4.1.1 The transmitter The transmitter receives a message from User 1 and manipulates it into data which can be sent into the network. The transmitter may also store or retrieve data relating to the message. In the mobile phone system, the transmitter, which is User l's mobile phone, receives a message from User 1 in the form of sound. It manipulates the incoming sound into a data format suitable for sending into the mobile phone network. Even basic models of mobile phone handsets can store names and telephon
3.1 Introduction Generally, when we talk about communication between humans, we mean one person conveying information to another person. Figure 6 shows a basic model, or representation, of a communication system for getting a message from the sender to the recipient. The diagram shows the sender (User
Learning outcomes After studying this course, you should be able to: understand the concept of e-government, and the associated benefits and drawbacks understand how a relational database differs from a flat database, including the function and construction of a joining table understand some of the basic principles of XML understand the basic principles of biometric identification and verification systems identify suitable entities, attr
References 6.2.3 Likelihood, impact and risk Having looked at threats, vulnerabilities, outcomes and impacts, we are now in a position to offer a definition of risk with regard to threats to the information assets of an organisation. This definition will lead to an approach to measuring and assessing risk that is consistent with the Standard and with IT Governance: A Manager's Guide to Data Security & BS 7799/ISO 177799 (the Set Book). This systematic approach to risk assessment corresponds to Stage 3 of the ISMS documentation ta 5.4 ISMS documentation In this subsection we shall consider Stages 1, 2 and 8 of the ISMS documentation task. Stage 3 is considered in Section 6. We shall not discuss Stage 9 in this course. 5.2.1 ISMS documentation ISMS documentation is carried out at organisation level. Its purpose is to define the scope and context of the proposed system, and the approach to information security management that it will embody. It has five stages: three that initiate the planning process (Stages 1 to 3) and two that complete it (Stages 8 and 9). Stage 1: define the scope of the ISMS The context and scope of the ISMS are defined by considering the nature of the organisat 5.2.3 Risk assessment The risk assessment task is also carried out at unit level, in light of policies set out in Stages 1 to 3 and for the assets identified in Stage 4.1. Stages 4.2, 4.3 and 4.4: identify the risks Stage 4.2 determines systematically the possible threats to the assets identified in the asset identification part of the process. (Clause 4.2.1(d)(2)) Stage 4.3 identifies vulnerabilities that might allow tho 4.3 Scarcity and shareability Modern business theory now views an organisation's intangible, rather than its tangible, assets as the reservoir of much of its value. Even a not-for-profit organisation requires information to be shared and protected for its mission to be accomplished. With this new perspective has come a re-evaluation of the methods to be used to protect the value of an organisation. Historically, four walls were all that was needed to demarcate the inside of an organisation from the outside; and four sturd 4.1 Introduction Section 2 explained that information is an important asset to an organisation. In this section you will study, in some detail, the characteristics of information assets that make them valuable, and so worth protecting. In recent years, a combination of computerised processing systems and electronic communication technologies has made possible new forms of working and trading based on the electronic exchange of information. Such activity is called e-business or e-commerce. 12.3 Further security issues The problems discussed so far can have major implications for users. They may: slow your PC; cause the loss of important data; damage your reputation by sending false information or viruses via email; access the Internet without permission, and in the process use up bandwidth; be time-consuming to remove; cause loss of private information; have financ 11.4 Controlling cookies in Firefox Open your browser. On the top menu bar of the browser choose Tools > Options. Then choose Privacy in the left panel and expand the Cookies heading. 8 How to protect yourself against spam People and organisations can only send spam if they have a collection of email addresses to send to. They 'harvest' these addresses: from legitimate company databases; from web pages; from chat rooms; by guesswork; from people who use an unsubscribe option. To minimise the spam you receive: Check whether you can set rules on y 5 Firewalls Another tool that you could use, especially if you access the Internet using broadband, is a firewall. Firewalls can be software or hardware, single packages or complete computers. A firewall in a building is designed to stop the spread of fire; an Internet firewall prevents the spread of harmful files. A firewall is a filter that has been trained to look for malicious acts that may endanger users' computers. As with antivirus software it needs to be updated regularly. In it 3.1 Patches and antivirus software In this section we will look at two of the ways in which you can protect yourself from malware: Ensure that your computer has the latest patch from Microsoft or your operating system vendor. Install antivirus software that will protect you from these problems, and ensure that you keep it up to date. (Later in this course we will discuss firewalls, which you can also use to protect your computer.) Acknowledgements Cover image: Eric Norris in Flickr made available under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Licence. The content acknowledged below is Proprietary (see terms and conditions) and is used under licence. All materials included in this cours 5.2 Evaluating the quality of information on the Web The quality of the information you will find on the Web varies enormously as there is no editorial control. Anybody can establish a website, claiming to be whoever they want to be. As Mark Twain put it: A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes. So how can you judge the reliability and quality of the information you find on the Web? If you think in t 3.6 Tracing your family tree In order to show some of the possibilities provided by the Internet, we have gone straight to searching for material online. A careful family historian would take a more measured approach, starting with the evidence to hand within their own family, and researching offline materials as well. Tracing your family tree involves repeating these steps: start with what you know record it decide what to pursue next 3.3 Focused search sites An alternative to using general purpose search engines is to make use of focused search engines that only index known genealogical sites. For example, the Genealogical Society of the UK and Ireland (GenUKI) provides a search engine. 8.2 RFID applications As we pointed out in Section 7, the driving force for RFID development is coming from major retailers who want to track goods as they travel through the supply chain. Their purpose is to reduce the manual checking necessary, thereby cutting down on labour costs and reducing human error.
Activity 24
