MIS 516 Online Revised: 6 July 2015
Overview
Along with protecting your organization from existing threats, Information Security managers
should also anticipate on how emerging security issues will affect your organization in the
future. To that end, you will develop an advisory whitepaper on one of the emerging threats for
an industry of your choice (e.g., financial, public sector, defense, medical, etc.).
Requirements
For your white paper itself, you will select one emerging security threat (you may choose
whatever criteria you would like to select your topic most interesting, most likely to occur,
most challenging) and write a 4-6 page white paper on the topic. The purpose of the white
paper will be to educate your organization (your focus should inform both managerial and
operational personnel that might be impacted by the emerging threat). In other words, you
should address not only why the threat significant, but also how the organization should move
forward to prepare for the threat or address the vulnerability.
As you consider the topic you will discuss, be sure to recognize that an emerging threat or
vulnerability doesnt necessarily have to be a new security issue for the information security
field. On the contrary, it could simply be that an existing threat has found a new industrial
target (e.g., using virus attacks on SCADA systems in the power industry) or that an industry is
embracing new technologies that bring with them well-known vulnerabilities (e.g., banking
using wireless platforms, such as the iPad).
Writing a Whitepaper
If you are new to the writing style used for whitepapers, Ive attached a how-to guide by
Michael Stelzner to get you started. Although this guide is intended for a more commercial
audience developing more markerting-focused white paper, it does provide some good
information on the general style and organization that would apply to your paper. I have also
attached an outstanding white paper from a prior semester as an example of outstanding
solution for this exercise.
http://www.essaywriters.net/sys/orders/view/1605362/instructions.download/2195505/