Please See The Description Example

Please See The Description Example Please See The Description â€" Assignment Example > Reading 1 Principles of Information Warfare Information warfare is not a new phenomenon and the topic has caught the attention of numerous researchers (Hutchison Warren, 2001, p. 1). The nature and the characteristics of information make it susceptible to attacks and subsequent manipulation (Hutchison Warren, 2001, p. 1). For this reason, the two authors designed a conceptual framework, which illustrates how data, information and knowledge are interlinked in context and consequently to demonstrate how to protect each level from attacks. During information warfare there are several elements that are targeted and intruders can either capitalize on one or integrate two or more elements to carry out the operation (Hutchison Warren, 2001, p. 2). To begin with, when attackers target data, they do so with various goals in mind. Firstly, intruders might hinder access to data by attacking the storage area. Secondly, data can be destroyed or disrupted when intruders interfere with the me dium. Furthermore, they can manipulate data either by deletion, addition or amendments to fulfill whatever motive the intruders had in mind. More importantly, intruders can steal sensitive data and use it to their advantage and the gravity of the matter is that the company might never have any idea that their data was stolen (Hutchison Warren, 2001, pp. 2-3). On the same note, the context upon which data is to be interpreted can be manipulated by altering sensory surroundings, place and political climate (Hutchison Warren, 2001, p. 3). Finally, information that is contained in the stored data is also prone to attack and usually intrusions are intended to make the receiver doubt credibility of such data (Hutchison Warren, 2001, p. 4). For this reason, data security officials should adopt every available strategy to prevent the above attacks. Moreover, data stores, communication channels, input and output devices plus data manipulation devices should be well guarded to prevent po ssible attacks (Hutchison Warren, 2001, p. 4). Reading 2Information warfare going on the offensiveInformation warfare is not likely to gone away anytime soon, if at all the intensity and dimension of offensive data attacks continue to increase each day fueled by the rapid growth and innovations in internet usage (Cummins, 2000, par. 4). This implies that traditional defensive measures are not likely to be effective in today’s information warfare environment, and therefore it is imperative that, information system managers upgrade their awareness about potential offensive threats that their systems are expected to experience during this information era (Cummins, 2000, par. 6). Although, the internet have facilitated organizations’ effectiveness by placing most information within reach of all and sundry, the convenience is not without a cost since at the same time sensitive information is at risk of landing in the wrong hands (Cummins, 2000, par. 6). This implies that companies have to bear the huge costs of information protection since laxity or ignorance will obviously lead to irreparable damages (Cummins, 2000, par. 7). On the same note, Cummins (2000, par. 16) underscores that, initially, data protection was effected simply by using defensive mechanisms to deny access. However, the threat today is more imminent as hackers and joy seekers continue to develop viruses and Trojan horses aimed at denying access to data. Moreover, humans pose the greatest risk to information through espionage, electronic eavesdropping and social engineering (Cummins, 2000, par. 8). Owing to the above reasons, information warfare and subsequent defensive soft wares have become the norm of the day as developers earn millions, while on the other hand companies sink millions as they rush towards installing upgraded defensive systems to avoid falling victims. However, to be able to make informed decisions about the type of defensive software to adopt, information security manag ers ought to first understand the kind of threat that their respective companies face since they vary from organization to another (Cummins, 2000, par. 20). As a result, the awareness will save organizations millions of money since they will only incur cost for the relevant system instead of relying on a trial and error method (Cummins, 2000, par. 22).