Major Component Agencies of the Dhs Essay Example for Free

Major Component Agencies of the Dhs Essay This paper will discuss what are the major component agencies of DHS and their primary functions. Major Component Agencies of the DHS Major agencies of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) are; The Directorate for National Protection and Programs, The Science and Technology Directorate, The Office of Health Affairs, The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), U. S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), The Office of Investigations, The Office of Detention and Removal Operations, The Federal Protective Service, The Office of Intelligence, The Office of Intelligence and Analysis, The Office of Operations Coordination, The Domestic Nuclear Detection Office, The Transportation Administration (TSA), The Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC), The Citizenship and Immigration Services, The Coast Guard, and The Secret Service. Their Primary Functions The Directorate for National Protection and Programs has five divisions that work to advance the DHS’s risk-reduction mission. The primary development and research arm of the department belongs to the Science and Technology Directorate. The Office of Health Affairs coordinates all medical activities to ensure appropriate preparation for the response to incidents having medical significance. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) manages federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident, administers the National Flood Insurance Program, and prepares the nation for hazards. The CBP prevents terrorists and their weapons from entering the United States. They are responsible for protecting U. S. borders, while simultaneously facilitating the flow of legitimate trade and travel. The largest investigative arm of DHS is ICE. They are responsible for identifying and shutting down vulnerabilities both in the nation’s borders and in economic, infrastructure security, and transportation. The Office of Investigations investigates a wide range of international and domestic activities that violate customs laws and immigration and threatens national security. The department who is ensures the departure from the United States of all illegal aliens through the fair enforcement of the nation’s immigration laws is the Office of Detention and Removal Operations. The Federal Protective Service is responsible for securing, ensuring a safe environment, and policing in which federal agencies can conduct their business at more than 8,800 federal facilities nationwide. Collecting, analyzing, and disseminating strategic and tactical intelligence data belongs to the Office of Intelligence. The Office of Intelligence and Analysis is responsible for using information and intelligence from multiple sources to identify and assess current and future threats to the U. S. The responsibility for monitoring the security of the U. S. on a daily basis and coordinating activities within the department and with governors, law enforcement partners, DHS advisors, and critical infrastructure operators in all fifty states and more than fifty major urban areas nationwide falls under the Office of Operations Coordination. The Domestic Nuclear Detection Office works to enhance the nuclear detection efforts of federal, tribal, states, territorial, and local governments and the private sector and to ensure a coordinated response to such threats. This department protects the nation’s transportation systems. In addition, agents also inspect air carrier operations to the United States, fly air marshal missions, assess security of airports overseas, and training overseas security personnel is TSA. The FLETC provides career–long training to law enforcement professionals to help them fulfill their responsibilities safely and proficiently. The Citizenship and Immigration Services is responsible for the administration of immigration and naturalization adjudication functions and the establishment of immigration service’s policies and priorities. This department is also consider a military department, which protects the public, the environment, and U. S. economic interests in the nation’s ports, along the coast, on international waters, on its waterways, or in any maritime region as required to support national security. Finally, we have the Secret Service who protects the president and other high-level officials and investigates counterfeiting and other financial crimes, identity theft, computer fraud, including financial institution fraud, and computer-based attacks on our nation’s financial, banking, and telecommunications infrastructure. Final Thoughts The Department of Homeland Security was activated in January 2003 from the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to help combat terrorism after the September 11 attacks on the United States. An outline is provided of what happened when the DHS was formed. Our lives in the United States as we knew it, has forever been changed since 9-1-1. We still have a long way to go to become more aware and secure, but it is not impossible. There are still many loopholes to tackle, red tape to cut, and the lack of proper equipment and training which still needs to be addressed on a continuous basis. On March 1, 2003, the DHS absorbed the Immigration and Naturalization Service and assumed its duties. By doing this, it divided the enforcement and services functions into two separate and new agencies: ICE and Citizenship and Immigration Services. The investigative divisions and intelligence gathering units of the INS and Customs Service were merged forming Homeland Security Investigations. Additionally, the border enforcement functions of the INS, including the U.S. Border Patrol, the U.S. Customs Service, and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service were consolidated into a new agency under DHS: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (Creation of DHS, n.d.). References Creation-department-homeland-security, n.d. Retrieved on 1215/2012 from http://www.dhs.gov/creation-department-homeland-security Peak, K. J., 2012. Policing America challenges and best practices. Retrieved on 12/15/2012 from Chapter Two, Pages 44-48.

Issues Concerning Islam Essay Example for Free

Issues Concerning Islam Essay Muslims have been accused of mutilating women. This practice, however, is denied by the followers of Islam. According to them, â€Å"Female Genital Mutilation† (FGM), which is actually a surgical procedure performed on girls before they reach the age of puberty for the purpose of terminating or reducing their sexual feelings, is not an Islamic practice. They explain that FGM is a tradition of â€Å"Animists, Christians, and [some] Muslims in those countries where FGM is common. † Women are given equal rights under Islam. In fact, the Qur’an decreed that when it comes to public life, men and women should have equal rights and participation. During the time of Muhammad, women were allowed to participate actively in their baya which is the equivalent of today’s practice of political endorsements. Evidence of this Muslim women’s status is the voting rights granted to women in the predominantly Muslim countries like Bahrain, Qatar, and Oman. The women in Kuwait followed suit by earning their right to vote and get elected sometime in 2005. In fact, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, Kuwait’s Prime Minister, divulged a plan to appoint a woman minister in Kuwait soon (Robinson, 2007). Muslims as terrorists and pro-violence Yusuf (n. d. ) said that majority of the Muslims are convinced that while the U. S. government has been blaming terrorism on Islam for years, it was the 9/11 incident which dealt the most telling blow on the credibility and reputation of their religion. This was because the international media was able to depict that many Muslims around the world rejoiced after that incident. The truth is, however, that majority of the Muslim world was saddened by that incident and the repercussions it caused. They would like to tell the world that terrorism is not an official policy of Islam and that, in fact, Muslims also consider terrorists as enemies of their religion. He laments the fact that When a crazy Christian does something terrible, everyone in the West knows it is the actions of a mad man because they have some knowledge of the core beliefs and ethics of Christianity. When a mad Muslim does something evil or foolish they assume it is from the religion of Islam, not because they hate us but because they have never been told by a Muslim what the teachings of Islam are all about. Yusuf blames this lack of Islamic knowledge among Christians to the fact that there is a dearth of credible spokespersons who could defend Islam from its attackers. As a matter of fact, Yusuf stressed that â€Å"Islam is the middle way between excess and neglect† and that terrorism is the preoccupation of zealots and extremists who are, in fact, a plaque of Islam. According to him, there are two types of Muslim extremists whose acts destroy Islam. The first he calls â€Å"reactionary extremists. † This group rejects any form of religious pluralism. According to these reactionary extremists, the world consists of good and evil with nothing in between. Good, according to them, means the reactionary extremists and all those who oppose their actions are evil. Yusuf further explains that these kind of extremists are in the habit of â€Å"excommunicating† other Muslims who reject the way they interpret the Qur’an. However, this kind does not usually resort to violent acts to achieve their goals. Instead, they employ character assassination or takfir to ward their critics (Yusuf, n. d. ). The second type is the â€Å"radical extremist. † These Muslims extremists, according to Yusuf, are the ones who resort to violent acts and tactics to further their objectives. Yusuf stressed that these Muslims act as if they belong to some secret, wicked society whose members believe in the dictum that â€Å"the end justifies the means. † In other words, any method, even the most violent method, is acceptable as long as their â€Å"cause† is advanced. According to Yusuf, this is destroying Islam because the methods employed by Islam should be reflecting the noble ends of the religion. Secondly, Islam is not a â€Å"secret society of conspirators† – rather, it is open with its objectives and traditions which have already been accepted and recognized by people from other religious denominations (Yusuf, n. d. ). Muslims confused with Arabs Muslims object to their being confused with Arabs because it would never be accurate to equate Islam, a religious denomination, with Arab, which is an ethnic grouping. According to Muslims, the reason for this erroneous identification could be the fact that Islam emerged from the culture and society of Arab Bedouins of the 8th century. Another reason might be the fact that the Qur’an was written in Arabic. However, beyond these facts, Muslims should not be identified as Arabs, and vice versa because, according to statistics, â€Å"there are many non-Muslim Arabs, and far, far more non-Arab Muslims in the world. In fact, out of the estimated one billion Muslims worldwide, only about 200 million are Arabs (DHinMl, 2006). Looking at the table below of the top ten countries with the highest Muslim population, only Egypt (at number seven) is an Arab country (Aneki. com, n. d. ). References Aneki.com. (n.d.). Largest Muslim Population in the World. Retrieved November 26, 2007 from http://www.aneki.com/muslim.html Fisher, M.P. (2005). Living Religions, Sixth Edition. Prentice-Hall. Philips, A.A.B. (n.d.). The True Religion. Retrieved November 26, 2007 from http://www.islamworld.net/

Does Poverty Exist in the Uk?

Does Poverty Exist in the Uk? Does Poverty exist in contemporary Britain? The answer to this question depends to a large extent on how poverty is defined and measured. It is, like many sociological issues, an ‘essentially contested concept’ and as such, there has been much debate around what exactly constitutes poverty. However, even accepting that poverty itself denotes different things to different people, it can still be argued that poverty or indeed ‘poverties’ are a real problem in Britain today which need to be addressed by government and society in order to optimise equality in our society. How should we define poverty? It is useful firstly to refer to some widely used definitions. Charles Booth writing in 1889 was one of the first to explore the area of poverty when he published a work showing that one third of Londoners were living in dire poverty. By ‘poverty’ he was referring to a ‘lack of basic requirements to sustain a physically healthy existence [and] sufficient food and shelter to make possible the physically efficient functioning of the body’ (cited in Giddens, 2001, p236). This is referred to as subsistence poverty- literally not having the means to survive. Benjamin Rowntree referred to primary poverty and secondary poverty. By primary poverty he meant those who were unable to afford a basket of necessities for ‘merely physical efficiency’. Secondary poverty referred to those who had more income than those living in primary poverty but who still suffered poverty lifestyles. (cited Flaherty et al 2004, p16) Another widely quoted definition of poverty is Townsend’s. In 1979 he stated, ‘Individuals, families and groups in the population can be said to be in poverty when they lack the resources to obtain the types of diet, participate in the activities and have the living conditions and amenities which are customary, or are at least widely recognised or approved, societies to which they belong. Their resources are so seriously below those commanded by the average individual or family that they are in effect, excluded from ordinary living patterns, customs and activities’ (cited Flaherty et al, 2004, p17). Whilst the World Bank described poverty as ‘the inability to attain a minimal standard of living’, the UN defines poverty as follows: ‘Poverty has various manifestations including lack of income and productive resources to ensure sustainable livelihoods; hunger and malnutrition; ill health; limited or lack of access to education and other basic services; increased morbidity and mortality from illness; homelessness and inadequate housing; unsafe environments and social discrimination and exclusion. It is also characterised by lack of participation in decision making and in civil, social and cultural life. It occurs in all countries: as mass poverty in many developing countries, pockets of poverty amidst wealth in developed countries, loss of livelihoods as a result of economic recession, sudden poverty as a result of disaster or conflict, the poverty y of low-wage workers, and the utter destitution of people who fall outside family support systems, institutions and safety nets’ (Flaherty et al 2004, p13). From this range of definitions can be seen the difference between absolute and relative poverty. Absolute poverty is based on the notion of subsistence which in itself is defined as the minimum amount needed to sustain life. As Alcock points out however, it is a contradiction to say someone is living below subsistence levels because, how can those without enough to live on, live? (1997, p68) The answer of course is that they do not- or at least not for very long. In contrast relative poverty is, in Alcock’s words, ‘a more subjective or social standard’ (1997, p69). This is the poverty which Townsend refers to where poverty and deprivation are judged in the context of the society in which an individual lives. Townsend also looked at poverty in terms of how it affected an individual’s ability to engage in social activities. From this the notion of social exclusion was developed and definitions of poverty broadened to include various types of deprivation. Townsend developed a deprivation index based on items which he saw as necessary to the whole of society and used these along with income levels to measure deprivation. However, there are some difficulties with this approach. For example as Baldock et al point out, where one of the deprivation indicators was not eating cooked meals, some people may prefer to eat salads and sandwiches from choice. (Baldock et al 2003, p119) Therefore it is difficult to differentiate where in some instances people may choose to be without what Townsend considered to be a necessity. Mack and Lansley further developed Townsend’s work by coming up with a ‘consensual approach top poverty.’ They asked respondents what they considered as necessities and from this feedback they measured poverty which they defined crucially as ‘an enforced lack of socially perceived necessities’ (cited in Baldock et al p119). By referring to ‘socially perceived necessities’ they avo ided having to make judgements on what constituted necessities. The difficulties with subsistence approaches to poverty is that it is inevitable that at some point an arbitrary decision will have to be made about what exactly is needed for subsistence. On the other hand, the problem with the relative measure of poverty is that where a society may have a small section of extremely wealthy people, the level of what is considered to be poverty relatively may be artificially high. For our purposes, it is easier to work with Sen’s assertion that ‘if there is starvation and hunger then, no matter what the relative picture looks like there clearly is poverty’ (cited Flaherty et al 2004, p17). However it is measured, it is clear that poverty exists and is even becoming a more acute problem in contemporary Britain. Flaherty et al cite statistics which reveal that between 1979 and 2001/2 the numbers of people living in households with below 60% of the median income after housing costs rose from 7.1 million to 12.5 million, that is, from 13% of the population to 22% of the population (2004, p31). Nearly a third of children in the UK live in poverty and this figure is even higher in Northern Ireland. In March 2003, 7.6 million British people were living on the safety net of benefits of income support or the jobseeker’s allowance. By the mid nineties, Britain’s child poverty rates were third only to the USA and Russia (2004, p69). The measure used to determine poverty by the British government is based on the Household Below Average Income Statistics. The HBAI looks at data along a number of income thresholds. The 60% of median income after housing costs, adjusted for family size, is a measurement tool used as a proxy for income poverty. As Flaherty et al state, ‘it is an explicitly ‘relative’ measure which looks at how people at the bottom of the income distribution have fared in relation to the median’ (2004, p31). As well as being used by the British government, it is also the headline indicator used by the European union to determine those who are at risk of poverty. Although the poverty we refer to here is largely to do with income and having the basic necessities in life- the term poverty is also used to describe people who are missing out on elements of social life which may be considered important by others. For example, cultural poverty or educational poverty. Whilst education is accepted as a basic human right, not having an education does not necessarily mean that a person cannot live a healthy and happy life, whereas not having food and warmth does. These poverties might be more aptly described in terms of social exclusion. Blakemore highlights the differences between social exclusion and poverty. Firstly, social exclusion focuses on relationships to society rather than material resources. Secondly social exclusion normally refers to exclusion from educational opportunities or from the labour market. Thirdly, remedies for social exclusion are different than those for poverty (2003, p85) What kind of people are at risk from poverty? Whilst it would seem natural to assume that unemployed people would be most at risk, this is not the case. Bilton et al (2002) outline which groups o people are more likely to suffer poverty and assert, ‘it is people in low-paid, insecure work who constitute the bulk of those below the income poverty line.’ The second largest group of people likely to suffer poverty are the elderly. ‘because life expectancy has increased, earlier retirement has become more common and state pensions have reduced in real terms, the elderly comprise an ever larger section of the poor. Unequal life chances continue through old age.’ Another group at risk are lone parent families and although less common, large families. In addition those who are sick or disabled are also more vulnerable to poverty(Bilton et al 2002, pp78-79). Millar argued in 1993 that three factors have contributed to the growth of poverty: a significant level of un employment; the increase in low-paid work; the growth of ‘precarious’ or ‘flexible’ employment (cited Bilton, 2002, p79). Such employment patterns tend to optimise profit and boost the economy but the downside is that vulnerable workers especially in unskilled occupations, are lacking in job security and all the benefits that brings. Another question which must be asked is whether it is possible to escape poverty. This depends on social mobility which Giddens defines as ‘the movements of individuals and groups between different socio-economic positions’ (2001, p229). The evidence seems to suggest that whilst those most at risk of poverty may be likely to always be vulnerable to extreme poverty, many people suffer regular periods of short-term poverty. As Jenkins et al state, ‘from a dynamic perspective, one may distinguish three groups: the persistently poor, the recurrently poor, and the temporarily poor’ (cited Flaherty et al 2004, p47) Jenkins et al’s studies over a number of years (1991-1999) found that a pattern emerged of ‘one of relatively short poverty spells for the majority, but relatively long spells for a significant minority.’ For many people life events can be the push factor in or out of poverty. For example exit from family poverty is most likely to co me through finding paid work whilst a change in household composition is more likely to assist a lone parents family’s exit from poverty. (Flaherty et al 2004, p48) In conclusion, the evidence is ample to show that poverty is a very real problem in Britain today whether it is measured in relative or absolute terms or whether it is conceptualised along lines of deprivation or exclusion. What is perhaps most worrying is that as a society, Britain is becoming more unequal than ever before. For example between 1979 and 1995, whilst the incomes of the richest tenth of the population rose by 60%, the incomes of the poorest tenth fell by 8% (Hills 1995, cited Baldock et al 2003, p121). This was still the case in the late 1990s when, according to Gordon et al, ‘the disposable incomes of the poorest and richest groups were still edging apart’ (cited Blakemore, 2003, p78). Those who are most likely to experience a reduction in income levels include ethnic minorities and women. Children are also more likely to suffer the worst effects of poverty. In 1999, Blair promised to end child poverty in a generation. It remains to be seen whether this w ill be achieved although with a mandate for a third term, it can only be hoped that important work already carried out to tackle child poverty will be consolidated. Some policy changes have already begun to make a difference in child poverty but poverty as a whole is still an issue which needs more time and resources devoted to it if poverty is to be eradicated. References Alcock P, (1997)Â  Understanding Poverty 2nd Edition Basingstoke: Palgrave Baldock J, Manning N, Vickerstaff S (2003) Social Policy London: Oxford University Press Bilton T, Bonnett K, Jones P, Lawson T, Skinner D, Stanworth M, Webster A, (2002) Introductory Sociology 4th Ed Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan Blakemore K, (2003) Social Policy an introduction Buckinghamshire: Oxford University Press Flaherty J, Veit-Wilson J, Dornan P (2004) Poverty: the facts 5th Edition London: Child Poverty Action Group Giddens A, (2001) Sociology Cambridge: Polity Press

Essay --

Final Examination (2) Discuss the three approaches to property valuation. What is the process of each? When might it be better to use one approach over the other? The three approaches to property valuation are: comparable sales approach (market data approach); income approach; and cost summation approach. Comparable sales approach is determined by using recent sales of similar properties to the one being assessed. This estimates true property value by comparing the property that is in question to others that have been recently sold and then making the adjustments as needed. The idea is that you need to find market areas that have relative or same economic status. Once this process is done then you can group the â€Å"parcels† in different categories, i.e. size, year it was built, the size of the lot, etc. The book says that the property that is not sold is compared to similar property that a market value can be observed and then infers a value. (LJJ, 155) It is common in jurisdictions to assess parcels as a percentage or fraction of the full market value. In theory it does not make a difference if the full value or fractioned value is assessed, the outcome should be the same. When using fractional assessment you need to use a higher tax rate than using market value assessment. This seems to make taxpayers more comfortable but can lead to problems if different fractions are used in the same jurisdiction. Another problem is that this approach requires a large number of sales and can be time consuming if done annually or for the first time. This approach is great for residential properties. The income approach converts the future returns from ownership of a â€Å"parcel† into their present value equivalent. This approach can be done by c... ...edit of the issuing government. This non-guaranteed bond is backed by a certain business-like government activity and not a larger government entity that has taxing powers. Some revenue bonds can have lower interest rates than obligation bonds. If for example a water district with a excellent history of borrowing may have a lower interest rate than a general obligation bond with a declining property tax and low personal income. (LJJ, 492) Unlike obligation bonds these types of bonds generally do not need or require a popular vote and are repaid by the users f the service. This means that no tax dollars are directly used which is considered a good thing. The more costly of the two bonds are revenue bonds because they generally have higher interest rates. If there was a default on the general obligation bonds then taxes would have to be raised which is less popular.

Carol Ann Duffys Little Red-Cap and Delilah Essay -- Carol Ann Duffy

Carol Ann Duffy's "Little Red-Cap† and â€Å"Delilah" â€Å"During the 1980s, a unique type and style of women-led peace protest strategies emerged that relied on the powerful language, and particularly the powerful imagery of women as a group engaged in an extended protest against nuclear weapons† (LaWare 18). Carol Ann Duffy’s book, The World’s Wife, was first published in Great Britain in 1999, and two of its dramatic monologues similarly rely on the powerful language and imagery of women engaged in a protest against historically patriarchal narratives and male violence. â€Å"While some peace encampments [in the 1980s] included men and women, many were women only, including one of the first and longest lasting peace encampments, the Women’s Peace Camp at Greenham Common in Newbury, England, which evolved into and ignited a women’s peace movement† (LaWare 18). â€Å"[T]housands of women from Britain and the world†¦ later visited and lived at the camp during its almost twenty years of existence, until the last group of women left in 2000[,]† and while it’s not clear whether Duffy visited the camp, the camp’s strategies of resistance are embedded in two of her poems (LaWare 19). The speakers of â€Å"Little Red-Cap† and â€Å"Delilah† employ the camp’s strategies of physically embracing a symbol of male violence, subsequently defacing the symbol through an act of creative nonviolence, and finally transforming the symbol’s patriarchal sphere into a space filled with peace and feminine imagery. First, the speakers of Duffy’s two poems resemble the protestors at Greenham Common who physically embraced a symbol of male violence: [T]he Greenham Common Women’s Peace Camp gained both national and international attention in D... ...orld’s Wife. New York: Faber, 1999. 28-29. ---. â€Å"Little Red-Cap.† The World’s Wife. New York: Faber, 1999. 3-4. Holy Bible, New International Version. Zondervan, gen. ed. International Bible Society, 1984. BibleGateway.com. Gospel Communications International. 14 May 2005 search=judges%2016&version1=31>. LaWare, Margaret L. â€Å"Circling the Missiles and Staining Them Red: Feminist Rhetorical Invention and Strategies of Resistance at the Women’s Peace Camp at Greenham Common.† NWSA Journal 16.3 (2004): 18-41. Little Red Riding-Hood Picture Book. London: George Routledge and Sons, circa 1870. The Little Red Riding Hood Project. Ed. Michael N. Salda. Dec. 1995. The de Grummond Children’s Literature Research Collection, University of Southern Mississippi. 14 May 2005

Transmission of Pain Signals by the Brain at the Spinal Level Essay

Transmission of Pain Signals by the Brain at the Spinal Level Pain has been defined by Coates & Hindle as an unpleasant emotional and sensory experience which signals a potential or actual damage to tissues (2011, p. 213). Pain is a common human experience and can emanate from injury and illness. There are two main types of pain; acute pain is short-lived, lasting for minutes or several days and its onset often takes place rapidly. It results from the activation of pain nerve endings or nociceptors either by internal or external pain stimuli. On the other hand chronic pain is continuous and sometimes recurrent and can last for weeks, months or even years. Chronic pain is usually not located at or related to the tissue undergoing trauma (Draper & Knight, 2007, p. 104). Various theories have been proposed to explain the mechanism underlying the transmission and perception of pain. These include the specificity theory which maintains that specific fibers and pain receptors are activated by injury after which the pain signals are projected via the spinal pathway to an area in the brain that interprets the pain. In this regard, the specificity theory virtually equates the peripheral injury with the psychological experience caused by the pain (Anderson, 2004, p. 355). However, this theory has been found to harbor several limitations as research about pain has intensified with time. In light of this, the gate theory that was proposed by Melzack and Wall has had a major contribution to the understanding of pain transmission and perception (Pain Game Part 2, 2011). Research has demonstrated that pain is affected by psychological and physiological factors which helps to explain the mechanism underlying inhibition and/or facilitaion of pai... ...t has been noted that the gate control theory proposed by Melzack and Wall in 1965 formed the foundation of understanding the process of pain signal transmission. The dorsal horn of the spinal cord is the region of the CNS that controls the passage of pain signals by means of opening and/or closing the gate. Pain can only be perceived if reaches the brain. Events that cause excitation such pain signals and the release of excitatory or facilitatory chemicals cause the gate to open whereas inhibitory events such as competing nerve impulses caused by rubbing trigger closure of the gate. The gate can also be closed due to descending inhibition enhanced by relaxation or the use of pain-relieving medication such as morphine. The brain stem is responsible for controlling the transmission of pain signals via the ascending and descending pain pathways.

Chapter 2 Exercises & Case Exercises Essay

Exercises 1. Consider the statement: an individual threat agent, like a hacker, can be a factor in more than one threat category. If a hacker hacks into a network, copies a few files, defaces the Web page, and steals credit card numbers, how many different threat categories does this attack fall into? a. Overall, I believe this attack falls into four major threat categories: deliberate acts of trespass, compromises to intellectual property, technical failures, and managerial failure. Furthermore, I believe this attack would be categorized as a deliberate act of theft/trespass which compromises intellectual property due to technical and managerial failures. b. It seems as this hacker was deliberately causing harm (i.e. copying files, vandalizing the web page, and theft of credit card numbers); due to their method of entry – hacking into a network – it leaves me to believe there were some technical failures, such as software vulnerabilities or a trap door. However, that is just one possibility as to what could have occurred. This could have also been a managerial failure; say the unknown hacker used social engineering to obtain the information to gain access to the network – proper planning and procedure execution could have potentially thwarted this hacker†™s attack. 2. Using the Web, research Mafiaboy’s exploits. When and how did he compromise sites? How was he caught? c. Michael Demon Calce, also known as Mafiaboy, was a high school student from West Island, Quebec, who launched a series of highly publicized DDoS (denial-of-service) attacks in February 2000 against large commercial websites including: Yahoo!, Fifa.com, Amazon.com, Dell, Inc., E*Trade, eBay, and CNN. Calce also attempted to launch a series of simultaneous attacks against nine of the thirteen root name servers. d. On February 7th, 2000, Calce targeted Yahoo! With a project he named â€Å"Rivolta† – meaning riot in Italian. This project utilized a denial of service cyber-attack in which servers become overloaded with different types of communications, to the  point in which they completely shut down. Calce managed to shut down the multibillion dollar company and the web’s top search engine for almost an hour. His goal was to establish dominance for himself and TNT – his cybergroup. Over the next week, Calce also brought down eBay, CNN, Amazon and Dell via the same DDoS attack. e. Calce’s actions were under suspicion when the FBI and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police noticed posts in an IRC chatroom which bragged/claimed responsibility for the attacks. He became the chief suspect when he claimed to have brought down Dell’s website, an attack not yet publicized at the time. Information on the source of the attacks was initially discovered and reported to the press by Michael Lyle, chief technology officer of Recourse Technologies. Calce initially denied responsibility but later pled guilty to most of the charges brought against him – the Montreal Youth Court sentenced him on September 12, 2001 to eight months of â€Å"open custody,† one yea r of probation, restricted use of the Internet, and a small fine. It is estimated that these attacks caused $1.2 billion dollars in global economic damages. 3. Search the Web for the â€Å"The Official Phreaker’s Manual.† What information contained in this manual might help a security administrator to protect a communications system? f. A security administrator is a specialist in computer and network security, including the administration of security devices such as firewalls, as well as consulting on general security measures. g. Phreaking is a slang term coined to describe the activity of a culture of people who study, experiment with, or explore telecommunication systems, such as equipment and systems connected to public telephone networks. Since telephone networks have become computerized, phreaking has become closely linked with computer hacking. i. Example of Phreaking: Using various audio frequencies to manipulate a phone system. h. Overall, a security administrator could use this manual to gain knowledge of terms associated with phreaking and the in’s & outs of the process (i.e. how it is executed). However, the security administrator should focus on Chapter 10 – â€Å"War on Phreaking† – this section (pg 71-73) deals with concepts such as access, â€Å"doom,† tracing, and security. An administrator could reverse engineer this information to protect his/her systems from such attacks. 4. The chapter discussed many threats and vulnerabilities to information security. Using the Web, find at least two other sources of information on threat and vulnerabilities. Begin with www.securityfocus.com and use a keyword search on â€Å"threats.† i. http://www.darkreading.com/vulnerability-threats ii. Dark Reading’s Vulnerabilities and Threats Tech Center is your resource for breaking news and information on the latest potential threats and technical vulnerabilities affecting today’s IT environment. Written for security and IT professionals, the Vulnerabilities and Threats Tech Center is designed to provide in-depth information on newly-discovered network and application vulnerabilities, potential cybersecurity exploits, and security research results j. http://www.symantec.com/security_response/ iii. Our security research centers around the world provide unparalleled analysis of and protection from IT security threats that include malware, security risks, vulnerabilities, and spam. 5. Using the categories of threats mentioned in this chapter, as well as the various attacks described, review several current media sources and identify examples of each. k. Acts of human error or failure: iv. Students and staff were told in February that some 350,000 of them could have had their social security numbers and financial information exposed on the internet. v. â€Å"It happened during an upgrade of some of our IT systems. We were upgrading a server and through human error there was a misconfiguration in the setting up of that server,† said UNCC spokesman, Stephen Ward. l. Compromises to intellectual property: vi. Today we bring news of action against a site that supplied links to films, music and games hosted on file-hosters all around the world. Authorities say they have charged three individuals said to be the administrators of a very large file-sharing site. vii. To get an idea of the gravity local police are putting on the case, we can compare some recent stats. According to US authorities Megaupload, one of the world’s largest websites at the time, cost rightsholders $500m. GreekDDL (according to Alexa Greece’s 63rd largest site) allegedly cost rightsholders $85.4m. m. Deliberate acts of espionage or trespass: viii. The individual responsible for one of the most significant leaks in US political history is Edward Snowden, a 29-year-old former technical assistant for the CIA and current employee of the defense contractor Booz Allen Hamilton. Snowden has been working at the National Security Agency for the last four years as an employee of various outside contractors, including Booz Allen and Dell. ix. Snowden will go down in history as one of America’s most consequential whistleblowers, alongside Daniel Ellsberg and Bradley Manning. He is responsible for handing over material from one of the world’s most secretive organization – the NSA. x. Additional, interesting, read: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57600000/edward-snowdens-digital-maneuvers-still-stumping-u.s-government/ 1. The government’s forensic investigation is wrestling with Snowden’s apparent ability to defeat safeguards established to monitor and deter people looking at information without proper permission. n. Deliberate acts of information extortion: xi. Hackers claimed to have breached the systems of the Belgian credit provider Elantis and threatened to publish confidential customer information if the bank does not pay $197,000 before Friday, they said in a statement posted to Pastebin. Elantis confirmed the data breach Thursday, but the bank said it will not give in to extortion threats. xii. The hackers claim to have captured login credentials and tables with online loan applications which hold data such as full names, job descriptions, contact information, ID card numbers and income figures. xiii. According to the hackers the data was stored unprotected and unencrypted on the servers. To prove the hack, parts of what they claimed to be captured customer data were published. o. Deliberate acts of sabotage or vandalism: xiv. Fired Contractor Kisses Off Fannie Mae With Logic Bomb xv. Rajendrasinh Babubha Makwana, a former IT contractor at Fannie Mae who was fired for making a coding mistake, was charged this week with placing a â€Å"logic bomb† within the company’s Urbana, Md., data center in late October of last year. The malware was set to go into effect at 9 a.m. EST Saturday and would have disabled internal monitoring systems as it did its damage. Anyone logging on to Fannie Mae’s Unix server network after that would have seen the words â€Å"Server Graveyard† appear on their workstation screens. p. Deliberate acts of theft: xvi. Four Russian nationals and a Ukrainian have been charged with running a sophisticated hacking organization that penetrated computer networks of more than a dozen major American and international corporations over seven years, stealing and selling at least 160 million credit and debit card numbers, resulting in losses of hundreds of millions of dollars. q. Deliberate software attacks: xvii. China Mafia-Style Hack Attack Drives California Firm to Brink xviii. A group of hackers from China waged a relentless campaign of cyber harassment against Solid Oak Software Inc., Milburn’s family-owned, eight-person firm in Santa Barbara, California. The attack began less than two weeks after Milburn publicly accused China of appropriating his company’s parental filtering software, CYBERsitter, for a national Internet censoring project. And it ended shortly after he settled a $2.2 billion lawsuit against the Chinese government and a string of computer companies last April. xix. In between, the hackers assailed Solid Oak’s computer systems, shutting down web and e-mail servers, spying on an employee with her webcam, and gaining access to sensitive files in a battle that caused company revenues to tumble and brought it within a hair’s breadth of collapse. r. Forces of nature: xx. Websites Scramble As Hurricane Sandy Floods Data Centers xxi. The freak storm flooded data centers in New York City, taking down several major websites and services — including The Huffington Post, Buzzfeed and Gawker — that depended on them to run their businesses. xxii. Several websites stored their data at a lower Manhattan data center run by Datagram, whose basement was inundated with water during the storm, flooding generators that were intended to keep the power on. s. Deviations in quality of service from service providers: xxiii. China’s Internet hit by biggest cyberattack in its history xxiv. Internet users in China were met with sluggish response times early Sunday as the country’s domain extension came under a â€Å"denial of service† attack. xxv. The attack was the largest of its kind ever in China, according to the China Internet Network Information Center, a state agency that manages the .cn country domain. xxvi. The double-barreled attacks took place at around 2 a.m. Sunday, and then again at 4 a.m. The second attack was â€Å"long-lasting and large-scale,† according to state media, which said that service was slowly being restored. t. Technical hardware failures or errors: xxvii. A hardware failure in a Scottish RBS Group technology center caused a NatWest bank outage. xxviii. It prevented customers from using online banking services or doing debit card transactions. u. Technical software failure or errors: xxix. RBS boss blames software upgrade for account problems xxx. The boss of RBS has confirmed that a software change was responsible for the widespread computer problems affecting millions of customers’ bank accounts. v. Technological obsolescence: xxxi. SIM Cards Have Finally Been Hacked, And The Flaw Could Affect Millions Of Phones xxxii. After three years of research, German cryptographer Karsten Nohl claims to have finally found encryption and software flaws that could affect millions of SIM cards, and open up another route on mobile phones for surveillance and fraud. Case Exercises Soon after the board of directors meeting, Charlie was promoted to Chief Information Security Officer, a new position that reports to the CIO, Gladys Williams, and that was created to provide leadership for SLS’s efforts to improve its security profile. Questions: 1. How do Fred, Gladys, and Charlie perceive the scope and scale of the new information security effort? a. Charlie’s proposed information security plan aims at securing business software, data, the networks, and computers which store information. The scope of the information security effort is quite vast, aiming at securing each vulnerability – in addition to the aforementioned, the new information security plan also focuses on the company’s staff. Since extra effort will be required to implement the new managerial plan and install new security software and tools, the scale of this operation is quite large. 2. How will Fred measure success when he evaluates Gladys’ performance for this project? How will he evaluate Charlie’s performance? b. Gladys is appointed as CIO of the team, which is gathered to improve the security of the company due to virus attack that caused a loss in the company; I believe Fred will measure Gladys success by her ability t o lead, keep the plan on track (i.e. time management) and successfully sticking to the proposed budget. Charlie was promoted to chief information security officer, a new position that reports to the CIO; I believe Fred will measure Charlie’s success by his ability to implement the new plan, report his/their progress and the overall success of the new system. 3. Which of the threats discussed in this chapter should receive Charlie’s attention early in his planning process? c. Portable Media Management (Ex. USB, DVD-R/W) should receive Charlie’s attention early in his planning process