Blog Entry 7.1 - IS Security (Part B)

Sending a message

Mark decides to send the article about the murder of a person to Frank. Mark uses Frank's public key to encrypt the article. Frank receives the  article and then decodes the article so that it can be reviewed and sent to the printer.

Signing a message

Mark decides to send the article to Frank about a murder. Mark encrypts the code with his private key. Mark sends the message and his public key to Frank. Frank decodes the article with Mark's public key. Frank can then review the article and release it because he knows that it is Mark's work.

Blog Entry 7.1 - IS Security (Part A)

If the Ferrum Times is threatened by floods, power outages, or other unexpected issues we will back up our files using cloud computing, have a generator on hand, and have keyboards and screens lock after not being in use for 5min. If the Ferrum Times is threatened by employees or consultants stealing or putting viruses on the server for revenge to deal with these issues we will give a password to every employee that way we can keep an eye on which employee does what and also install anti-virus software on all our computers. If the Ferrum Times manages to get a virus on our computers that could delete all our stories for the day and past records we will install a firewall and anti-virus software. When the Ferrum Times sends messages about how much paper we are going to buy we will encrypt the data using public key technology. If we are attacked by hackers then they could steal information and also look at our clients private records in order to protect ourselves and clients we will use photo ID cards to make sure that they are employees and also install a proxy server which will be able to identify if the person is an employee by their password.

Blog Entry 6.1 – Web 2.0

1.      Utilizing the Web As a Platform

a.       Using the Internet to provide services to customers.

2.      Harnessing Collective Intelligence

a.       Allows for customers to tell the company how they are doing and what problems they are having.

3.      Leveraging Data

a.       Companies use data collected online to make decisions about products in the future.

4.      Implementing Innovative Web Capabilities

a.       Using technology to create a competitive edge

We will use the first pillar by making a website that allows customers to buy our newspaper online. For the second pillar we will install a topic blog on our website to check to see what our readers really want. The third pillar will be used by our company by way of rating the articles in the papers and allowing them to post reviews. We will allow our customers to download widgets for their computer and also for our employees they will have a calendar widget for their schedules. We feel by doing these things we will gain an advantage over our competition.

5.1 Critique Your Competitor’s E-Commerce Website

Web Site: washingtonpost.com

Rule 1: The Website should offer something unique   Rating: 4.5

I gave washingtonpost.com this rating because it offers more than news it also offers move listing, comics, and clips from sport games. According to alexa.com washingtonpost.com is ranked 325 globally.

Rule 2: The Website should be aesthetically pleasing   Rating: 4.5

I gave washingtonpost.com this rating because it has a lot of movement and people could get distracted and just find another news oriented site to check the news. Also a lot of the articles are bunched together making it hard to click on the one the person wants.

Rule 3: The Website must be easy to use and fast    Rating: 5

I gave washingtonpost.com this rating because if a user uses the tabs at the top of the page or types in a subject they will be able to find articles on that subject.

Rule 4: The Website must motivate people to visit   Rating: 4

I gave washingtonpost.com this rating because even though it has news that might interest some people the way the web site is presented it was not motivating people to stay on the site.

Rule 5: You must advertise your presence on the web  Rating: 4.5

This web site advertises sports and other businesses. I would have given it a 5 if they advertised the newspaper a little bit more.

Rule 6: You should learn from your website      Rating: 5

The user learns about the different events that are happening around the world. According to alexa.com this web site is ranked 325 globally and 72 in the US.

5.3-B2E Electronic Commerce

In the following diagram an employee is requesting information from the Ferrum Times server which makes the employee a client. The employee is using the internet to connect over a VPN to our firewall. After the client connects to the server they will be able to access their files from where ever they are. This diagram is an example of intranet because it is used by an employee to gain access to private files using a password that the company gives them.

5.2-B2B Electronic Commerce

Ferrum Times will use an extranet to do business with Dunder Mifflin. In the following extranet diagram both networks are connected over the internet using a VPN. We would be considered the client because we are requesting information from the Dunder Mifflin server. Both have a firewall to protect information from unauthorized people.

4.4 Entity Relationship Diagram

The following picture is an example of an entity relationship diagram or ERD for short. In the ERD the entities are the invoice, company, customer, and product in the tables listed. Each of these entities are divided attributes which are stored in the columns a database table and records which are stored in the row of the database table. At the top of each row in the database table are the attribute types that are used to help identify the information about the entity. Data types are used to organize and sort data for attributes. Data types usually contain text, numbers, or dates. This diagram is used to show the relationship between the entities.

4.2 Packet Switching Technology

In the picture computer a wants to send a message to computer b while computer c wants to send a message to computer d.This is how computers use Packet Switching Technology. Concurrent data transmission is used to send information through a server. As this information is sent over the server a client can access the information by requesting the information that they need. These computers are connected through a router which gives them an IP address. This is possible because a data packet has been conformed to IP specification. TCP/IP is the protocol used to help all this become possible. The TCP or Transmission Control Protocol breaks down the information into packets and transfers the data from computer to computer. TCP also helps to identify if there is any information that has been sent more than once or missing. If any information is missing the TCP will send to receive it. IP or Internet Protocol defines the data and tells the router which IP address to send the information to.

4.1 IFS H/W Infrastructure

In the following picture a user uses some type of input technology such as a keyboard. The computer then starts processing the information. The processing technology used for processing the information is called the CPU or Central Processing Unit. The CPU is divided into two parts which are called the Control Unit and the Arithmetic Logic Unit. The part of the CPU used in this picture would be the Control Unit because the Arithmetic Logic Unit deals with mathematical functions. The CPU transforms the letters into machine language. Machine language consists of binary code. In America, we use the ASCII method based on the English alphabet. The binary code consists of bits and bytes. Bits are the individual 1s and 0s in the code. Bytes are a collection of bits used to form a character such as the H in hello. The system unit then stores the information binary code in the physical box that houses all of the electrical components of thee computer. After the information is stored it is then displayed using output technologies such as a monitor or projector.

3.2 Ferrum Times Fear, Faith, and Fact

A person should implement the system we are proposing because we are dedicated to the Ferrum College community and to the areas around it. If this system is not installed it will create a break between the Ferrum College community and the communities around it. Based on reading other newspapers we have found that they do not inform the outer communities about Ferrum College events and how well the students are doing on campus. The cost benefit analysis would compare the cost of all recurring and nonrecurring costs and the benefits that they give off.

3.1 Ferrum Times Value Chain Analysis

We created a value chain analysis by using gliffy.com. This diagram shows how our business processes are done in order to make it better. We use automating when we apply for loans to get our products and other buildings. The purpose of our value chain analysis is to allow ourselves to view anyways that we can change any problems dealing with productivity. The value chain analysis gives the company a way to evaluate if the customers are getting what they paid for.

Systems we would propose to gain a competitive advantage:

We would propose an executive information system because it allows us to gain information that is supported in a high level to support an executive level decision. Another system we would propose would be an electric commerce system because it allows our customers to buy our paper online. Knowledge management system is another system we would propose because it allows our customers to gain information when they view information contained in our newspaper. Lastly we would propose a management information system in order for our company to help maintain and manage the company.

2.2 Automobile Industry

The article about the automobile industry talks about the creation of a world car. The reason for the creation of the world car is so that it can sell worldwide and so the manufactures can deal with the industry going through globalization. This article talks about the different reason why the world car did not work such as different prices for gas, tastes in cars based on region of the world, and regulations in areas of the world. In the conclusion of this article it talks about the changes need to make the world car more effective around the world and the different changes to the auto industry. Changes to the auto industry include the global market because it allows for the manufactures to sale all over the world and the moving of the industry over geographic boundaries. The writer of the article feels that the world car could be created but only when cultural and economic conditions change with time using globalization.

1. Globalization 3.0 is changing the auto industry by allowing them to even take the time design a world car and what they need to do to make it sell more effectively.

2. Cultural differences make it difficult to create a world car because not all people like the same type of car and the laws of the land are different depending on what part of the world you live in.

2.1 Flicker.com

Flicker.com is a website that allows the user to publish, search, and tag photos. Some other abilities a person will be able to use include the ability to edit a photo such as cropping and grouping, people can also include these pictures in a blog. One of the best things about flicker.com is that it has an unlimited user space however there is a down side and that is that the bandwidth is restricted based on the usage per month. Three enablers that flicker.com uses includes uploading, in-forming, and work flow software. Filcker.com uses an uploading enabler because it allows the user to upload photos to the worldwide web so that people that have the internet can view them. It uses an in-forming enabler because it allows users to edit the pictures they post. The site also allows the user to describe the picture and different people viewing the picture to tag the photo. Work flow software is the last enabler that flicker.com uses because it allows the user to put the pictures that they uploaded to flicker.com to other sites such as blogger.com and facebook.com.

1.3 Organizational Chart for CIS Department

The organizational chart represents the hierarchy of personnel in my computer information systems department at the Ferrum Times. The Chief Information Officer or CIO, located at the top of the chart, oversees the strategic planning of the organization. There are three departments below the CIO that are responsible for the functions of the organization.  The support department is the department that helps the other departments to run smoothly. We have a database administrator to maintain the wellbeing of our database. The network administrator manages the company's communications network between the internal company and external companies.

The development department handles the new projects for creating new programs or applications to improve the company. The Business Analyst helps to communicate between the customers and the rest of our team. The Business Analyst must know about the technical side of the product and be able to explain it to the customers. Software engineers and systems consultants make the technical plans that allow programmers to code new programs.

Our maintenance department consists of an information systems auditor whose job is to check on any software delivered by the development team for problems. The information systems auditor will field any customer support calls and work with the development team to find a solution to any problems that arise.

Top 4 most important job functions:

The three most important job functions I would pick would be the network administrator, CIO, business administrator, and the information system auditor. I picked the CIO as an important job because without the CIO it would be very difficult to manage the operations a large company. The information systems auditor will help manage the ethical and legal use of the company’s information systems.  I would have a business analyst to help communicate to customer what the goals of the company are. A network administrator would be very necessary to maintain the communications networks within our company, our customers' networks, and other business networks that may prove valid.

1.2 Track and Collect Data

1. Customer

Customer ID

CMR811 ---> CMR-8-11 ---> relates to name, date, address ---> apply to sale records and product records

Data--> Information--> Knowledge--> Wisdom

Our customers that purchase an online subscription will be given an ID to represent them in our data base. The letters and numbers are data for our system that our customers would not understand. Then we format it, to make it easier for the person calculating the accounting books to understand. Then we relate the information so that it represents the person’s name, the date they bought the product, and their address. Finally, we will use this information to help use keep track of how long that person stays with our newspaper and how much the person owes us.

2. Product (online subscriptions)

Online Subscriptions ID

YR811-->YEAR-8-11-->relates to the name, price, description-->apply to sale records and product records

Data--> Information--> Knowledge--> Wisdom

Our online subscriptions will be given an ID number to represent the different types of subscriptions we have. The identification number is data because it nothing but letters and numbers until we format it so that it anyone will be able to understand what the number represent as information. Then we relate the information to the customer’s name, the price of the item, and a brief description. Finally, we will use the information to determine which of our subscriptions is the most popular to our customers.

3. Event (online subscriptions sales)

Subscription Sales ID

1126201130->11-26-2011-30->relates to date, total paid, taxes, customer ID, Online Subscriptions ID-> apply to sale records and product records

Data--> Information--> Knowledge--> Wisdom

Our sales of subscriptions will be given an ID number to represent the different sales we have in our database. The ID number is our data because it nothing but numbers and letters which will be formatted to transform the data into information. As information we will relate this information to the date it was paid, how much was paid, the tax amount included, the customer, and the subscription they bought.

1.1 Ferrum Times Company Description

Our company is The Ferrum Times. We are located in Ferrum, VA. The focus of our newspaper is on all the late breaking news within Ferrum and the students attending Ferrum College. Bad weather coming toward the Ferrum campus, the college sports teams, and charity events are some of the stories we will cover.  We are serious about our community and would like for the rest of Franklin County to know how Ferrum College is doing.  Selling newspapers and online subscriptions is how our paper makes money. If you want to place an ad please email us at ferrumtimes@yahoo.com.