MIS 300

1
MIS 300

• 100 Top Hits for Slides for the Course
• With emphasis on the 2nd half

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Contents

• General Model of Problem Solving
• MIS DSS GSS ESS
• Specialized Systems
• Management Support Systems
• Technological Leadership
• System Development
• Risk Management and Security
• Computer Crime and Ethics

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Focus of the Course

• First six weeks Information technology and how
  it works, definitions, IT as a business enabler
  and platform
• Last six weeks What information technology can
  do for users user roles producing and managing
  information technology effects of IT

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Decision Making as a Component of Problem Solving
SEE THINK SAY DO LEARN
Figure 6.1 How Decision Making Relates to
Problem Solving
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Decision Making as a Component of Problem Solving
(continued)

• Problem solving a process that goes beyond
  decision making to include the implementation
  stage
• Implementation stage a solution is put into
  effect
• Monitoring stage decision makers evaluate the
  implementation

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Programmed Versus Nonprogrammed Decisions

• Programmed decisions
• Decisions made using a rule, procedure, or
  quantitative method
• Easy to computerize using traditional information
  systems

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Programmed Versus Nonprogrammed Decisions
(continued)

• Nonprogrammed decisions
• Decision that deals with unusual or exceptional
  situations
• Not easily quantifiable

8
Optimization, Satisficing, and Heuristic
Approaches

• Optimization model a process that finds the best
  solution, usually the one that will best help the
  organization meet its goals
• Satisficing model a process that finds a
  goodbut not necessarily the bestproblem
  solution
• Heuristics commonly accepted guidelines or
  procedures that usually find a good solution

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An Overview of Management Information Systems
Management Information Systems in Perspective

• A management information system (MIS) provides
  managers with information that supports effective
  decision making and provides feedback on daily
  operations
• The use of MISs spans all levels of management

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Management Information Systems in Perspective
(continued)
Figure 6.3 Sources of Managerial Information
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Outputs of a Management Information System

• Scheduled report produced periodically, or on a
  schedule
• Key-indicator report summary of the previous
  days critical activities
• Demand report developed to give certain
  information at someones request
• Exception report automatically produced when a
  situation is unusual or requires management
  action
• Drill-down report provides increasingly detailed
  data about a situation

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Functional Aspects of the MIS

• Most organizations are structured along
  functional lines or areas
• The MIS can be divided along functional lines to
  produce reports tailored to individual functions
• This tends to lead to fragmentation, the sort of
  effect that ERP is designed to counter!

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An Overview of Decision Support Systems

• A DSS is an organized collection of people,
  procedures, software, databases, and devices used
  to support problem-specific decision making and
  problem solving
• The focus of a DSS is on decision-making
  effectiveness when faced with unstructured or
  semistructured business problems

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Capabilities of a Decision Support System

• Support all problem-solving phases
• Support different decision frequencies
• Support different problem structures
• Support various decision-making levels

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Capabilities of a Decision Support System
(continued)
What else goes along with level? Why?
Figure 6.10 Decision-Making Level
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Components of a DSS

• Model base provides decision makers access to a
  variety of models and assists them in decision
  making
• Database
• External database access
• Access to the Internet and corporate intranet,
  networks, and other computer systems
• Dialogue manager allows decision makers to
  easily access and manipulate the DSS and to use
  common business terms and phrases

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Components of a DSS (continued)
Figure 6.11 Conceptual Model of a DSS
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Group Support Systems

• Group support system (GSS)
• Consists of most elements in a DSS, plus software
  to provide effective support in group decision
  making
• Also called group decision support system or
  computerized collaborative work system

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Group Support Systems (continued)
Figure 6.12 Configuration of a GSS (Cf. Figure
6.11)
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Characteristics of a GSS That Enhance Decision
Making

• Special design
• Ease of use
• Flexibility
• Decision-making support
• Anonymous input
• Reduction of negative group behavior
• Parallel communication
• Automated record keeping

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Executive Support Systems

• Executive support system (ESS) specialized DSS
  that includes all hardware, software, data,
  procedures, and people used to assist
  senior-level executives within the organization

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Executive Support Systems in Perspective

• Tailored to individual executives
• Easy to use
• Drill-down capable
• Support the need for external data
• Can help when uncertainty is high
• Future-oriented
• Linked to value-added processes

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Capabilities of Executive Support Systems

• Support for defining an overall vision
• Support for strategic planning
• Support for strategic organizing and staffing
• Support for strategic control
• Support for crisis management

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An Overview of Artificial Intelligence

• Artificial intelligence (AI) the ability of
  computers to mimic or duplicate the functions of
  the human brain
• Artificial intelligence systems the people,
  procedures, hardware, software, data, and
  knowledge needed to develop computer systems and
  machines that demonstrate the characteristics of
  intelligence

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The Nature of Intelligence

• Learn from experiences and apply knowledge
  acquired from experience
• Handle complex situations
• Solve problems when important information is
  missing
• Determine what is important
• React quickly and correctly to a new situation
• By definition, a computer is unintelligent
• The hallmark of intelligence is generating
  information out of experience.

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The Nature of Intelligence (continued)

• Understand visual images
• Process and manipulate symbols
• Be creative and imaginative
• Use heuristics

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The Difference Between Natural and Artificial
Intelligence
Table 7.1 A Comparison of Natural and Artificial
Intelligence
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Expert Systems

• Hardware and software that stores knowledge and
  makes inferences, similar to a human expert
• Used in many business applications

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Robotics

• Mechanical or computer devices that perform tasks
  that either require a high degree of precision or
  are tedious or hazardous for humans
• Contemporary robotics combines high-precision
  machine capabilities with sophisticated
  controlling software
• Many applications of robotics exist today
• Research into robots is continuing

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Vision Systems

• The hardware and software that permit computers
  to capture, store, and manipulate visual images
  and pictures
• Used by the U.S. Justice Department to perform
  fingerprint analysis
• Used for identifying people based on facial
  features

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Natural Language Processing

• Processing that allows the computer to understand
  and react to statements and commands made in a
  natural language, such as English
• Three levels of voice recognition
• Command recognition of dozens to hundreds of
  words
• Discrete recognition of dictated speech with
  pauses between words
• Continuous recognition of natural speech

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An Overview of Expert Systems Characteristics
and Limitations of an Expert System

• Can explain its reasoning or suggested decisions
• Can display intelligent behavior
• Can draw conclusions from complex relationships
• Can provide portable knowledge
• Can deal with uncertainty

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Characteristics and Limitations of an Expert
System (continued)

• Not widely used or tested
• Difficult to use
• Limited to relatively narrow problems
• Cannot readily deal with mixed knowledge
• Possibility of error
• Cannot refine its own knowledge
• Difficult to maintain
• May have high development costs
• Raises legal and ethical concerns

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When to Use Expert Systems

• Provide a high potential payoff or significantly
  reduce downside risk
• Capture and preserve irreplaceable human
  expertise
• Solve a problem that is not easily solved using
  traditional programming techniques
• Develop a system more consistent than human
  experts

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When to Use Expert Systems (continued)

• Provide expertise needed at a number of locations
  at the same time or in a hostile environment that
  is dangerous to human health
• Provide expertise that is expensive or rare
• Develop a solution faster than human experts can
• Provide expertise needed for training and
  development to share the wisdom and experience of
  human experts with a large number of people

Do you see a potential problem here?
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Components of Expert Systems
Figure 7.2 Components of an Expert System
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The Explanation Facility

• Allows a user or decision maker to understand how
  the expert system arrived at certain conclusions
  or results
• For example it allows a doctor to find out the
  logic or rationale of the diagnosis made by a
  medical expert system

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The Knowledge Acquisition Facility

• Provides convenient and efficient means of
  capturing and storing all the components of the
  knowledge base
• Acts as an interface between experts and the
  knowledge base

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Participants in Developing and Using Expert
Systems

• Domain expert individual or group that has the
  expertise or knowledge one is trying to capture
  in the expert system
• Knowledge engineer an individual who has
  training or experience in the design,
  development, implementation, and maintenance of
  an expert system
• Knowledge user individual or group that uses and
  benefits from the expert system

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Applications of Expert Systems and Artificial
Intelligence

• Credit granting and loan analysis
• Catching cheats and terrorists
• Information management and retrieval
• AI and expert systems embedded in products
• Plant layout and manufacturing
• Hospitals and medical facilities
• Help desks and assistance
• Employee performance evaluations

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What Is SUPPORTED?
Tools for bringing things to conclusion

• Managers are employed to create conclusions, to
  make things happen
• Thus, any support they receive can be only of two
  types
• To make it easier to make things happen or
• To make others think things have happened (i.e.,
  to increase the perception of things happening)

Tools for helping others see that things have
happened
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What Is a Conclusion?

• A Decision
• Agreement or consensus
• Realization of a model or plan
• Addition to knowledge
• Increase in confidence
• Any (presumed positive) change in resources (such
  as cash, staff, customers, etc.)

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What is the Support in Management Support Systems
?
Gather Access, Analyze
Display, Communicate Remember
better Knowledge Array,
Compare Debate Archive Data

Compute WHAT A MANAGEMENT SUPPORT SYSTEM CAN DO
FOR MANAGERS TO INCREASE CONFIDENCE AND
EFFECTIVENESS OF PROBLEM-SOLVING
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What Kinds of Tools Are There

• Display and Data Formatting (Presentation)
• Data Search and Processing (MIS)
• Suggested Action (Consulting)
• Evaluation of Action (DSS)
• Logical Conclusion (Expert System)
• Action (Operational System)

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How These Tools Differ

• Each one incorporates more knowledge than those
  above.
• The value of the knowledge is higher and the
  knowledge is more specific.
• Each removes some of the burden from the problem
  solver in generating and evaluating solutions

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Structure of a Management Support System
This takes place continually, refining
the Quality and relevance of the stored data
DIALOG MANAGER
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Structure of a Management Support System
System Management
Model Management
Model
Usage
DIALOG MANAGER
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General Model of a Management Support System
AdvisingSystemInterface
Advice
LEARNING
Feedback
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Who Is a Technology Leader?
Those who specify and build the systems

• Technology developers
• Technology commercializers
• Technology stewards

Those who figure out how to make a profit
Those who get the systems built and employed
USE
Project
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Who Is a Technology Leader?

• Technology stewards
• User management
• Project managers clients
• Process managers
• Product owners

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Technology Leadership

• Three components
• Assessment
• Forecasting
• Management
• Transfer
• A technological leader fosters technological
  innovation, and understands the technology life
  cycle.
• Such a leader initiates and steers
  commercialization of technological advances,
  links business and technology strategies, manages
  technology RD and understands technological
  revolutions.

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Technology Management Components

• Technology Assessment
• Evaluating technologies as they are created
• To make wise investments, understand the true
  costs, improve existing technologies, and develop
  ways of employing technologies
• Technology Forecasting
• Predicting what technologies are going to be
  available
• To strategize technology use, second-guess the
  competition, stay on top of the technology wave

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Technology Management Components

• Technology Management
• Developing and using appropriate technologies
• To lead the technology, employ it in the best
  way, and to profit from technology use.
• Technology Transfer
• Helping others learn the benefits and uses of
  appropriate technologies
• Making technologies available to others

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Technology Transfer
Rest of Organization
Technology Innovation Source
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Technology Management Process(Pre-implementation)
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Technology Management Process (Post-implementatio
n)
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Technology Life Cycle
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Commercialization and Marketing of Technology
Are all internally developed systems loss
leaders?
Break-even
Time
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An Overview of Systems Development Participants
in Systems Development

• Development team
• Responsible for determining the objectives of the
  information system and delivering a system that
  meets these objectives
• Usually consists of stakeholders, users,
  managers, systems development specialists, and
  various support personnel

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Systems Development Methods

• The systems development process is also called a
  systems development life cycle (SDLC)
• Traditional systems development life cycle
• Prototyping
• Rapid application development (RAD)
• End-user development

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The Traditional Systems Development Life Cycle
Figure 8.4 The Traditional Systems Development
Life Cycle
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The Traditional Systems Development Life Cycle
(continued)

• Systems investigation problems and opportunities
  are identified and considered in light of the
  goals of the business
• Systems analysis study of existing systems and
  work processes to identify strengths, weaknesses,
  and opportunities for improvement
• Systems design defines how the information
  system will do what it must do to obtain the
  problems solution

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The Traditional Systems Development Life Cycle
(continued)

• Systems implementation the creation or acquiring
  of various system components detailed in the
  systems design, assembling them, and placing the
  new or modified system into operation
• Systems maintenance and review ensures that the
  system operates, and modifies the system so that
  it continues to meet changing business needs

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The Major Phases of System Development
Review Evaluation Mainenance
Analysis
Implemen- tation
Design
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Prototyping
Expert Imple-menta-tion
Figure 8.5 Prototyping Is an Iterative Approach
to Systems Development
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The End-User Systems Development Life Cycle

• Any systems development project in which the
  primary effort is undertaken by a combination of
  business managers and users
• End-user-developed systems can be structured as
  complementary to, rather than in conflict with,
  existing and emerging information systems

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Outsourcing and On Demand Computing

• An outside consulting firm or computer company
  that specializes in systems development can be
  hired to take over some or all of the development
  and operations activities
• Outsourcing can involve a large number of
  countries and companies in bringing new products
  and services to market

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Systems Investigation

• What primary problems might a new or enhanced
  system solve?
• What opportunities might a new or enhanced system
  provide?
• What new hardware, software, databases,
  telecommunications, personnel, or procedures will
  improve an existing system or are required in a
  new system?
• What are the potential costs (variable and
  fixed)?
• What are the associated risks?

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Feasibility Analysis
Is there a workable technology?

• Technical feasibility
• Economic feasibility
• Schedule feasibility
• Legal feasibility
• Operational feasibility

Can we afford the potential implementations?
Can we do it in time?
These two types of feasibility are often joined
with othersinto a set of criteria termed
organizational will. Do we have the courage
and culture to carry out the implementation?
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The Systems Investigation Report

• Summarizes the results of systems investigation
  and the process of feasibility analysis
• Recommends a course of action continue on into
  systems analysis, modify the project in some
  manner, or drop it

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Systems Analysis

• Answers the question What must the information
  system do to solve the problem?
• Primary outcome a prioritized list of system
  requirements

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Data Analysis

• A set of diagramming techniques
• Data modeling
• Entity-relationship (ER) diagrams
• Relatively easy to understand a narrative of
  what entities (actors, objects) produce or use
  what information
• Activity modeling
• Data-flow diagrams (DFDs)
• Conceptual, intuitive, should be shared with
  potential users for verification

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The Systems Analysis Report

• The systems analysis report should cover
• The strengths and weaknesses of the existing
  system from a stakeholders perspective
• The user/stakeholder requirements for the new
  system (also called the functional requirements)
• The organizational requirements for the new
  system
• A description of what the new information system
  should do to solve the problem

?
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Systems Design

• Answers the question How will the information
  system do what it must do to solve a problem?
• Has two dimensions logical and physical
• Logical design description of the functional
  requirements of a system a model of the user
• Physical design specification of the
  characteristics of the system components
  necessary to put the logical design into action
  a model of the system

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Systems Implementation User Roles
Heavy user involvement
Figure 8.18 Typical Steps in Systems
Implementation
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Personnel Hiring and Training

• IS manager
• Systems analysts
• Computer programmers
• Data-entry operators
• Hiring users describe the job match the skills
• Users may take up to three months to learn the
  new jobs.

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Data Preparation

• Also called data conversion
• Ensuring all files and databases are ready to be
  used with new computer software and systems
• With mission-critical data, generally a really
  expensive proposition

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Testing

• Unit testing testing of individual programs
• System testing testing the entire system of
  programs
• Volume testing testing the application with a
  large amount of data
• Integration testing testing all related systems
  together
• Acceptance testing conducting any tests required
  by the user

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Installation

• The process of physically placing the computer
  equipment on the site and making it operational
• Normally the manufacturer is responsible for
  installing computer equipment
• Someone from the organization (usually the IS
  manager) should oversee the process

80
Start-Up

• The process of making the final tested
  information system fully operational
• Direct conversion (also called plunge or direct
  cutover Black Monday effect)
• Phase-in approach (function by function perhaps
  department by department)
• Pilot start-up (a test area, function or
  department)
• Parallel start-up (where mission critical
  information is required or involved, where
  absolutely reliable service is needed)

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User Acceptance

• User-acceptance document formal agreement signed
  by the user that states that a phase of the
  installation or the complete system is approved

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Systems Operation and Maintenance

• Systems operation use of a new or modified
  system
• Systems maintenance checking, changing, and
  enhancing the system to make it more useful in
  achieving user and organizational goals

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Systems Review

• Process of analyzing systems to make sure that
  they are operating as intended
• Often compares the performance and benefits of
  the system as it was designed with the actual
  performance and benefits of the system in
  operation
• Event-driven review review triggered by a
  problem or opportunity, such as an error, a
  corporate merger, or a new market for products
• Time-driven review review performed after a
  specified amount of time

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General Risk Model
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Risk Management Components

• Assessment/Awareness
• Avoidance
• Deterence/Deflection
• Defence
• Audit/Detection
• Recovery
• Retaliation
• Reassessment/Learning

1 2-10 4-100 8-1000 16-10000 32-100000 64-1
000000 Priceless!
Costs rise rapidly as risk manage-ment tactics
evolve in time by powers of 2 to 10
86
Cost/Benefit Tradeoff
Because loss is highest for late actions, there
is a rapid increase in value of expense
At some point tactics are complex themselves and
expose actor to further risk
87
Computer Waste and Mistakes

• Computer waste
• The inappropriate use of computer technology and
  resources
• Computer-related mistakes
• Errors, failures, and other computer problems
  that make computer output incorrect or not useful

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Computer Waste

• Discarding of technology
• Unused systems
• Personal use of corporate time and technology
• Spam
• Poorly designed systems
• Unintelligent system use

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Computer-Related Mistakes

• Mistakes can be caused by unclear expectations
  and a lack of feedback
• A systems analyst might specify a system that is
  not what is needed or wanted
• A programmer might develop a program that
  contains errors
• Users might accept a system that is not what is
  needed or what is wanted
• A data-entry clerk might enter the wrong data

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Computer Crime

• Often defies detection
• The amount stolen or diverted can be substantial
• The crime is clean and nonviolent (so far!)
• The number of IT-related security incidents is
  increasing dramatically
• Computer crime is now global

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The Computer as a Tool to Commit Crime

• Criminals need two capabilities to commit most
  computer crimes
• Knowing how to gain access to the computer system
• Knowing how to manipulate the system to produce
  the desired result
• Social engineering
• Dumpster diving

92
Identity Theft

• An imposter obtains key pieces of personal
  identification information, such as Social
  Security or drivers license numbers, in order to
  impersonate someone else
• The information is then used to obtain credit,
  merchandise, and services in the name of the
  victim or to provide the thief with false
  credentials
• Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act of
  1998

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Data Alteration and Destruction

• Virus a computer program capable of attaching to
  disks or other files and replicating itself
  repeatedly, typically without the users
  knowledge or permission
• Worm an independent program that replicates its
  own program files until it interrupts the
  operation of networks and computer systems

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Data Alteration and Destruction 2

• Trojan horse a program that appears to be useful
  but actually masks a destructive program
• Logic bomb an application or system virus
  designed to explode or execute at a specified
  time and date

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Using Antivirus Programs

• Antivirus program program or utility that
  prevents viruses and recovers from them if they
  infect a computer
• An antivirus software should be run and updated
  often

96
Privacy Issues

• With information systems, privacy deals with the
  collection and use or misuse of data
• Privacy and the federal government
• Privacy at work you dont have any
• E-mail privacy doesnt exist
• Privacy and the Internet caveat emptor

97
Privacy The Basic Issue

• Information about the individual may or may not
  belong to the individual as property
• English common law, the basis of our general law,
  recognizes property rights as inherent and
  inviolable (in general)
• Intellectual assets differ in many ways from
  physical property
• Eg. Copyable without damage
• Eg. Valuable only for brief period of time
• Eg. Can cause damage as well as be an asset

98
Information about Oneself

• In general this does NOT belong to the individual
• Example public figure
• Example customer records
• Example Employee records
• Example Ones image (visual or audio)
• Information in general is inherent in an activity
  and belongs to that activity the owner of the
  activity is the owner of the information.
• This is not a well-developed field with clear-cut
  principles that juries and judges adhere to.

99
Corporate Privacy Policies

• Should address a customers knowledge, control,
  notice, and consent over the storage and use of
  information
• May cover who has access to private data and when
  it may be used
• A good database design practice is to assign a
  single unique identifier to each customer

100
Individual Efforts to Protect Privacy

• Find out what is stored about you in existing
  databases
• Be careful when you share information about
  yourself
• Be proactive to protect your privacy
• When purchasing anything from a Web site, make
  sure that you safeguard your credit card numbers,
  passwords, and personal information

101
Foreign Language Guide Book
What you want to express What
to say in ITish

• Its cute but it doesnt do what its supposed
  to do.
• I know YOU think its great technology, but it
  doesnt meet my needs.
• Wow! This is really going to make me look good
  on the job!

• IT DOESNT WORK!
• I DONT WANT IT!
• THANKS!