were current employees or contractors. The former employees or contractors left their positions for a variety of reasons. These included the insiders being fired (48%), resigning (38%), and being laid off (7%). Most insiders were either previously or currently employed full-time in a technical position within the organization. Most of the insiders (77%) were full-time employees of the affected organizations, either before or during the incidents. Eight percent of the insiders worked part-time, and an additional 8% had been hired as contractors or consultants. Two (4%) of the insiders worked as temporary employees, and one (2%) was hired as a subcontractor. Eighty-six percent of the insiders were employed in technical positions, which included system administrators (38%), programmers (21%), engineers (14%), and IT specialists (14%). Of the insiders not holding technical positions, 10% were employed in a professional position, which included, among others, insiders employed as editors, managers, and auditors. An additional two insiders (4%) worked in service positions, both of whom worked as customer service representatives. Insiders were demographically varied with regard to age, racial and ethnic background, gender, and marital status. The insiders ranged in age from 17 to 60 years (mean age = 32 years)17 and represented a variety of racial and ethnic backgrounds. Ninety-six percent of the insiders were male. Forty-nine percent of the insiders were married at the time of the incident, while 45% were single, having never married, and 4% were divorced. Just under one-third of the insiders had an arrest history. Thirty percent of the insiders had been arrested previously, including arrests for violent offenses (18%), alcohol or drug related offenses (11%), and nonfinancial/ fraud related theft offenses (11%). Organization Characteristics The incidents affected organizations in the following critical infrastructure sectors: Banking and finance (8%) Continuity of government (16%) Defense industrial base (2%) Food (4%) Information and telecommunications (63%) Postal and shipping (2%) Public health (4%) In all, 82% of the affected organizations were in private industry, while 16% were government entities. Sixty-three percent of the organizations engaged in domestic activity only, 2% engaged in international activity only, and 35% engaged in activity both domestically and internationally. What motivate insiders? Internal attackers attempt to break into computer networks for many reasons. The subject has been fruitfully studied and internal attackers are used to be motivated with the following reasons [BSB03]: Challenge Many internal attackers initially attempt to break into networks for the challenge. A challenge combines strategic and tactical thinking, patience, and mental strength. However, internal attackers motivated by the challenge of breaking into networks often do not often think about their actions as criminal. For example, an internal attack can be the challenge to break into the mail server in order to get access to different emails of any employee. Revenge Internal attackers motivated by revenge have often ill feelings toward employees of the same company. These attackers can be particularly dangerous, because they generally focus on a single target, and they generally have patience. In the case of revenge, attackers can also be former employees that feel that they have been wrongfully fired. For example, a former employee may be motivated to launch an attack to the company in order to cause financial losses. Espionage Internal attackers motivated by espionage, steal confidential information for a third party. In general, two types of espionage exists: Industrial espionage Industrial espionage means that a company may pay its own employees in order to break into the networks of its competitors or business partners. The company may also hire someone else to do this. International espionage International espionage means that attackers work for governments and steal confidential information for other governments. Definitions of insider threat 1) The definition of insider threat should encompass two main threat actor categories and five general categories of activities. The first actor category, the â€Å"true insider,† is defined as any entity (person, system, or code) authorized by command and control elements to access network, system, or data. The second actor category, the â€Å"pseudo-insider,† is someone who, by policy, is not authorized the accesses, roles, and/or permissions they currently have but may have gotten them inadvertently or through malicious activities. The activities of both fall into five general categories: Exceeds given network, system or data permissions; Conducts malicious activity against or across the network, system or data; Provided unapproved access to the network, system or data; Circumvents security controls or exploits security weaknesses to exceed authorized permitted activity or disguise identify; or Non-maliciously or unintentionally damages resources (network, system or data) by destruction, corruption, denial of access, or disclosure. (Presented at the University of Louisville Cyber Securitys Day, October 2006) 2) Insiders — employees, contractors, consultants, and vendors — pose as great a threat to an organization’s security posture as outsiders, including hackers. Few organizations have implemented the policies, procedures, tools, or strategies to effectively address their insider threats. An insider threat assessment is a recommended first step for many organizations, followed by policy review, and employee awareness training. (Insider Threat Management Presented by infoLock Technologies) 3) Employees are an organization’s most important asset. Unfortunately, they also present the greatest security risks. Working and communicating remotely, storing sensitive data on portable devices such as laptops, PDAs, thumb drives, and even iPods employees have extended the security perimeter beyond safe limits. While convenient access to data is required for operational efficiency, the actions of trusted insiders not just employees, but consultants, contactors, vendors, and partners must be actively managed, audited, and monitored in order to protect sensitive data. (Presented by infoLock Technologies) 4) The diversity of cyber threat has grown over time from network-level attacks and password cracking to include newer classes such as insider attacks, email worms and social engineering, which are currently recognized as serious security problems. However, attack modeling and threat analysis tools have not evolved at the same rate. Known formal models such as attack graphs perform action-centric vulnerability modeling and analysis. All possible atomic user actions are represented as states, and sequences which lead to the violation of a specie safety property are extracted to indicate possible exploits. (Ramkumar Chinchani, Anusha Iyer, Hung Ngo, Shambhu Upadhyaya) 5) The Insider Threat Study, conducted by the U.S. Secret Service and Carnegie Mellon University’s Software Engineering Institute CERT Program, analyzed insider cyber crimes across U.S. critical infrastructure sectors. The study indicates that management decisions related to organizational and employee performance sometimes yield unintended consequences magnifying risk of insider attack. Lack of tools for understanding insider threat, analyzing risk mitigation alternatives, and communicating results exacerbates the problem. (Dawn M. Cappelli, Akash G. Desai) 6) The insider threat or insider problem is cited as the most serious security problem in many studies. It is also considered the most difficult problem to deal with, because an insider has information and capabilities not known to other, external attackers. But the studies rarely define what the insider threat is, or define it nebulously. The difficulty in handling the insider threat is reasonable under those circumstances; if one cannot define a problem precisely, how can one approach a solution, let alone know when the problem is solved? (Matt Bishop 2005) Five common insider threat Exploiting information via remote access software A considerable amount of insider abuse is performed offsite via remote access software such as Terminal Services, Citrix and GoToMyPC. Simply put, users are less likely to be caught stealing sensitive information when they can it do offsite. Also, inadequately protected remote computers may turn up in the hands of a third-party if the computer is left unattended, lost or stolen. 2.) Sending out information via e-mail and instant messaging Sensitive information can simply be included in or attached to an e-mail or IM. Although this is a serious threat, its also one of the easiest to eliminate. 3.) Sharing sensitive files on P2P networks Whether or not you allow peer-to-peer file sharing software such as Kazaa or IM on your network, odds are its there and waiting to be abused. The inanimate software in and of itself is not the problem – its how its used that causes trouble. All it takes is a simple misconfiguration to serve up your networks local and network drives to the world. 4.) Careless use of wireless networks Perhaps the most unintentional insider threat is that of insecure wireless network usage. Whether its at a coffee shop, airport or hotel, unsecured airwaves can easily put sensitive information in jeopardy. All it takes is a peek into e-mail communications or file transfers for valuable data to be stolen. Wi-Fi networks are most susceptible to these attacks, but dont overlook Bluetooth on smartphones and PDAs. Also, if you have WLANs inside your organization, employees could use it to exploit the network after hours. 5.) Posting information to discussion boards and blogs Quite often users post support requests, blogs or other work-related messages on the Internet. Whether intentional or not, this can include sensitive information and file attachments that put your organization at risk. Views of different authors about insider threat 1) Although insiders in this report tended to be former technical employees, there is no demographic â€Å"profile† of a malicious insider. Ages of perpetrators ranged from late teens to retirement. Both men and women were malicious insiders. Their positions included programmers, graphic artists, system and network administrators, managers, and executives. They were currently employed and recently terminated employees, contractors, and temporary employees. As such, security awareness training needs to encourage employees to identify malicious insiders by behavior, not by stereotypical characteristics. For example, behaviors that should be a source of concern include making threats against the organization, bragging about the damage one could do to the organization, or discussing plans to work against the organization. Also of concern are attempts to gain other employees’ passwords and to fraudulently obtain access through trickery or exploitation of a trusted relationsh ip. Insiders can be stopped, but stopping them is a complex problem. Insider attacks can only be prevented through a layered defense strategy consisting of policies, procedures, and technical controls. Therefore, management must pay close attention to many aspects of its organization, including its business policies and procedures, organizational culture, and technical environment. Organizations must look beyond information technology to the organization’s overall business processes and the interplay between those processes and the technologies used. (Michelle Keeney, J.D., Ph.D. atal 2005) 2) While attacks on computers by outside intruders are more publicized, attacks perpetrated by insiders are very common and often more damaging. Insiders represent the greatest threat to computer security because they understand their organizations business and how their computer systems work. They have both the confidentiality and access to perform these attacks. An inside attacker will have a higher probability of successfully breaking into the system and extracting critical information. The insiders also represent the greatest challenge to securing the company network because they are authorized a level of access to the file system and granted a degree of trust. (Nam Nguyen and Peter Reiher, Geoffrey H. Kuenning) 3) Geographically distributed information systems achieve high availability that is crucial to their usefulness by replicating their state. Providing instant access at time of need regardless of current network connectivity requires the state to be replicated in every geographical site so that it is locally available. As network environments become increasingly hostile, we have to assume that part of the distributed information system will be compromised at some point. The problem of maintaining a replicated state in such a system is magnified when insider (or Byzantine) attacks are taken into account. (Yair Amir Cristina Nita-Rotaru) 4) In 2006, over 60% of information security breaches were attributable to insider behavior, yet more than 80% of corporate IT security budgets were spent on securing perimeter defenses against outside attack. Protecting against insider threats means managing policy, process, technology, and most importantly, people. Protecting against insider threats means managing policy, process, technology, and most importantly, people.The Insider Threat Assessment security awareness training, infrastructure reconfiguration, or third party solutions, you can take comfort in knowing that you have made the right choice to improve your security posture, and you will achieve your expected Return on Security Investment. (Presented by infoLock Technologies) 5) The threat of attack from insiders is real and substantial. The 2004 ECrime Watch Survey TM conducted by the United States Secret Service, CERT  ® Coordination Center (CERT/CC), and CSO Magazine, 1 found that in cases where respondents could identify the perpetrator of an electronic crime, 29 percent were committed by insiders. The impact from insider attacks can be devastating. One complex case of financial fraud committed by an insider in a financial institution resulted in losses of over $600 million. 2 Another case involving a logic bomb written by a technical employee working for a defense contractor resulted in $10 million in losses and the layoff of 80 employees. (Dawn Cappelli, Andrew Moore, Timothy Shimeall,2005) 6) Insiders, by virtue of legitimate access to their organizations’ information, systems, and networks, pose a significant risk to employers. Employees experiencing financial problems have found it easy to use the systems they use at work everyday to commit fraud. Other employees, motivated by financial problems, greed, or the wish to impress a new employer, have stolen confidential data, proprietary information, or intellectual property from their employer. Lastly, technical employees, possibly the most dangerous because of their intimate knowledge of an organization’s vulnerabilities, have used their technical ability to sabotage their employer’s system or network in revenge for some negative work-related event. (Dawn M. Cappelli, Akash G. Desai ,at al 2004) 7) The insider problem is considered the most difficult and critical problem in computer security. But studies that survey the seriousness of the problem, and research that analyzes the problem, rarely define the problem precisely. Implicit definitions vary in meaning. Different definitions imply different countermeasures, as well as different assumptions. (Matt Bishop 2005) Solution: User monitoring Insiders have two things that external attackers don’t: privileged access and trust. This allows them to bypass preventative measures, access mission-critical assets, and conduct malicious acts all while flying under the radar unless a strong incident detection solution is in place. A number of variables motivate insiders, but the end result is that they can more easily perpetrate their crimes than an outsider who has limited access. Insiders can directly damage your business resulting in lost revenue, lost customers, reduced shareholder faith, a tarnished reputation, regulatory fines and legal fees. With such an expansive threat, organizations need an automated solution to help detect and analyze Malicious Insider Activity These are some points which could be helpful in monitoring and minimizing the insider threats: Detecting insider activity starts with an expanded log and event collection. Firewalls, routers and intrusion detection systems are important, but they are not enough. Organizations need to look deeper to include mission critical applications such as email applications, databases, operating systems, mainframes, access control solutions, physical security systems as well as identity and content management products. Correlation: identifying known types of suspicious and malicious behavior Anomaly detection: recognizing deviations from norms and baselines. Pattern discovery: uncovering seemingly unrelated events that show a pattern of suspicious activity From case management, event annotation and escalation to reporting, auditing and access to insider-relevant information, the technical solution must be in line with the organization’s procedures. This will ensure that insiders are addressed consistently, efficiently and effectively regardless of who they are. Identify suspicious user activity patterns and identify anomalies. Visually track and create business-level reports on user’s activity. Automatically escalate the threat levels of suspicious and malicious individuals. Respond according to your specific and unique corporate governing guidelines. Early detection of insider activity based on early warning indicators of suspicious behavior, such as: Stale or terminated accounts Excessive file printing, unusual printing times and keywords printed Traffic to suspicious destinations Unauthorized peripheral device access Bypassing security controls Attempts to alter or delete system logs Installation of malicious software The Insider Threat Study? The global acceptance, business adoption and growth of the Internet, and of Internetworking technologies in general, in response to customer requests for online access to business information systems, has ushered in an extraordinary expansion of electronic business transactions. In moving from internal (closed) business systems to open systems, the risk of malicious attacks and fraudulent activity has increased enormously, thereby requiring high levels of information security. Prior to the requirement for online, open access, the information security budget of a typical company was less then their tea and coffee expenses. Securing cyberspace has become a national priority. In The National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace, the President’s Critical Infrastructure Protection Board identified several critical infrastructure sectors10: banking and finance information and telecommunications transportation postal and shipping emergency services continuity of government public health Universities chemical industry, textile industry and hazardous materials agriculture defense industrial base The cases examined in the Insider Threat Study are incidents perpetrated by insiders (current or former employees or contractors) who intentionally exceeded or misused an authorized level of network, system, or data access in a manner that affected the security of the organizations’ data, systems, or daily business operations. Incidents included any compromise, manipulation of, unauthorized access to, exceeding authorized access to, tampering with, or disabling of any information system, network, or data. The cases examined also included any in which there was an unauthorized or illegal attempt to view, disclose, retrieve, delete, change, or add information. A completely secure, zero risk system is one which has zero functionality. Latest technology high-performance automated systems bring with them new risks in the shape of new attacks, new viruses and new software bugs, etc. IT Security, therefore, is an ongoing process. Proper risk management keeps the IT Security plans, policies and procedures up to date as per new requirements and changes in the computing environment. To implement controls to counter risks requires policies, and policy can only be implemented successfully if the top management is committed. And policy’s effective implementation is not possible without the training and awareness of staff. The State Bank of Pakistan recognizes that financial industry is built around the sanctity of the financial transactions. Owing to the critical role of financial institutions for a country and the extreme sensitivity of their information assets, the seriousness of IT Security and the ever-increasing threats it faces in today’s open world cannot be overstated. As more and more of our Banking Operations and products services become technology driven and dependent, consequently our reliance on these technology assets increases, and so does the need to protect and safeguard these resources to ensure smooth functioning of the financial industry. Here are different area in which we can work and check insider threat, but I chose textile industry as in textile industry there is less awareness of the insider threat. If an insider attack in an industry then industrialist try to cover up this news as these types of news about an industry can damage the reputation of the industry. Chapter 2 Review of Literature S, Axelsson. ,(2000) Anonymous 2001 Continuity of operations and correct functioning of information systems is important to most businesses. Threats to computerised information and process are threats to business quality and effectiveness. The objective of IT security is to put measures in place which eliminate or reduce significant threats to an acceptable level. Security and risk management are tightly coupled with quality management. Security measures should be implemented based on risk analysis and in harmony with Quality structures, processes and checklists. What needs to be protected, against whom and how? Security is the protection of information, systems and services against disasters, mistakes and manipulation so that the likelihood and impact of security incidents is minimised. IT security is comprised of: Confidentiality: Sensitive business objects (information processes) are disclosed only to authorised persons. ==> Controls are required to restrict access to objects. Integrity: The business need to control modification to objects (information and processes). ==> Controls are required to ensure objects are accurate and complete. Availability: The need to have business objects (information and services) available when needed. ==> Controls are required to ensure reliability of services. Legal Compliance: Information/data that is collected, processed, used, passed on or destroyed must be handled in line with current legislation of the relevant countries. A threat is a danger which could affect the security (confidentiality, integrity, availability) of assets, leading to a potential loss or damage. Stoneburner et al (2002) In this paper the author described a the risks which are Types of Security Threats and Protection Against Them Types of Security Threats and Protection Against Them Introduction While attacks on computers by outside intruders are more publicized, attacks perpetrated by insiders are very common and often more damaging. Insiders represent the greatest threat to computer security because they understand their organizations business and how their computer systems work. They have both the confidentiality and access to perform these attacks. An inside attacker will have a higher probability of successfully breaking into the system and extracting critical information. The insiders also represent the greatest challenge to securing the company network because they are authorized a level of access to the file system and granted a degree of trust. A system administrator angered by his diminished role in a thriving defense manufacturing firm whose computer network he alone had developed and managed, centralized the software that supported the company’s manufacturing processes on a single server, and then intimidated a coworker into giving him the only backup tapes for that software. Following the system administrator’s termination for inappropriate and abusive treatment of his coworkers, a logic bomb previously planted by the insider detonated, deleting the only remaining copy of the critical software from the company’s server. The company estimated the cost of damage in excess of $10 million, which led to the layoff of some 80 employees. An application developer, who lost his IT sector job as a result of company downsizing, expressed his displeasure at being laid off just prior to the Christmas holidays by launching a systematic attack on his former employer’s computer network. Three weeks following his termination, the insider used the username and password of one of his former coworkers to gain remote access to the network and modify several of the company’s web pages, changing text and inserting pornographic images. He also sent each of the company’s customers an email message advising that the website had been hacked. Each email message also contained that customer’s usernames and passwords for the website. An investigation was initiated, but it failed to identify the insider as the perpetrator. A month and a half later, he again remotely accessed the network, executed a script to reset all network passwords and changed 4,000 pricing records to reflect bogus information. This former employee ultimately was identified as the perpetrator and prosecuted. He was sentenced to serve five months in prison and two years on supervised probation, and ordered to pay $48,600 restitution to his former employer. A city government employee who was passed over for promotion to finance director retaliated by deleting files from his and a coworker’s computers the day before the new finance director took office. An investigation identified the disgruntled employee as the perpetrator of the incident. City government officials disagreed with the primary police detective on the case as to whether all of the deleted files were recovered. No criminal charges were filed, and, under an agreement with city officials, the employee was allowed to resign. These incidents of sabotage were all committed by â€Å"insiders:† individuals who were, or previously had been, authorized to use the information systems they eventually employed to perpetrate harm. Insiders pose a substantial threat by virtue of their knowledge of, and access to, employer systems and/or databases. Keeney, M., et al (2005) The Nature of Security Threats The greatest threat to computer systems and information comes from humans, through actions that are either malicious or ignorant 3 . Attackers, trying to do harm, exploit vulnerabilities in a system or security policy employing various methods and tools to achieve their aims. Attackers usually have a motive to disrupt normal business operations or to steal information. The above diagram is depicts the types of security threats that exist. The diagram depicts the all threats to the computer systems but main emphasis will be on malicious â€Å"insiders†. The greatest threat of attacks against computer systems are from â€Å"insiders† who know the codes and security measures that are in place 45. With very specific objectives, an insider attack can affect all components of security. As employees with legitimate access to systems, they are familiar with an organization’s computer systems and applications. They are likely to know what actions cause the most damage and how to get away with it undetected. Considered members of the family, they are often above suspicion and the last to be considered when systems malfunction or fail. Disgruntled employees create mischief and sabotage against systems. Organizational downsizing in both public and private sectors has created a group of individuals with significant knowledge and capabilities for malicious activities 6 and revenge. Contract professionals and foreign nationals either brought into the U.S. on work visas to meet labor shortages or from offshore outsourcing projects are also included in this category of knowledgeable insiders. Common Insider Threat Common cases of computer-related employee sabotage include: changing data; deleting data; destroying data or programs with logic bombs; crashing systems; holding data hostage; destroying hardware or facilities; entering data incorrectly, exposing sensitive and embarrassing proprietary data to public view such as the salaries of top executives. Insiders can plant viruses, Trojan horses or worms, browse through file systems or program malicious code with little chance of detection and with almost total impunity. A 1998 FBI Survey 7 investigating computer crime found that of the 520 companies consulted, 64% had reported security breaches for a total quantifiable financial loss of $136 millions. (See chart) The survey also found that the largest number of breaches were by unauthorized insider access and concluded that these figures were very conservative as most companies were unaware of malicious activities or reluctant to report breaches for fear of negative press. The survey reported that the average cost of an attack by an outsider (hacker) at $56,000, while the average insider attack cost a company excess $2.7 million. It found that hidden costs associated with the loss in staff hours, legal liability, loss of proprietary information, decrease in productivity and the potential loss of credibility were impossible to quantify accurately. Employees who have caused damage have used their knowledge and access to information resources for a range of motives, including greed, revenge for perceived grievances, ego gratification, resolution of personal or professional problems, to protect or advance their careers, to challenge their skill, express anger, impress others, or some combination of these concerns. Insider Characteristics The majority of the insiders were former employees. At the time of the incident, 59% of the insiders were former employees or contractors of the affected organizations and 41% were current employees or contractors. The former employees or contractors left their positions for a variety of reasons. These included the insiders being fired (48%), resigning (38%), and being laid off (7%). Most insiders were either previously or currently employed full-time in a technical position within the organization. Most of the insiders (77%) were full-time employees of the affected organizations, either before or during the incidents. Eight percent of the insiders worked part-time, and an additional 8% had been hired as contractors or consultants. Two (4%) of the insiders worked as temporary employees, and one (2%) was hired as a subcontractor. Eighty-six percent of the insiders were employed in technical positions, which included system administrators (38%), programmers (21%), engineers (14%), and IT specialists (14%). Of the insiders not holding technical positions, 10% were employed in a professional position, which included, among others, insiders employed as editors, managers, and auditors. An additional two insiders (4%) worked in service positions, both of whom worked as customer service representatives. Insiders were demographically varied with regard to age, racial and ethnic background, gender, and marital status. The insiders ranged in age from 17 to 60 years (mean age = 32 years)17 and represented a variety of racial and ethnic backgrounds. Ninety-six percent of the insiders were male. Forty-nine percent of the insiders were married at the time of the incident, while 45% were single, having never married, and 4% were divorced. Just under one-third of the insiders had an arrest history. Thirty percent of the insiders had been arrested previously, including arrests for violent offenses (18%), alcohol or drug related offenses (11%), and nonfinancial/ fraud related theft offenses (11%). Organization Characteristics The incidents affected organizations in the following critical infrastructure sectors: Banking and finance (8%) Continuity of government (16%) Defense industrial base (2%) Food (4%) Information and telecommunications (63%) Postal and shipping (2%) Public health (4%) In all, 82% of the affected organizations were in private industry, while 16% were government entities. Sixty-three percent of the organizations engaged in domestic activity only, 2% engaged in international activity only, and 35% engaged in activity both domestically and internationally. What motivate insiders? Internal attackers attempt to break into computer networks for many reasons. The subject has been fruitfully studied and internal attackers are used to be motivated with the following reasons [BSB03]: Challenge Many internal attackers initially attempt to break into networks for the challenge. A challenge combines strategic and tactical thinking, patience, and mental strength. However, internal attackers motivated by the challenge of breaking into networks often do not often think about their actions as criminal. For example, an internal attack can be the challenge to break into the mail server in order to get access to different emails of any employee. Revenge Internal attackers motivated by revenge have often ill feelings toward employees of the same company. These attackers can be particularly dangerous, because they generally focus on a single target, and they generally have patience. In the case of revenge, attackers can also be former employees that feel that they have been wrongfully fired. For example, a former employee may be motivated to launch an attack to the company in order to cause financial losses. Espionage Internal attackers motivated by espionage, steal confidential information for a third party. In general, two types of espionage exists: Industrial espionage Industrial espionage means that a company may pay its own employees in order to break into the networks of its competitors or business partners. The company may also hire someone else to do this. International espionage International espionage means that attackers work for governments and steal confidential information for other governments. Definitions of insider threat 1) The definition of insider threat should encompass two main threat actor categories and five general categories of activities. The first actor category, the â€Å"true insider,† is defined as any entity (person, system, or code) authorized by command and control elements to access network, system, or data. The second actor category, the â€Å"pseudo-insider,† is someone who, by policy, is not authorized the accesses, roles, and/or permissions they currently have but may have gotten them inadvertently or through malicious activities. The activities of both fall into five general categories: Exceeds given network, system or data permissions; Conducts malicious activity against or across the network, system or data; Provided unapproved access to the network, system or data; Circumvents security controls or exploits security weaknesses to exceed authorized permitted activity or disguise identify; or Non-maliciously or unintentionally damages resources (network, system or data) by destruction, corruption, denial of access, or disclosure. (Presented at the University of Louisville Cyber Securitys Day, October 2006) 2) Insiders — employees, contractors, consultants, and vendors — pose as great a threat to an organization’s security posture as outsiders, including hackers. Few organizations have implemented the policies, procedures, tools, or strategies to effectively address their insider threats. An insider threat assessment is a recommended first step for many organizations, followed by policy review, and employee awareness training. (Insider Threat Management Presented by infoLock Technologies) 3) Employees are an organization’s most important asset. Unfortunately, they also present the greatest security risks. Working and communicating remotely, storing sensitive data on portable devices such as laptops, PDAs, thumb drives, and even iPods employees have extended the security perimeter beyond safe limits. While convenient access to data is required for operational efficiency, the actions of trusted insiders not just employees, but consultants, contactors, vendors, and partners must be actively managed, audited, and monitored in order to protect sensitive data. (Presented by infoLock Technologies) 4) The diversity of cyber threat has grown over time from network-level attacks and password cracking to include newer classes such as insider attacks, email worms and social engineering, which are currently recognized as serious security problems. However, attack modeling and threat analysis tools have not evolved at the same rate. Known formal models such as attack graphs perform action-centric vulnerability modeling and analysis. All possible atomic user actions are represented as states, and sequences which lead to the violation of a specie safety property are extracted to indicate possible exploits. (Ramkumar Chinchani, Anusha Iyer, Hung Ngo, Shambhu Upadhyaya) 5) The Insider Threat Study, conducted by the U.S. Secret Service and Carnegie Mellon University’s Software Engineering Institute CERT Program, analyzed insider cyber crimes across U.S. critical infrastructure sectors. The study indicates that management decisions related to organizational and employee performance sometimes yield unintended consequences magnifying risk of insider attack. Lack of tools for understanding insider threat, analyzing risk mitigation alternatives, and communicating results exacerbates the problem. (Dawn M. Cappelli, Akash G. Desai) 6) The insider threat or insider problem is cited as the most serious security problem in many studies. It is also considered the most difficult problem to deal with, because an insider has information and capabilities not known to other, external attackers. But the studies rarely define what the insider threat is, or define it nebulously. The difficulty in handling the insider threat is reasonable under those circumstances; if one cannot define a problem precisely, how can one approach a solution, let alone know when the problem is solved? (Matt Bishop 2005) Five common insider threat Exploiting information via remote access software A considerable amount of insider abuse is performed offsite via remote access software such as Terminal Services, Citrix and GoToMyPC. Simply put, users are less likely to be caught stealing sensitive information when they can it do offsite. Also, inadequately protected remote computers may turn up in the hands of a third-party if the computer is left unattended, lost or stolen. 2.) Sending out information via e-mail and instant messaging Sensitive information can simply be included in or attached to an e-mail or IM. Although this is a serious threat, its also one of the easiest to eliminate. 3.) Sharing sensitive files on P2P networks Whether or not you allow peer-to-peer file sharing software such as Kazaa or IM on your network, odds are its there and waiting to be abused. The inanimate software in and of itself is not the problem – its how its used that causes trouble. All it takes is a simple misconfiguration to serve up your networks local and network drives to the world. 4.) Careless use of wireless networks Perhaps the most unintentional insider threat is that of insecure wireless network usage. Whether its at a coffee shop, airport or hotel, unsecured airwaves can easily put sensitive information in jeopardy. All it takes is a peek into e-mail communications or file transfers for valuable data to be stolen. Wi-Fi networks are most susceptible to these attacks, but dont overlook Bluetooth on smartphones and PDAs. Also, if you have WLANs inside your organization, employees could use it to exploit the network after hours. 5.) Posting information to discussion boards and blogs Quite often users post support requests, blogs or other work-related messages on the Internet. Whether intentional or not, this can include sensitive information and file attachments that put your organization at risk. Views of different authors about insider threat 1) Although insiders in this report tended to be former technical employees, there is no demographic â€Å"profile† of a malicious insider. Ages of perpetrators ranged from late teens to retirement. Both men and women were malicious insiders. Their positions included programmers, graphic artists, system and network administrators, managers, and executives. They were currently employed and recently terminated employees, contractors, and temporary employees. As such, security awareness training needs to encourage employees to identify malicious insiders by behavior, not by stereotypical characteristics. For example, behaviors that should be a source of concern include making threats against the organization, bragging about the damage one could do to the organization, or discussing plans to work against the organization. Also of concern are attempts to gain other employees’ passwords and to fraudulently obtain access through trickery or exploitation of a trusted relationsh ip. Insiders can be stopped, but stopping them is a complex problem. Insider attacks can only be prevented through a layered defense strategy consisting of policies, procedures, and technical controls. Therefore, management must pay close attention to many aspects of its organization, including its business policies and procedures, organizational culture, and technical environment. Organizations must look beyond information technology to the organization’s overall business processes and the interplay between those processes and the technologies used. (Michelle Keeney, J.D., Ph.D. atal 2005) 2) While attacks on computers by outside intruders are more publicized, attacks perpetrated by insiders are very common and often more damaging. Insiders represent the greatest threat to computer security because they understand their organizations business and how their computer systems work. They have both the confidentiality and access to perform these attacks. An inside attacker will have a higher probability of successfully breaking into the system and extracting critical information. The insiders also represent the greatest challenge to securing the company network because they are authorized a level of access to the file system and granted a degree of trust. (Nam Nguyen and Peter Reiher, Geoffrey H. Kuenning) 3) Geographically distributed information systems achieve high availability that is crucial to their usefulness by replicating their state. Providing instant access at time of need regardless of current network connectivity requires the state to be replicated in every geographical site so that it is locally available. As network environments become increasingly hostile, we have to assume that part of the distributed information system will be compromised at some point. The problem of maintaining a replicated state in such a system is magnified when insider (or Byzantine) attacks are taken into account. (Yair Amir Cristina Nita-Rotaru) 4) In 2006, over 60% of information security breaches were attributable to insider behavior, yet more than 80% of corporate IT security budgets were spent on securing perimeter defenses against outside attack. Protecting against insider threats means managing policy, process, technology, and most importantly, people. Protecting against insider threats means managing policy, process, technology, and most importantly, people.The Insider Threat Assessment security awareness training, infrastructure reconfiguration, or third party solutions, you can take comfort in knowing that you have made the right choice to improve your security posture, and you will achieve your expected Return on Security Investment. (Presented by infoLock Technologies) 5) The threat of attack from insiders is real and substantial. The 2004 ECrime Watch Survey TM conducted by the United States Secret Service, CERT  ® Coordination Center (CERT/CC), and CSO Magazine, 1 found that in cases where respondents could identify the perpetrator of an electronic crime, 29 percent were committed by insiders. The impact from insider attacks can be devastating. One complex case of financial fraud committed by an insider in a financial institution resulted in losses of over $600 million. 2 Another case involving a logic bomb written by a technical employee working for a defense contractor resulted in $10 million in losses and the layoff of 80 employees. (Dawn Cappelli, Andrew Moore, Timothy Shimeall,2005) 6) Insiders, by virtue of legitimate access to their organizations’ information, systems, and networks, pose a significant risk to employers. Employees experiencing financial problems have found it easy to use the systems they use at work everyday to commit fraud. Other employees, motivated by financial problems, greed, or the wish to impress a new employer, have stolen confidential data, proprietary information, or intellectual property from their employer. Lastly, technical employees, possibly the most dangerous because of their intimate knowledge of an organization’s vulnerabilities, have used their technical ability to sabotage their employer’s system or network in revenge for some negative work-related event. (Dawn M. Cappelli, Akash G. Desai ,at al 2004) 7) The insider problem is considered the most difficult and critical problem in computer security. But studies that survey the seriousness of the problem, and research that analyzes the problem, rarely define the problem precisely. Implicit definitions vary in meaning. Different definitions imply different countermeasures, as well as different assumptions. (Matt Bishop 2005) Solution: User monitoring Insiders have two things that external attackers don’t: privileged access and trust. This allows them to bypass preventative measures, access mission-critical assets, and conduct malicious acts all while flying under the radar unless a strong incident detection solution is in place. A number of variables motivate insiders, but the end result is that they can more easily perpetrate their crimes than an outsider who has limited access. Insiders can directly damage your business resulting in lost revenue, lost customers, reduced shareholder faith, a tarnished reputation, regulatory fines and legal fees. With such an expansive threat, organizations need an automated solution to help detect and analyze Malicious Insider Activity These are some points which could be helpful in monitoring and minimizing the insider threats: Detecting insider activity starts with an expanded log and event collection. Firewalls, routers and intrusion detection systems are important, but they are not enough. Organizations need to look deeper to include mission critical applications such as email applications, databases, operating systems, mainframes, access control solutions, physical security systems as well as identity and content management products. Correlation: identifying known types of suspicious and malicious behavior Anomaly detection: recognizing deviations from norms and baselines. Pattern discovery: uncovering seemingly unrelated events that show a pattern of suspicious activity From case management, event annotation and escalation to reporting, auditing and access to insider-relevant information, the technical solution must be in line with the organization’s procedures. This will ensure that insiders are addressed consistently, efficiently and effectively regardless of who they are. Identify suspicious user activity patterns and identify anomalies. Visually track and create business-level reports on user’s activity. Automatically escalate the threat levels of suspicious and malicious individuals. Respond according to your specific and unique corporate governing guidelines. Early detection of insider activity based on early warning indicators of suspicious behavior, such as: Stale or terminated accounts Excessive file printing, unusual printing times and keywords printed Traffic to suspicious destinations Unauthorized peripheral device access Bypassing security controls Attempts to alter or delete system logs Installation of malicious software The Insider Threat Study? The global acceptance, business adoption and growth of the Internet, and of Internetworking technologies in general, in response to customer requests for online access to business information systems, has ushered in an extraordinary expansion of electronic business transactions. In moving from internal (closed) business systems to open systems, the risk of malicious attacks and fraudulent activity has increased enormously, thereby requiring high levels of information security. Prior to the requirement for online, open access, the information security budget of a typical company was less then their tea and coffee expenses. Securing cyberspace has become a national priority. In The National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace, the President’s Critical Infrastructure Protection Board identified several critical infrastructure sectors10: banking and finance information and telecommunications transportation postal and shipping emergency services continuity of government public health Universities chemical industry, textile industry and hazardous materials agriculture defense industrial base The cases examined in the Insider Threat Study are incidents perpetrated by insiders (current or former employees or contractors) who intentionally exceeded or misused an authorized level of network, system, or data access in a manner that affected the security of the organizations’ data, systems, or daily business operations. Incidents included any compromise, manipulation of, unauthorized access to, exceeding authorized access to, tampering with, or disabling of any information system, network, or data. The cases examined also included any in which there was an unauthorized or illegal attempt to view, disclose, retrieve, delete, change, or add information. A completely secure, zero risk system is one which has zero functionality. Latest technology high-performance automated systems bring with them new risks in the shape of new attacks, new viruses and new software bugs, etc. IT Security, therefore, is an ongoing process. Proper risk management keeps the IT Security plans, policies and procedures up to date as per new requirements and changes in the computing environment. To implement controls to counter risks requires policies, and policy can only be implemented successfully if the top management is committed. And policy’s effective implementation is not possible without the training and awareness of staff. The State Bank of Pakistan recognizes that financial industry is built around the sanctity of the financial transactions. Owing to the critical role of financial institutions for a country and the extreme sensitivity of their information assets, the seriousness of IT Security and the ever-increasing threats it faces in today’s open world cannot be overstated. As more and more of our Banking Operations and products services become technology driven and dependent, consequently our reliance on these technology assets increases, and so does the need to protect and safeguard these resources to ensure smooth functioning of the financial industry. Here are different area in which we can work and check insider threat, but I chose textile industry as in textile industry there is less awareness of the insider threat. If an insider attack in an industry then industrialist try to cover up this news as these types of news about an industry can damage the reputation of the industry. Chapter 2 Review of Literature S, Axelsson. ,(2000) Anonymous 2001 Continuity of operations and correct functioning of information systems is important to most businesses. Threats to computerised information and process are threats to business quality and effectiveness. The objective of IT security is to put measures in place which eliminate or reduce significant threats to an acceptable level. Security and risk management are tightly coupled with quality management. Security measures should be implemented based on risk analysis and in harmony with Quality structures, processes and checklists. What needs to be protected, against whom and how? Security is the protection of information, systems and services against disasters, mistakes and manipulation so that the likelihood and impact of security incidents is minimised. IT security is comprised of: Confidentiality: Sensitive business objects (information processes) are disclosed only to authorised persons. ==> Controls are required to restrict access to objects. Integrity: The business need to control modification to objects (information and processes). ==> Controls are required to ensure objects are accurate and complete. Availability: The need to have business objects (information and services) available when needed. ==> Controls are required to ensure reliability of services. Legal Compliance: Information/data that is collected, processed, used, passed on or destroyed must be handled in line with current legislation of the relevant countries. A threat is a danger which could affect the security (confidentiality, integrity, availability) of assets, leading to a potential loss or damage. Stoneburner et al (2002) In this paper the author described a the risks which are

The Glaciers of Yosemite National Park Essay -- Geology

The Glaciers of Yosemite National Park One of nature's most powerful and influential forces is also one of nature's coldest and slowest processes. These great icy rivers are called glaciers and have formed some of the most beautiful scenery on this planet. These enormous frozen bodies of water are often thousands of feet wide and deep and many miles long. They cover millions of acres of land and drastically change the land into beautiful mountains with many amazing features. One of the areas where glaciers have been most influential is in Yosemite National Park in California. Here almost every glacial feature is shown. However, before this information about glaciers in Yosemite was clear, there was the Yosemite Controversy with arguments of different views of how the valley originated. Glaciers are best described in this passage by naturalist John Muir: (Bailey) (Guyton) The work of glaciers, especially the part they have played in sculpturing the face of the earth, is as yet but little understood, because they have so few loving observers willing to remain with them long enough to appreciate them. Water rivers work openly where people dwell, and so does the rain and the dew, and the great salt sea embracing all the world; and even the universal ocean of air, though invisible, yet it speaks aloud in a thousand voices, and explains its modes of working and its power. But glaciers, back in their cold solitudes, work apart from men, exerting their tremendous energies in silence and darkness. Outspread, spirit-like, they brood above the long predestined landscapes, working on unwearied though unmeasured ages, until, in the fullness of time, the mountains and valleys and plains are brought forth, channels furrowed for the rive... ... which shaped the valley even more. Rockfall has shaped the Royal Arches and Mirror Lake. Recently in July of 1996, there was a large rock fall and in January of 1997 the Merced River flooded proving that the geology of Yosemite is a forever changing process that still goes on to this day. (Guyton) Bibliography Bailey, Ronald H. Planet Earth: Glacier. Time-Life Books: Alexandria, 1982. Guyton, Bill. Glaciers of California. University of California Press: Berkeley, 1998. Huber, N. King. The Geologic Story of Yosemite National Park. Yosemite Association: Yosemite National Park, 1989. Lutgens, Fredrick K. and Edward J. Tarbuck. Earth Science. Prentice Hall: Upper Saddle River, 2002. Matthes, Francois E. The Incomparable Valley. University of California Press: Berkeley, 1950. Tierney, Tim. Geology of the Mono Basin. Kutsavi Press: Lee Vining, 1995.

Positions During A Childbirth Health And Social Care Essay

BBC universe intelligence ( 2004 ) online article titled, â€Å" Actions urged over painful births † provinces that 40 % of adult females surveyed from the National Childbirth Trust are non encouraged to exchange to a more comfy up right place during childbearing. A representative from the NCT, Belinda Phipps, stresses in the article that presuming a posing, crouching or standing place reduces hurting, anxiousness, and extradural usage. This article besides remarks that placental blood flow is increased as is besides the infinite between pelvic castanetss while presuming an unsloped place ( 2004 ) . The following article from givingbirthnaturally.com, titled â€Å" Best Labor and Birth Positions † states that the grounds for taking a lithotomy place during labour has nil to make with comfort or effectivity for the female parent and foetus, but instead for the physician ‘s convenience ( 2007 ) . In add-on, a supine place may besides take to a excess intercessions, which include usage of forceps, vacuity and episiotomy. The writer besides points out that holding the adult female ‘s legs pulled back during forcing additions emphasis on the perineum and increases hazard of rupturing ( 2007 ) . In contrast, the 2010 article â€Å" Preparing for & A ; giving birth † from askamum.co.uk, gives ground to believe that being in a supine place is good. It argues that adult females may experience psychologically more comfy merely because they are more familiar with that place. It besides notes that a sitting place has its drawbacks because it puts greater force per unit area on the tail bone and limits its motion ( 2010 ) .Research ArticlesIn the quantitative survey by Adachi, Shimada and Usui ( 2003 ) , the hurting strength of labour experienced by female parents was evaluated utilizing supine and sitting places. A sample of 39 primiparous and 19 multiparous was used and back and abdominal hurting were measured utilizing a ocular parallel graduated table ( VAS ) . This survey was a nonexperimental retrospective chart reappraisal. The findings reported that there were lower hurting tonss in a sitting place compared to a supine place. The hurting tonss included uninterrupted lumbar and abdominal hurting during labour ; and besides during contractions. Using a 100 millimetre VAS graduated table ; a alteration greater than 13 millimetre in tonss would be more than sufficient for lessened alteration in patient badness ( Adachi, Shimada and Usui, 2003 ) . Although there were no important lessenings in abdominal hurting in either place ; there was a noticeable lessening affecting back hurting greater than 13 millimetres. Restrictions of the survey included that hurting badness was non measured in all phases and stages of labour. The hurting measurings were done for 15 minute intervals and were non administered on a regular basis. This survey besides involved a homogeneous sample in merely one clinic. The correlativity between hurting and parturition places besides is may be weak because it merely two places were used. The strength of this survey is that it used a VAS instrument. The VAS measurement instrument has been validated to reliably step both the quan titative degree of hurting and its badness with dependability. The quantitative survey conducted by Shorten and Donsante ( 2002 ) , examined birth places which influenced perineal cryings. Datas from 2981 vaginal births were analyzed utilizing a nonexperimental design and logical arrested development theoretical accounts. These theoretical accounts were used to categorise the dependent variables as perineal cryings, episiotomies and integral perineum. Each variable was coded as either a 0 ( non ) or 1 ( nowadays ) if a status was present. Findingss for the survey indicated that a correlativity did be between birth place and perineum result at the terminal of labour ( Shorten & A ; Donsante, 2002 ) . The side-lying sidelong place had the highest association with an addition for integral perineum. There was an 84 % opportunity of episiotomy when in the semi-recumbent place. One of the restrictions of the survey was that a randomized controlled test design was non used. An extra restriction was that immaterial variables such as perineum direction ( massage, oils, etc. ) were non recorded during the survey. However, the strength of this survey was the appraisal and designation of factors/variables such as age, birth-attendant, newborn weight, and length of 2nd phase on the chance of tear, episiotomy and integral perineum. The following quantitative survey conducted by Mayberry, Stange, Suplee, and Gennaro ( 2003 ) , studied if low-dose extradural usage affected fluctuations of unsloped places. A sample of 74 primiparous adult females was studied. The survey ‘s design was a nonexperimental descriptive survey with no control group. The findings reported that all 74 adult females were able to presume any of the eight unsloped places in the survey during 1st and 2nd phase of labour. The major restriction of the survey was the usage of a convenience sample, which poses a greater hazard of prejudice and lowers generalisation of consequences. One the strengths of this survey was consistence. Two trained research nurses were the lone 1s allowed to go to attention to all of the 74 survey topics. Besides the survey ‘s sample included adult females of different age, weight and tallness. Another quantitative survey, conducted by Jonge, Rijnders, Diem, Scheepers, and Janssen ( 2009 ) , examined the influence of sociodemographic and labour factors on the choice of delivering places in 2nd phase labour. The design was a nonexperimental retrospective cohort survey which used a postal questionnaire. The sample consisted of 665 low-risk adult females participants who received attention from accoucheuses. The writers found that 30.5 % of the adult females used the supine place along with other places. Of those 203 adult females, 42 % were 36 old ages of age or older and extremely educated ( Jonge et al. 2009 ) . Restrictions to the survey were the information was collected 3-4 old ages after the birth. The long period of clip may hold increased remembrance prejudice and weakened the relationship of variables in the survey. There was besides no information collected on how much control adult females had to take different places. Besides other clinical factors which influence birth places such as foetal weight, place, station, and emphasis were non included in the survey. The survey ‘s strength was that information was merely used if midwife attention began from the start of 2nd phase of labour. The sample composed of patient from eight different obstetrics patterns could besides be considered a strength to the survey because it added fluctuation of race, age, and sociodemographics. In the qualitative survey by De Jonge and Largo-Janssen ( 2004 ) , insight into adult females ‘s experience and influences of birth places were explored during labour. The design was a qualitative cohort pilot survey. Womans were sent a questionnaire and consent signifiers if they wished to take part in one to one interviews for the pilot survey. Twenty adult females agreed to take part in the survey. The pilot survey involved merely the topics and accoucheuses who were present during the labour. Of the 20 adult females, 13 of them used more than one place during the 2nd phase of labour. Ten adult females largely were in the supine place during labour and 11 of the 20 gave birth in that place ( De Jonge & A ; Largo-Janssen, 2004 ) . Findingss for this survey revealed that 17 of the 20 adult females claimed the accoucheuse as the biggest ground that influences their pick of place. Eleven adult females stated that the type of places used influenced the type of hurting experienced . Eight adult females felt they had more control direction of their labour forcing piece in an unsloped place during the 2nd phase. The survey ‘s strengths were that all interviews were face to face and recorded. To heighten the sum-up of their experience three types of the undermentioned informations were used: interview, questionnaire and background information from the original pilot survey. The survey topics were besides able to take the scene of the interview and were all asked open-ended inquiries. One of the major restrictions of this survey was that the interviewer was the same accoucheuse that had been at that place for their labour. This could hold caused a Hawthorne consequence in the topics ‘ responses. There was about a 7-19 hebdomad spread between the existent labour and the research interview which may hold biased callback.Compare and ContrastIn general, the consumer articles and the research articles both agreed on the benefits and results of utilizing di fferent places other than supine. The BBC consumer article included in their piece an NCT representative ; who stated an unsloped place would be good to cut down hurting and promote comfort ( â€Å" Action urged over painful births † 2004 ) . This concurs with findings by Adachi et Al ( 2003 ) their analysis of average VAS tonss that showed lower hurting tonss for entire hurting and during contractions while in a seated place. A average five point difference in entire hurting for uninterrupted and contraction hurting during labour was reported. The survey ‘s most important findings was a average 12 point difference in tonss for lumbar hurting during the first phase of labour ( 6-8cm dilation ) when in a seated place ( Adachi et al 2003 ) . Another similarity between articles was the perineum result and placement ; this was apparent in the survey by Shorten & A ; Donsante and the consumer article â€Å" Best Labor and Birth Positions † . Shorten & A ; Donsante ‘s ( 2002 ) survey reported the highest rate ( 66.6 % ) for integral perineum was in the sidelong place. The lowest rate ( 42 % ) of the birth places for integral perineum was the squatting place. The rates clearly show an advantage of utilizing the sidelong side-lying place over merely utilizing the semi-recumbent place. This corresponds with the ( â€Å" Best Labor and Birth Positions † 2010 ) recommendation of utilizing different places to diminish likely goon of cryings, episiotomies and utilize excess intercessions. The consumer article â€Å" Best Labor and Birth Position † besides agreed with the survey by De Jonge et Al. ( 2009 ) . The survey concluded that scenes in which the accoucheuse is the primary attention giver during intrapartum, there was a higher chance of utilizing more than one birth place. De Jonge et Al. ( 2009 ) , qualitative survey besides showed that the nurse accoucheuse is an of import determiner in act uponing birth places. This suggests that the wellness attention professional dramas in important portion in pick of places. â€Å" Best Labor and Birth Position † besides states that the predominate usage of one place ( largely lithotomy ) is based entirely on convenience for the obstetrician. In add-on, the BBC consumer article states that unsloped places are non encouraged in the West by accoucheurs. Both consumer and primary articles besides agree on comfort and anxiousness being decreased when utilizing different places. Several adult females in the De Jonge & A ; Largo-Janssen ‘s ( 2004 ) survey claimed to experience more abashed and less comfy chiefly in one place ( supine ) during old labours. In this research study the participants assumed a assortment of places non used in old labours. Towards the terminal of labour, the participant would exchange to the supine place and reported experiencing more comfy utilizing this method. One adult female described her labour experience as: â€Å" the more you can propose yourself, or happen out places for yourself, the better I find it coming to footings with it, instead than person stating, and now lay down and you pushaˆÂ ¦ † ( De Jonge & A ; Largo-Janssen, 2004 ) . This is similar to BBC ‘s article, in which Belinda Phipps advocates adult female to acquire up and travel about or exchange places instead than merely lying down and waiting. A little figure of dissensions did be between the consumer and research articles over birth places. â€Å" Fixing for & A ; giving birth † notes that several places may non be comfy and may really increase hurting. The standing place is reported to be the most exhausting ; while being in all 4s would most likely cause giddiness. This article besides argues that crouching and kneeling places would besides increase weariness because of the usage of more force in leg musculuss. However the Mayberry et Al. ( 2003 ) survey reported that one of the chief advantage of jumping places is overall maternal weariness is reduced. Although merely two places were used in Adachi et Al. ( 2003 ) survey ; they besides reported overall less hurting tonss for adult females. The usage of extradural anaesthesia was besides a point of dissension between â€Å" Preparing for & A ; giving birth † and the survey of Mayberry et Al ( 2003 ) . â€Å" Fixing for & A ; giving birth † encourages that when having epidural the female parent should remain in bed to restrict motion and placement ( â€Å" Preparing for & A ; giving birth † , 2010 ) . Mayberry et Al. ( 2003 ) survey reported that 67 % of adult females in the survey labored in two or more places and 21.6 % labored in four or more places. Besides two adult females in the survey were able to walk around after having the epidural. One of the safety issues that were addressed by ( â€Å" Preparing for & A ; giving birth † , 2010 ) is that presuming a sitting place may suppress transition for the babe. This is due to the increased force per unit area on the tail bone. It is besides advocated when in a kneeling place to utilize tablets or seeking the place in bed because of the force per unit area on the articulatio genuss. The article besides encourages restricting lying on your dorsum because the weight of the uterus pressure on blood vass and as a consequence may restrict blood supply to the babe. When the female parent has chosen hapless birth places ; the hazard of shoulder dystocia, foetal hurt, and usage of internal monitoring and other complications may increase ( â€Å" Best Labor and Birth Position † , 2010 ) .Nursing ChallengeA nursing challenge on birth places would most likely occur in the labour and bringing unit and at everyday office visits during gestation. The contention of birth p laces lies in the deficiency of instruction about alternate places and non deficiency of options given by wellness suppliers. Nurses play an of import duty in educating adult females of alternate places and by authorising adult females to do picks. Nurse must be cognizant of each birth place ‘s pros and cons on the foetus and female parent. These issues must be explained clearly in non-jargon footings whenever possible. Questions should be encouraged and developing places in progress can fix the female parent for when labour begins. This requires the nurse to be patient and helpful with the female parent happening the place she is most comfy at the minute. As the labour progresses ; hurting, anxiousness and weariness might increase, so the nurse must back up the female parent psychologically and physiologically.PICO QuestionAfter comparing the diverse point of views of consumer and research articles on birth places a hereafter survey might turn to these issues with adult femal es with multiple foetuss. PICO Question: Do the same benefits of utilizing more than one place during labour in a individual birth use to a female parent of multiple gestations in their first gestation? Population: Mothers in their first gestation with multiple gestations. Intervention: A assortment of different birth places. Comparison: Mothers with multiple gestations that merely used one place during labour. Result: Datas may demo a lessening in perineal cryings, hurting, anxiousness, weariness and addition in comfort for the female parent and foetuss.Decision

New Urbanism Planning and Design

New Urbanism Planning and Design New Urbanism is an urban planning and design movement that began in the United States in the early 1980s. Its goals are to reduce dependence on the car, and to create livable and walkable, neighborhoods with a densely packed array of housing, jobs, and commercial sites. New Urbanism also promotes a return to the traditional town planning seen in places such as downtown Charleston, South Carolina and Georgetown in Washington, D.C. These locations are ideal for New Urbanists because in each one there is an easily walkable Main Street, a downtown park, shopping districts and a gridded street system. History of New Urbanism In the beginning of the 19th century, development of American cities often took a compact, mixed-use form, reminiscent of that found in places like old town Alexandria, Virginia. With the development of the streetcar and affordable rapid transit, however, cities began to spread out and create streetcar suburbs. The later invention of the automobile further increased this decentralization from the central city which later led to separated land uses and urban sprawl. New Urbanism is a reaction to the spreading out of cities. The ideas then began to spread in the late 1970s and early 1980s, as urban planners and architects started to come up with plans to model cities in the U.S. after those in Europe. In 1991, New Urbanism developed more strongly when the Local Government Commission, a nonprofit group in Sacramento, California, invited several architects, including Peter Calthorpe, Michael Corbett, Andres Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk among others, to Yosemite National Park to develop a set of principles for land use planning that focused on the community and its livability. The principles, named after Yosemites Ahwahnee Hotel where the conference was held, are called the Ahwahnee Principles. Within these, there are 15 community principles, four regional principles and four principles of implementation. Each one, however, deals with both past and present ideas to make cities as clean, walkable and livable as possible. These principles were then presented to government officials in late 1991 at the Yosemite Conference for Local Elected Officials. Shortly thereafter, some of the architects involved in creating the Ahwahnee Principles formed the Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU) in 1993. Today, CNU is the leading promoter of New Urbanist ideas and has grown to over 3,000 members. It also holds conferences yearly in cities across the U.S. to further promote New Urbanism design principles. Core New Urbanist Ideas Within the concept of New Urbanism today, there are four key ideas. The first of these is to ensure that a city is walkable. This means that no resident should need a car to get anywhere in the community and they should be no more than a five-minute walk from any basic good or service. To achieve this, communities should invest in sidewalks and narrow streets. In addition to actively promoting walking, cities should also de-emphasize the car by placing garages behind homes or in alleys. There should also only be on-street parking, instead of large parking lots. Another core idea of New Urbanism is that buildings should be mixed both in their style, size, price, and function. For example, a small townhouse can be placed next to a larger, single family home. Mixed-use buildings such as those containing commercial spaces with apartments over them are also ideal in this setting. Finally, a New Urbanist city should have a strong emphasis on the community. This means maintaining connections between people with high density, parks, open spaces and community gathering centers like a plaza or neighborhood square. Examples of New Urbanist Cities Although New Urbanist design strategies have been tried in various places across the U.S., the first fully developed New Urbanist town was Seaside, Florida, designed by architects Andres Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk. Construction began there in 1981 and almost immediately, it became famous for its architecture, public spaces, and quality of streets. The Stapleton neighborhood in Denver, Colorado, is another example of New Urbanism in the U.S. It is on the site of the former Stapleton International Airport and construction began in 2001. The neighborhood is zoned as residential, commercial and office and will be one of the largest in Denver. Like Seaside, it too will de-emphasize the car but it will also have parks and open space. Criticisms of New Urbanism Despite the popularity of New Urbanism in the recent decades, there have been some criticisms of its design practices and principles. The first of these is that the density of its cities leads to a lack of privacy for residents. Some critics claim that people want detached homes with yards so they are further away from their neighbors. By having mixed density neighborhoods and possibly sharing driveways and garages, this privacy is lost. Critics also say that New Urbanist towns feel inauthentic and isolated because they do not represent the norm of settlement patterns in the U.S. Many of these critics often point to Seaside as it was used to film portions of the film The Truman Show and as a model of Disneys community, Celebration, Florida. Finally, critics of New Urbanism argue that instead of promoting diversity and community, New Urbanist neighborhoods only attract affluent white residents as they often become very expensive places to live. Regardless of these criticisms though, New Urbanist ideas are becoming a popular form of planning communities and with a growing emphasis on mixed-use buildings, high density settlements, and walkable cities, its principles will continue into the future.