CIS 420 - Due Week 9 and worth 90 points:Research the web and find an appropriate incident related to either a successful or failed penetration testing effort, or a successful or unsuccessful hacking

CIS 420 - Due Week 9 and worth 90 points:

Research the web and find an appropriate incident related to either a successful or failed penetration testing effort, or a successful or unsuccessful hacking attempt against an organization, business or government facility. Lay out the details of the case and provide your analysis of what was done and why, and speculate on what should have been done, or could have been done differently. As part of your analysis, you can speculate on what you might have done to change the outcome of your particular case.  Draw specific lessons from the case and possible recommendations for future situations. 

Note: I have chosen the Sony data breach of 2014 as my case study! 

“Sony corporation, the well-known Japanese multinational corporation known by its diversified business including consumer and professional (including military grade) electronics, gaming and entertainment services admitted to having suffered a major security breach on November 2011…”

Write a paper with no less than seven (7) pages in which you:

1- Research the web and identify a case study with an appropriate situation related to penetration testing or hacking for or against a business, organization, or government facility. 

2- Lay out the case details and provide your analysis of what was done and why, the results of the effort, the specific threats and vulnerabilities, and what mitigation was attempted or should have been attempted.

3- You may speculate on what actions you might have taken in a similar situation as part of your analysis.

4- Draw specific lessons and recommendations from your analysis of the case as part of the conclusion and have a strong concluding paragraph. Be sure to revise your introduction to reflect what the paper accomplished once you finish your first draft.

5- Use no less than six (6) quality resources in this assignment. Note: Wikipedia and similar websites do not qualify as quality resources.

Note: The above are guidelines, they are not questions to be answered like an exam. Think through your paper so you have a clear idea of your lessons and takeaway, and outline your paper as you research, and before you begin writing. Review the outline and your writing and make adjustments as needed as new ideas are laid out, and assure your introduction, body, and conclusion work as one.

Grading for this assignment will be based on answer quality, logic/organization of the paper, and language and writing skills, using the following rubric.

Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

Be typed, double-spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA format.

“Papers will be submitted through SafeAssign and Turnitin and will show up when you submit a paper that has been submitted and graded in the past. Any plagiarism attempt will be reported following the rules and regulation of the institution”. 

Professor’s key recommendations: 

- The case study should lay out all the basics of the case then the details, after a good summary. Then lay what key elements from that case summary you will need to develop in the body.

- After developing the body with the background and details of the case, and where that discussion from the case will lead, finish your case study with a conclusion.

- The conclusion is the main purpose of the paper and will be multiple paragraphs, usually from +1 pages, and your own words based on what you present and develop in the body. If you develop a point in the paper, it should directly support a lesson and/or takeaway. If you have a lesson it must be fully supported in the body, no new relevant material in the conclusion.

- The takeaway likewise is support by the body and lesson(s) and must be a what if speculation; a recommendations for the future; a what might have been done or should not have been done and the why; and any other takeaway one might have. Also, the paper should end with a strong concluding statement.

- The conclusion will be your personal view, but it must be based on what you present overall in the body. 

“The most common problems are: Poor paragraphs and paragraph structure, misuse of pronoun you and we, and using "they/them" without the proper grammatical antecedent, using quotes to write the paper, not support it, poor introductions, and incomplete conclusions.  The conclusion is the purpose of the paper and is the lessons and takeaway from your case study.   It is never a single paragraph or worse, a block of text with multiple sentences but measured in paragraphs. 

I like the use of direct quotes but use them correctly.  They are not used to write the paper, pass general information, or to replace your words.  Quotes are used to support, corroborate, add credibility or as counterpoint and ideally, if used correctly, one could be able to eliminate all quotes and the paper would still make sense.    That is the real test.    See my primer and PowerPoint above if you are using quotes, don't assume you have been using them correctly”. 

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