Assignment Details

Unit 4 Assignment: Mitigating Against Malware Attacks

Outcome addressed in this activity:

IT545-2: Synthesize knowledge of cybersecurity threats to assess risk in wireless, mobile, and cloud infrastructures, as well as disruptive technologies.

Purpose

The purpose of the Unit 4 Assignment is for you to define a mitigation strategy for a malware threat being introduced into the system. You should assume the malware threat is similar to the one you worked with during this week’s lab.

Assignment Instructions

1. You must complete the Unit 4 Lab prior to completing this assignment.
2. You are a cybersecurity professional in a research and development firm working on medical research to identify effective treatments for several diseases. It is known that a foreign state agent recently hacked a similar type of research organization through the use of malware, and many patents and other intellectual property were stolen. Your CEO and CIO want to ensure that their organizations systems are protected against this attack. They have asked you to perform a high-level risk assessment and provide a risk management approach related to this type of malware attack. Assume the following for the assignment:

• The organization has an outward-facing website that provides information on the progress of research and presents general news of interest to its followers. This website’s web server is in the organizations demilitarized zone (DMZ). The DMZ uses a single firewall system. Users can request information by submitting a form.
• Servers on the internal network houses several databases. One holds all current patent information for patents held by the organization. The second database holds the researchers notes and all research project information for projects that are in progress. The patent database is encrypted. There is also a collaboration area where researchers who work together can share notes and ideas. A third database houses employee information.
• Also, an email server, print servers, and application servers are on the internal network.
• The organization does not use any cloud computing. An incremental backup of the servers and databases is made daily and stored in the same building.
• The organization has biometric identification on the external door and all internal lab rooms and server rooms. There are no security cameras.

1. Use the following risk management approach to determine where compromises may exist, what the consequences of those compromises are, and controls and methods to reduce the likelihood or severity of the compromise. Identify at least two vulnerabilities, threats, and risks. Recommend what you think is the best control for each vulnerability, threat, and risk identified.

Assignment Requirements

The paper should be at least three pages, use 12-point Times New Roman, and be in APA format.

For more information on APA Style formatting, refer to the resources in the Academic Tools area of this course.