IT Reflection
What?
The growing need for data security compelled me to venture on the issue of cybersecurity. However, I had to do a root cause analysis and begin analyzing the fundamental aspect of information which is data. Data is a crucial resource for any organization that should be well protected. Therefore., I crosschecked on the ways that we can protect data. As such, I assumed that when data is safe, then the attacker will have nothing to exploit. However, the data in an organization is not stationary. Therefore, attackers may use the opportunity when data is on transit to either misdirect or misalign for reasons well known to them. Besides, the devices in which the data resides or transits have to be secure to attain data security. The advent of the internet has posed new ways to secure and exploit data in almost equal measures. As a result, I resulted in understanding the basics elements of data security that is Confidentiality, Integrity and Availability (CIA) and the broader scope of cybersecurity.
So what?
The knowledge of the CIA trio is critical as it forms the basis of information security. Correspondingly, it will help me understand each security control and vulnerability as it lies on the CIA. As such, I will be capable of ensuring that data and information are only accessible to authorized personnel, especially through authentication and authorization. Correspondingly, I will ensure that it remains in its form from the source to the destination. Thus, I can tell when and at which point the alterations occurred. Primarily, I can provide value to systems by ensuring that data is processed in real-time. On the other side, the knowledge on cybersecurity has made me have a broader perceptive on the issue of information security. The protection of data alone will not enhance full security. As such, I am aware that there is a need to protect the hardware and software where the data resides and transits. Therefore, information security is a collaborative, and protection should be enhanced across all the internet-connected systems.
Now What?
Having met the objectives of the modules, the knowledge will prepare me for in my future career in the field of cybersecurity. As such, it will lay a foundation for me to learn on the emerging trends on cybercrimes. Primarily, with the growing need for enhancing information security by organizations, I will exploit that opportunity by coming up with policies and procedures that should govern information on the internet. Correspondingly, there has been a gap in formulating laws on cybersecurity. I aspire to advocate for the periodic formulation of laws on cybersecurity to counter the emerging threats and attacks. However, I will refrain from auto-saving passwords in my devices. Also, I will begin using two-step verification in the systems that I log in to enhance confidentiality. In a nutshell, I aim at advocating for data protection in a multi-collaborative approach. Mainly, I will focus on the people since they are unpredictable.
My best discussion
Bad data is harmful. Since data influencing so many choices in our daily life, the effect of poor data also has an influence on us all, whether we acknowledge it or not. Discussed in this paper are examples of organizations that made bad decisions based on bad data, what managers could have done to prevent problems, the role played by technology and people in bad decision making.
Examples of Organizations that Made Bad Decisions Based on Bad Data
Mars Planet Orbiter 1998
One prominent example in the account is the Mars Planet Orbiter – a robotic universe rover developed by Lockheed Martin and deployed by NASA in 1998. The objective was to have knowledge on Mars, its environment, weather, and landscape environments – but a bit of poor information forced the rover to shoot its propellers improperly. The concern was, software provided by Lockheed Martin measured the energy that the main engines had to apply in pounds of thrust – however, another software provided by NASA used newton in the information believing it to be in the metric unit. As a result, the craft dipped 105 miles near the globe than anticipated – triggering its complete ignition, putting NASA years behind on its search to discover information about Mars, and destroying a 327.6-million-dollar project on space (Brown, 2019).
The Enron scandal of 2001.
Enron had been one of the biggest and most dominant corporations in the world. They encountered a jaw-dropping management pay and rising equity values in the early 2000s. Nonetheless, a host of false accounting evidence may be specifically linked to the company’s collapse. Through internal leaks to the shredding of records by Enron’s own auditors, there is no doubt whether the evidence given to customers has been mostly fabricated. The data provided by Enron top managers and their independent auditor to the holders of the shares and the Board of Directors in the annual financial reports proved to be wrong. Thousands of workers were affected by the crash of the fateful company, and Wall Street rattled to its base. During Enron’s peak, the assets were about $90.75; they were traded by $0.26 only prior to the announcement of bankruptcy in 2001 (Luke, 2018).
What Could Have Been Done to Prevent the Problems
In the Mass Planet Orbit 1998, if the managers of NASA had followed up to obtain the correct information from Lockheed Martin, there would have been the prevention of the tragedy as the second piece of software would have calculated the correct units, other than the assumptions they made. In the Enron scandal 2001, the management could have adopted better accounting practices. The management would have maximized the profit of the company rather than rewarding upper management.
Role Played by Technology and People
In the Mass Planet Orbit 1998, technology played a significant role as there was confusion between the discovered units in the first and second software, the first software calculated the force in pounds, and the second software assumed the data was in metric units. In the Enron Scandal 2001, the major player was CEO Jeff Skilling’s who concealed the financial damages of the business by using Mark to market office.
In conclusion, the cost of bad data truly impacts us all, whether or not we realize it. The mission of Mars Planet Orbit 2001, to know more about mass, did not go through due to the assumption that the units were in metric units instead of pounds thus making the bad decision that cost them years of work. The Enron Scandal 2001, affected many employees, due to the bad data that was delivered to the auditing firm.
This was my best discussion post, as it focused on the basic unit of knowledge (data). I composed and developed the discussion post based on the issues that are affecting humanity. Decision making is a critical process in the management of the organization. However, decisions are made based on certain data. Thus, good data, right choices and bad data bad choices. Currently, climate change and overpopulation are issues that the world is facing. The discussion evaluated such basic issues to determine the role that bad data has played in propagating them. As such, the discussion analyzed the implication of bad data in making a bad decision through organizations. Therefore, it applied the use of bad data by citing real-life examples. Through this, the discussion can be well understood as it explains the concept by use of examples. Correspondingly, the discussion focused on people and technology, which are essential elements in understanding data. As a result, it broke down each element for easier understanding. Similarly, the discussion simplicity and use of real-life examples make it more memorable to me. Bad data affects each individual either directly or indirectly. Thus, each person should strive to give useful data so that we come up with the right decisions for the progress and sustainability of humanity.