Objective 1

DESCRIBE WAYS IN WHICH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IMPACTS THE SOCIETY

Ways in which Information Technology impacts the society

 Today, innovations in information technology are having wide-ranging effects across numerous domains of society,

and policy makers are acting on issues involving economic productivity, intellectual property rights, privacy
protection, and affordability of and access to information.
 Technology affects the way individuals communicate, learn, and think. It helps society and determines how people
interact with each other on a daily basis. ... It's made learning more interactive and collaborative, this helps people
better engage with the material that they are learning and have trouble with.
 Information technology has made the education process more effective and productive. It has increased the well-
being of the students. Developed methods of education have made this process easier, such as the replacement of
books with tablets and laptops.
Examples of ways in which information technology impacts society

 Telecommuting, also known as teleworking, is the act of working from a remote location, usually one's
home. This is made simple with the use of various telecommunications technologies such as a telephone,
fax machine and the internet. Many telecommuters are also set up with web conferencing capabilities
allowing them to sit in on office meetings via modem and webcam, or at the very least, a conference call
 Online shopping is the process consumers go through to purchase products or services over the Internet.
An online shop, eshop, e-store, internet shop, webshop, webstore, online store, or virtual store evokes the
physical analogy of buying products or services at a bricks-and-mortar retailer or in a shopping mall.
Online shopping is a type of electronic commerce used for business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-
consumer (B2C) transactions.
 Through the exponential rise of technology that we have seen since the 90's alone has left
a positive mark on society. The major fields of society that technology has impacted include:
transportation, agriculture, communication, medicine, education, and business.
Objective 2

DISCUSS VARIOUS COMPUTER CRIMES

What is a computer crime

 Computer crime can broadly be defined as criminal activity involving an information

technology infrastructure, including illegal access (unauthorized access), illegal interception
(by technical means of non-public transmissions of computer data to, from or within a
computer system), data interference (unauthorized damaging, deletion, deterioration,
alteration or suppression of computer data), systems interference (interfering with the
functioning of a computer system by inputting, transmitting, damaging, deleting,
deteriorating, altering or suppressing computer data), misuse of devices, forgery (ID theft),
Examples of computer crimes

 Computer fraud covers a variety of activity that is harmful to people. Computer fraud is using the
computer in some way to commit dishonesty by obtaining an advantage or causing loss of
something of value. This could take form in a number of ways, including program fraud, hacking,
e-mail hoaxes, auction and retail sales schemes, investment schemes and people claiming to be
experts on subject areas.
 Hacking generally refers to unauthorized intrusion into a computer or a network. The person
engaged in hacking activities is known as a hacker. This hacker may alter system or security
features to accomplish a goal that differs from the original purpose of the system
 An act of terrorism committed through the use of cyber space or computer resources. According
to the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, cyber terrorism is any "premeditated, politically
motivated attack against information, computer systems, computer programs, and data which
results in violence against non-combatant targets by sub-national groups or clandestine agents."
How computer crimes affect society

 Computer crime reduces the productivity of a company as a company will take measures
to protect from cybercrime, and there will be more password entering or other acts.
Computer crimes will increase the cost, as companies must buy a strong security software
to reduce the chances of attacks by viruses and malware.
 The effects of a single, successful cyber attack can have far reaching implications
including financial losses, theft of intellectual property, and loss of consumer confidence
and trust. The overall monetary impact of cyber crime on society and Government is
estimated to be billions of dollars a year.
Objective 3

EXPLAIN HOW INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SYSTEM COMPONENTS CAN BE THREATS,

VULNERABILITIES, COUNTER MEASURES, ATTACKS AND COMPROMISES TO
ORGANIZATIONS;
How information systems can be threats with
examples

 A threat refers to a new or newly discovered incident that has the potential to harm a system or your company overall.
There are three main types of threats:
 Natural threats, such as floods, hurricanes, or tornadoes
 Unintentional threats, like an employee mistakenly accessing the wrong information
 Intentional threats, such as spyware, malware, adware companies, or the actions of a disgruntled employee
 Worms and viruses are categorized as threats because they could cause harm to your organization through exposure to
an automated attack, as opposed to one perpetrated by humans.
 Adware is another threat , adware are programs that secretly gather personal information through the Internet and
relay it back to another computer, generally for advertising purposes. This is often accomplished by tracking
information related to Internet browser usage or habits.
 Hack Tools used by a hacker is another threat used to gain unauthorized access to your computer. One example of a
hack tool is a keystroke logger -- a program that tracks and records individual keystrokes and can send this
information back to the hacker.
 How information systems can be a
vulnerability (with examples )
 In computer security, the term vulnerability is applied to a weakness in a system which
allows an attacker to violate the integrity of that system. Vulnerabilities may result from
weak passwords, software bugs, a computer virus or other malware , a script code
injection, a SQL injection or misconfiguration
 For example, when a team member resigns and you forget to disable their access to
external accounts, change logins, or remove their names from company credit cards, this
leaves your business open to both intentional and unintentional threats. However, most
vulnerabilities are exploited by automated attackers and not a human typing on the other
side of the network.
Counter measures in information systems

 In computer security a countermeasure is an action, device, procedure, or technique that

reduces a threat, a vulnerability, or an attack by eliminating or preventing it, by
minimizing the harm it can cause, or by discovering and reporting it so that corrective
action can be taken.
 Security countermeasures are the controls used to protect the confidentiality, integrity, and
availability of data and information systems. There is a wide array of security controls
available at every layer of the stack.
 Strong password protection both for access to a computer system and
the computer's BIOS are also effective countermeasures to against cyber-criminals with
physical access to a machine. Another deterrent is to use a bootable bastion host that
executes a web browser in a known clean and secure operating environment.
Counter attacks in information systems (with
examples)

 A counter-attack is considered to be the most efficient means of forcing the attacker to abandon
offensive plans. Cyber counter attacks are sometimes used as a means of self defense to slow
down or even stop cyber attacks and the question of their legality is a recurring agenda.
 Counter attacks are techniques involving simultaneous blocking and retaliation, usually aimed
at vulnerable pressure points in your system.
 Anti-worms: An anti-worm is a tool that counter-attacks a worm-infected host; ideally it
disables the worm but leaves the host running. An anti-worm may be a worm itself (i.e., it
may self-propagate). It may also be used against other kinds of malware.
 Spam: When server receive spam, it retaliates by bouncing e-mails or an email to Email
Server’s administrator for remedial action. (Even if sender addresses are spoofed, one may
be able to identify the last mail server that forwarded a message.)
How cyber attacks affect an organization

 After a cyber attack, if customer data and personal information are leaked to hackers, then
reputational damage often occurs. Many customers, especially if the data breach is severe,
choose to take their business elsewhere. Furthermore, it can slow down new business by
scaring off potential customers.
 Data protection and privacy laws require you manage the security of all personal data you
hold - whether on your staff or your customers. If this data is accidentally or deliberately
compromised, and you have failed to deploy appropriate security measures, you may
face fines and regulatory sanctions.
Examples of cyber attacks on organizations

 Phishing.
 Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) ...
 Ransom ware
 SQL Injection
 Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)
 Man in the Middle.
 Spyware
 Insider