Comparing Nations: A look at health information privacy

Comparing Nations: A look at health information privacy Samuel Warren IS472: IT Compliance Professor Steve O’Brien 09-November-2012 Comparing Nations: A look at health information privacy Executive Summary There are many factors to consider when discussing the parallels and variations associated with Canada and the United States of America with respect to healthcare. Electronic protected health information (ePHI) is the driving force behind HITECH expansion of the US’ Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). While both discuss the standards, the penalties, and both intervene in the ecosystem of the Healthcare industries they serve. The differences highlighted are mostly related to costs and the context for which each health care system operates. Introduction With the recent trending towards making more and more information available to the owners of said information. Due to this fact, serious strides towards protecting the information from falling into the wrong hands are occurring. The United States Government Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) passed the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) in 1996 with the goals of “making health care delivery more efficient and increasing the number of Americans with health insurance coverage” (National Academy of Sciences, 2009). After being passed into law, the creators of the bill allowed it to be put to public scrutiny in 1999. Because of the volume of comments in response to the bill, it went through several revisions (National Academy of Sciences, 2009). By way of comparison, the nation of Canada will be compared to discern the similarities and the differences. Similarities At its heart, the two countries share many similarities from a privacy standpoint. They both desire to protect the personal health information they store and transmit. They are also built with forethought towards electronic access. The “HITECH” portion of HIPAA provides incentives to move more in the realm of electronic records and expands the scope of HIPAA beyond the original legislation. The HITECH Act is transformational legislation that anticipates a massive expansion in the exchange of electronic protected health information (ePHI). The HITECH Act widens the scope of privacy and security protections available under HIPAA; increases potential legal liability for non-compliance; and provides more enforcement of HIPAA rules. (Leyva & Leyva) While the exchange of electronic information is already taking place in many health care providers’ offices, there is an additional need to be more forward thinking and aware of potential trends in data management within the scope of protected health information. Canada’s Health Information Protection Act (HIPA) has built in some terminology to assist in this change. In the event that a comprehensive electronic health record is created, The Health Information Protection Amendment Act ensures that patients will have the power to block access to their personal health information once that system is in place. (Gooliaff Beaupre, 2009) The idea of making a data warehouse of ePHI controlled and secured by HIPA experts may be appealing, but the Ministry of Health also has its eye on keeping their customers happy. Another similarity in the two laws is the great pains each act goes through to detail punishment for not meeting compliance. HIPAA violations, depending on the situation, can cause a punishment of up to 10 years imprisonment and a $250,000 USD fine. These acts are very similar across many areas, where they differ is what brings a certain amount of clarity around these two prominent health care systems. Differences One of the biggest differences noted is the cost. While the US has some of the highest cost of any country, Canada’s problems with cost are equally problematic. All care is “free” for insured services —those provided by physicians and hospitals. No premiums, deductibles or co-payments are imposed. (Other services such as dental care and prescription drugs must be paid for either through private insurance or out-of-pocket.) When no one is faced with any charge for services, demand is unrestrained and costs surge. (O’Neill & O’Neill, 2007, p. 2) The costs themselves are not directly related specifically to HIPA’s equivalent of HITECH, but when one considers the staggering costs of Information Technology (IT). Whether it is software that is HIPA/HIPAA compliant, hardware that stores the ePHI, networking equipment that transfers it, the costs go up for each of the companies in direct proportion to how compliant the healthcare provider has to be to prevent inadvertent data loss. Another major point to consider is the artificial demand created due to the decrease of cost health insurance. In 1966, Canada implemented a single-payer health care system, which is also known as Medicare. Since then, as a country, Canadians have made a conscious decision to hold down costs. One of the ways they do that is by limiting supply, mostly for elective things, which can create wait times. Their outcomes are otherwise comparable to ours. (Carroll, 2012) This is significant in and of itself, because of how frequently the system, especially IT-related portions, is utilized. As a result, both US and Canada’s systems are constantly in need of change. However, Canada’s IT infrastructure is much more difficult to continue expanding, because of the low cost and the driving need to help patients without additional undue wait from updating IT systems. If the costs were comparable, it is reasonable to assume the US would also have an increased service time, lower cost, and similar demand for healthcare as its neighbor to the north. But would the costs allow ePHI to be considered? Will the costs associated with the technology necessary decrease at a reasonable pace? Time will tell, but for Canada, the way they spend their money should primarily focus on the protection of the ePHI and the infrastructure used to transport it. References Carroll, A. (2012, April 16). 5 Myths About Canada’s Health Care System The truth may surprise you about international health care. Retrieved November 9, 2012, from AARP website: http://www.aarp.org/politics-society/government-elections/info-03-2012/myths-canada-health-care.html Gooliaff Beaupre, V. (2003, May 8). CONFIDENTIALITY OF HEALTH INFORMATION BETTER PROTECTED. Retrieved November 9, 2012, from The Government of Saskatchewan website: http://www.gov.sk.ca/news?newsId=79cc2a04-d0f5-4dc1-a145-e1bb5c067e17 Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on Health Research and the Privacy of Health Information: The HIPAA Privacy Rule; Nass SJ, Levit LA, Gostin LO, editors. Beyond the HIPAA Privacy Rule: Enhancing Privacy, Improving Health Through Research. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 2009. 1, Introduction. Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK9576/ Leyva, C., & Leyva, D. (n.d.). HIPAA Survival Guide. Retrieved November 9, 2012, from HIPAA Survival Guide website: http://www.hipaasurvivalguide.com/ O'Neill, D. M., & O'Neill, J. E. (2007, September). HEALTH STATUS, HEALTH CARE AND INEQUALITY: CANADA VS. THE U.S. [PDF]. Retrieved from http://www.nber.org/papers/w13429.pdf Penalties Under HIPAA. (n.d.). Retrieved November 9, 2012, from UC Davis Health System website: http://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/compliance/guidance/privacy/penalties.html

SOX case study

SOX Case Study Executive Summary The Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) has created quite a tumultuous time for businesses in its brief existence. While the cost of compliance to SOX was initially rather expensive, the continued cost of compliance threatens to put many publically traded companies out of business (Sneller & Langendijk, 2007, p. 102). The biggest argument lies squarely in the realm of cost-benefits. Many in the European Commission believe SOX’s broad sweeping and international implications are, at best, not enough benefit and, at worst, an arrogant stance by the U.S. Government. While it is true that SOX can reach internationally to companies wishing to trade on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) (Sneller & Langendijk, 2007, p. 102), it is also true that they could choose not to trade on the NYSE and thus avoid SOX requirements. However, that would severely limit their ability to do business internationally with any sort of success. Much of the issues discussed in the case study by Sneller and Langendijk point to the physical costs and man-hour costs of auditing and complying with SOX. But, there are quite a few issues to consider beyond man-hours. Introduction Since its creation, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) has been at the center of corporate scrutiny, especially the hotly contested section 404. Regardless of its contestation, SOX has been enacted into law, so the role of the businesses should be to do their best to comply with the law as it applies to their business. Sneller and Langendijk speak mostly of the costs associated with SOX compliance in their 2007 case study. However, there are more factors and issues they admittedly did not consider. Here in lies a few more issues and key factors to contemplate when discussing SOX compliance. Issues While the biggest issue discussed was price of head count, there are a few other factors to consider regarding costs. Simply looking at salary costs gives a moderate glance at the total cost of SOX, but it is just getting into the neighborhood of the true cost. When studying total cost, one has to look for the “fully-loaded” cost. That is the cost of all the various pieces, components, tools, and other non-labor costs adding together to give the total “fully-loaded cost.” Unfortunately, that cost is not a fixed cost, nor is it anywhere near acceptable for many companies. Smaller players in the market have also protested at being forced to pay disproportionately high compliance costs because of past scandals involving the big boys. Some public companies even took the bold decision to voluntarily delist from the NYSE because the cost of SOX compliance was deemed too expensive. (Rodgers) One approach many companies use to show achievement is listing their company on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). However, the cost of SOX to directly impact all companies that list on the NYSE is what causes many to either go public on the London Stock Exchange or not list at all (Sneller & Langendijk, 2007, p. 102). This is a major issue in and of itself; however, if one takes into consideration the impact on a company’s momentum and morale, there is a more realistic view of the widespread and far reaching costs associated with SOX compliance. Another major concern is the potential conflict of interest involved in how costs are estimated. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is the primary focus of the investigation done by Sneller and Langendijk. According to page 102 of their 2007 case study, the SEC is responsible to make the estimates. However, what is not clear is whether the estimates they made were with a clear understanding of how much actual cost was at the time, or if they were estimating using what their “best guess” told them. The potential for conflict of interest comes when one considers that the SEC is not only the primary consumer of this information, but also the primary driving force and enforcer of this law. What is concerning is the seeming lack of understanding of what it would actually cost to fully comply with SOX, especially section 404. The final major issue with SOX compliance is that the SEC does not factor into their estimates the additional costs associated with compliance to other required standards. For example, Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS) or the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) also take a major toll in the cost of doing business. If a publicly traded company were also to accept the burden of one of these other required compliance frameworks, the costs will skyrocket. Addressing these multiple compliance initiatives strains IT resources and creates redundancies in business processes within an organization. Furthermore, the high degree of specialization among security and compliance vendors exacerbates the challenge of finding a solution that works across multiple mandates. (Shulman, 2006) Most solutions listed required significantly more time and more money in the long run. The main reason for the additional money investment is simple: companies most often do not consider the compliance requirements prior to going public. How to Make Compliance Work The easiest way to make compliance work is one of two things: either loosen the burden of compliance requirements, especially related to SOX and HIPAA, or to do more up-front planning prior to going to the public trade arena. There are complications with either solution. For example, up-front planning only really helps those that are not already publicly traded. Additionally, with the aftermath of Enron, Worldcom, and some of the major banks having issues, there is no foreseeable future where the government would loosen the requirements of SOX. So where does that leave the world of businesses? For larger businesses, that leaves a bad taste in the mouth of their boards and leaves a dent in the year over year revenue stream. For smaller businesses, there is a very significant chance they will fail; either from not being able to go “public” or from noncompliance penalties. In either case, large, small or somewhere in between, businesses need to use the democratic process and lobby to find a solution that does not require such stringent and costly requirements. The best possible solution would also restore broken trust between large, publicly traded companies and the U.S. Government, whose responsibility is to protect and represent the private citizen. In addition, larger companies should set an example of proper compliance and provide tips to smaller companies that may not know where to begin. While there are some serious issues with compliance, especially in the realm of SOX, the only company that is a victim is the one who does nothing. References Rodgers, J. (n.d.). Counting the Cost of Compliance [White paper]. Retrieved October 27, 2012, from Business Management website: http://www.busmanagement.com/article/Counting-the-cost-of-compliance/ Shulman, A. (2006, December 18). PCI, HIPAA, SOX: Is Compliance the Tail Wagging the Dog? Retrieved October 27, 2012, from E-Commerce Times: Business means business website: http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/54759.html Sneller, L., & Langendijk, H. (2007). Sarbanes Oxley Section 404 Costs of Compliance: a case study. Corporate Governance: An International Review, 15(2), 101-111. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8683.2007.00547.x onl

Compliance Criteria for RetireYourWay hypothetical Case study

RetireYourWay Compliance Executive Summary There are many compliance related issues that must be considered by any company planning on doing business. While the punitive measures are different for noncompliance, as are the drivers of the business, each framework requires a fair amount of work. Whether it is PCI, HIPAA, SOX, or OPPA, the main issue to consider is information management. One has to review all the rules and consider risks of noncompliance. It may cost quite a bit to stay in compliance with PCI; for example, the loss of ability to accept payment cards. Introduction When organizations begin to operate, there are a number of issues the company’s leadership needs to consider with respect to compliance. Depending on the type of business, numerous hurdles may be faced on the road to success. The business, location, and clientele are all important factors, which need to be considered in compliance frameworks. When RetireYourWay decided to enter business, their goals may have been simple; however, there are a number of compliance-related changes to how RetireYourWay does business in order to maintain their high level of success. Payment Card Industry Whenever payments are accepted via debit or credit cards, Payment Card Industry (PCI) must be addressed. PCI was originally created in 2006 (ControlScan). PCI relates to any company that accepts, transmits, and stores cardholder information from American Express, VISA, MasterCard, Discover, and JCB. This framework has everything to do with financial drivers for RetireYourWay. They use a special credit card rounding the amount to the nearest $0.50 and provide a 1% award. Then the cards are used to withdraw money and give rewards again for withdrawing. Whether RetireYourWay is processing the cards themselves, or they choose to use a third party vendor, there are stiff consequences for noncompliance. The payment brands may, at their discretion, fine an acquiring bank $5,000 to $100,000 per month for PCI compliance violations. The banks will most likely pass this fine on downstream till it eventually hits the merchant. Furthermore, the bank will also most likely either terminate your relationship or increase transaction fees. (ControlScan) One way to avoid this potential repercussion is to have their system scanned by an approved vendor and then makes any adjustments accordingly. For example, if they have web transactions, using a vendor like WhiteHat to scan the web site will enable expert advice on what needs to be accounted for to remain in compliance. Sarbanes-Oxley Act By the sheer fact that RetireYourWay is a publicly traded company, they also fall under the compliance framework of Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX). Of all the frameworks, this is by far the most challenging to set correctly, if not started towards the beginning. SOX is a regulatory process whose goal is simply to provide transparency within leadership of the organization. SOX primarily uses audits to leverage the awareness it demands. A traditional IT audit typically focuses on component, subsystem and sometimes on the system level auditable issues of the environment being audited with a strong bias towards security matters. Sarbanes IT audits add an entire layer of governance, financial, and controls matters to the audit process. The literature documents that a Sarbanes IT audit would rarely delve deeper than the system level since the primary objective of the Sarbanes audit is to assure the CEO, CFO, and Audit Committee that the financial information that is in the IT systems and being reported to the SEC is accurate and reliable. (Seider, 2004) When a company does not foster a sense of transparency by nature, or lack understanding the need for it, it causes quite a bit more potential hassle. According to Seider (2004), the point is to ensure the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) receives all the correct data, but in the event that does not happen, the aforementioned executives are squarely in the bulls-eye. All fines and punitive measures would fall directly on them. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act Because RetireYourWay has its own onsite health and fitness facilities, they also fall under The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). HIPAA requires specific procedures and notifications for medical files. Even if they are only internal employee health files, RetireYourWay is still required to fall under this framework. One point to consider is whether or not they transmit employee health data electronically. If so, they are definitely required to comply with HIPAA. The Privacy and Security Rules apply only to covered entities. Individuals, organizations, and agencies that meet the definition of a covered entity under HIPAA must comply with the Rules' requirements to protect the privacy and security of health information and must provide individuals with certain rights with respect to their health information. (HHS.gov) If RetireYourWay does not provide their employees access to their records online, then they need not comply with HIPAA regulations (HHS.gov). However, there is a strong possibility, with the size of the organization that they will offer online access to their staff for self-service of medical and fitness records. California Online Privacy Protection Act One other major framework to comply with is the California Online Privacy Protection Act of 2003. This act is a regulatory act requiring companies who either operate in, or have consumers in California to post privacy notices on the website. OPPA's reach extends beyond California's borders to require any person or company in the United States (and conceivably the world) that operates a Web site that collects personally identifiable information from California consumers to post a conspicuous privacy policy on its Web site stating what information is collected and with whom it is shared, and to comply with such policy. (Cooley, 2004) What this means is the company must publish the privacy policy on their website and must, among other things, notify their California resident employees in the event of data breach. An amazing aspect about this framework is it deals with a geographic region and particular demographic of people. Because this rule applies to California residents rather than the individual organization, it enables this law to be much more powerful than other regulatory compliance laws. References ControlScan. (n.d.). PCI FAQs and Myths. Retrieved October 19, 2012, from PCI Compliance Guide: Guide to Data Secuirty Standards website: http://www.pcicomplianceguide.org/pcifaqs.php#8 Cooley LLP. (2004, June 29). California Online Privacy Protection Act of 2003. Retrieved October 20, 2012, from Cooley LLP website: http://www.cooley.com/57676 Department of Health and Human Services. (n.d.). Understanding Health Information Privacy. Retrieved October 20, 2012, from Department of Health and Human Services website: http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/understanding/index.html Seider, D. (2004). Sarbanes-Oxley Information Technology Compliance Audit [PDF]. Retrieved from http://www.sans.org/reading_room/whitepapers/auditing/ sarbanes-oxley-information-technology-compliance-audit_1624

Lifelong Learning Matrix Samuel Warren IS469 – Information Security Capstone Dan Morrill City University of Seattle June 7, 2012   Lifelong Learning Matrix Executive Summary Whether one plans to become a Chief Information Officer, an Information Security professional, or an Information Auditor, there is a strong likelihood there is a certification that will greatly enhance the hiring potential. Whether one wants to get a certification in ISACA’s Certified Information Systems Management or something else, understanding the benefits and potential drawbacks of not attaining the certification is vital. Introduction The need for ongoing education in any field is crucial for continued innovation. While it is necessary in all fields, the need for it in Information Security is more critical and is directly linked to how well the field of Information Security overall does at protecting its organizations. By creating a Learning Matrix, like the one described within, the security professional can create visibility into the required tasks in the short, medium, and long terms. According to the ISACA website, for example, the CISM certified professional: • Demonstrates your understanding of the relationship between an information security program and broader business goals and objectives • Distinguishes you as having not only information security expertise, but also knowledge and experience in the development and management of an information security program • Puts you in an elite peer network • Is considered essential to ongoing education, career progression and value delivery to enterprises. (2012) While this will not be the sum total of all learning one should achieve in their lifetime, this certification, as well as CISSP certification, are two of the most highly demanded certifications by hiring managers in the Information Security realm. The Matrix The created matrix (attached) describes five columns of goals and three rows of time frames. The major goals were chosen based on personal preference. They consist of Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) certification, Certified Information Security Manager (CISM) certification, getting a job as an Information Security professional, becoming a Chief Information Officer (CIO), and Administration of the Learning Matrix. The intersection of each Column and Row contains the required tasks associated with the major goal. For example, in the “Near-Term” for CISSP certification, finding a job that works with a majority of the CISSP domains is a task. One of the requirements for CISSP certification is a minimum of five years of experience working in the domains provided on their site (International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium, 2012). That is just the starting requirement; there is also an examination that must be passed and fees to be paid to gain certification with this organization. Another example is found in the “Mid-Term” section of the “Administration” goal. In that cell, there are tasks to do a yearly look-back and create any additional goals to the matrix as necessary. The goal of the “Administration of the Matrix” column is to create a way to adjust the matrix and goals as needed to accommodate changes in certifications and goals of the matrix owner. Measuring Success The aforementioned “Administration of the Matrix” column is used as a way to create some buffered time to allow for reflection on how successful the creator of the Matrix has been in the major goals and tasks. It is extremely important to take time to evaluate growth, successes, and failures in the goals and tasks so one can have a keen understanding of where he/she is in the process of learning at said juncture. It is also crucial to keep the goals as static as possible to prevent making the goals impossible to reach. One should make the goals specific, measurable, and attainable so he/she can feel the accomplishment of completing major goals.   References International Information Systems Security Certifcation Consortium. (2012). Certified Information Systems Security Professional. Retrieved from ISC2.org: https://www.isc2.org/cissp/default.aspx ISACA. (2012). Certified Information Security Manager. Retrieved from ISACA.org: http://www.isaca.org/Certification/CISM-Certified-Information-Security-Manager/Pages/default.aspx

Virtualization is the Key Samuel Warren IS308 – Internet Technologies Lawrence Masters City University June 10, 2012   Virtualization is the Key Executive Summary Virtualization is the key to several problems. The problems inherent in technology change are many, not the least of which is what to do with outdated systems. Said systems may still be needed but are no longer supported by their original manufacturer. With that said, virtualization gives IT teams the capability to maintain the legacy systems without much overhead cost. However, like everything, there are problems that could pose a serious threat to virtualization becoming a must-have in every organization. Introduction With innovation being the lifeblood of technology, it is no wonder new advancements in technology are made and discovered every day. With a pace like that, one can rest assured there will be a number of potential failures and conversely a number of winners. Typically, the number of winners and losers in technology are skewed more in the “loser” category. Virtualization is a newer concept requiring a little abstract thinking, because it deals with the idea that you do not need to have a physical device to use to be operationally effective. Some basic questions regarding virtualization shall be answered herein. What is Virtualization? Virtualization is the idea that instead of having all the hardware of a given system, web servers for example, and uses software versions of the systems as the driving force for them. There are some advantages to this, the biggest of which is one can store multiple different systems on one set of hardware. Each virtual machine can interact independently with other devices, applications, data and users as though it were a separate physical resource. Different virtual machines can run different operating systems and multiple applications while sharing the resources of a single physical computer. And, because each virtual machine is isolated from other virtualized machines, if one crashes, it doesn’t affect the others. (McCabe, 2009) Virtualization may have started with web servers (McCabe, 2009); it has expanded to other networked devices, server application tiers, and desktop software. Arguably, virtualization is one of the fastest growing areas in technology in this decade. Why Use Virtual Machines? There are many reasons why one should consider virtualization. However, anyone interested in using virtualization must look into what benefits one could have for using virtualized systems. Virtual machines can be used to consolidate the workloads of several under-utilized servers to fewer machines, perhaps a single machine (server consolidation). Related benefits (perceived or real, but often cited by vendors) are savings on hardware, environmental costs, management, and administration of the server infrastructure. (Singh, 2004) Along with that reason, Singh highlights the needs of outdated software often can be generously fulfilled without any sort of system conflict by having on separate partitions of the same core system. He also highlights the potential for testing with Virtual machines. “Virtual machines can isolate what they run, so they provide fault and error containment. You can inject faults proactively into software to study its subsequent behavior” (Singh, 2004). Whether this, or the many other reasons, virtualization is a boon to those in the IT realm, because it provides ease of use and quick deletion in the event of problems. Why Not Use Virtual Machines? However you slice it, there are always negatives to any IT concept. With virtualization, all of the positives may serve to illustrate the holes in the traditional one machine for one system architecture. With the need for so many different systems at once, it may be tempting for system administrators to let virtual machines become a catchall for their woes. Using virtual machines does have some major drawbacks. One of the most problematic issues is what Pietroforte (2008) calls “Magnified physical failures.” He uses the example of multiple servers working on one physical system (Pietroforte, 2008). He goes on to describe the hypothetical scenario that the hardware supporting those servers fails. If that happens, then all the servers on that one physical device are potentially ruined. However, the answer to that is to plan well. Thus, if your virtual infrastructure is well planned, physical failures may be less problematic. However, this means that you have to invest in redundant hardware, which more or less eliminates one of the alleged advantages of server virtualization. (Pietroforte, 2008) Add to the potential hardware failure the increased need for hardware, because the virtual systems use so much more of the system hardware and you have a recipe for disaster. Technology fails frequently, that alone is enough of a reason to very carefully consider the choices made in relation to whether or not to virtualize. What IT managers must do is avoid giving into the popularity of any given technology and make sure to do a full analysis of pros, cons, and gaps associated with a technology set prior to choosing to implement. References McCabe, L. (2009, May 7). What is Virtualization, and Why Should you Care? Retrieved from Small Business Computing.com: http://www.smallbusinesscomputing.com/testdrive/article.php/3819231/What-is-Virtualization-and-Why-Should-You-Care.htm Pietroforte, M. (2008, July 3). Seven Disadvantages of Server Virtualization. Retrieved from 4Sysops: http://4sysops.com/archives/seven-disadvantages-of-server-virtualization/ Singh, A. (2004, January). An Introduction to Virtualization. Retrieved from Kernelthread.com: http://www.kernelthread.com/publications/virtualization/

Training as an Incentive

Training as an Incentive Samuel Warren IS469 - Information Security Capstone Dan Morrill City University June 6, 2012   Training as an Incentive Executive Summary In the busy environment of corporate America, there is a real need to understand and foster ongoing training. When employers approach employees about training, what attitude is displayed? If it is an attitude of fear, cynicism, or disgust, there may be an issue with how the employer treats training. By implementing some simple incentives and creating a safe environment, employers can radically change the atmosphere of their company. Introduction Without a doubt, the biggest need in any IT group is ongoing training. Depending on the field, the training could be extremely expensive, or low to no cost. However, the need is indelibly linked to the success of the individual employee and the organization at large. If one wants to have a successful company, one must invest in the people working in the company. With that said, there are some key ways to ensure investment makes an impact outlined herein. Incentives to Grow The old paradigm, “You can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make him drink” is a relevant saying with regards to employee growth. One of the major issues employers need to understand is the paycheck alone is often not enough for employees to be satisfied with their jobs. While some may get a certain level of satisfaction from their salary, others have a driving desire to grow and expand beyond what they do everyday. Employers need to recognize and do something about that. Depending on the company and the size of the budget, this can be as simple as giving a token gift, like an employee of the month award or an award for excellence. The key is to know what an incentive is for the employees. For example, if it is coffee then simply giving a gift card to the local coffee house may be just enough of an encouragement to create a desire to grow. Then simply set a goal of accomplishment anyone in your group can meet and challenge them to grow. This will enable them to utilize newly learned tools and techniques in the workplace. Employee Initiative While employers can create incentives, there are also those employees who simply will not attempt to grow. In those cases, the employer should focus their attention on coaching the employee to understand the need for growth. A stagnant employee leads to a deficiency of creative juices and a loss of daily positive productivity. Career management through proper training provides employees with vision, opportunities, increased individual creativity and a renewed sense of energy and purpose. (K Alliance) However, at some point, the employee needs to take some initiative. The employee should feel empowered to come to their manager and outline a plan of growth and suggest an incentive without feeling like they are unheard or unwanted. Employers need to understand they are here to serve the employees, not the other way around. That said, they need to be receptive to the more vocal employees and try to draw information out of the less vocal employees. Another way to further garner employee initiative is by mutual inclusion. This is the concept of taking the group of people who are constantly fighting change and including them first. If an employee has been a vocal opponent of previous projects, by including them early and actually using their feedback, the employer can create an overall attitude of innovation and growth. By harnessing the opponents, the employers are able to not only control any negative feedback or lack of growth, but also they are in fact enticing those vocal opponents into growing and sharing growth. Share the Praise, Shoulder the Blame Finally, all employers should have a basic level of understanding around team leadership dynamics. By that, a manager should be trained to understand the team is only as good as its weakest link. Then have the manager work with their weakest human link and focus their attention on growing that person. Then the managers need to create a safe environment to fail and learn. By taking all the blame and freely sharing the praise, the managers show the employees they are a part of the team and they can fail without fear of someone pointing them out specifically and making them the target of public ridicule.   References K Alliance. (n.d.). Training is the Bridge to Employee Growth, Work Force Maturity and Sustained Productivity. Retrieved from KAlliance Press Play for Success: http://www.kalliance.com/articles/training-is-the-bridge-to-employee-growth.htm

ActiveX Exploit Samuel Warren IS 469- Information Security Capstone Dan Morrill City University May 17, 2012   ActiveX Exploit Executive Summary Exploiting ActiveX buffer overflow is a critical hole in the Microsoft Office Suite. The worst part of this exploit is that once the buffer overflow is initialized, the victim computer’s command controls are accessible and the attacker can do just about anything. However, due to the religious patching of Microsoft, there is already a working fix in place, despite the discovery in early April 2012. Introduction Criminal hackers are always looking for a weakness to exploit. To that end, they poke and prod different systems to see how it works. The hackers become subject matter experts in various coding languages and taxonomies. There are equal parts education and criminality that combine to show a beautiful tapestry of what happens when information is used for the wrong purposes. In April 2012, a new exploit was discovered by exploits-db.com and uses the ActiveX Framework to gain control of the victim computer via Microsoft Office 2003-2010, with the exception of 64-bit editions (TechCenter, 2012). The following analysis will show the potentials, risks and rewards of exploiting this loophole in the Active What does the code do? The code primarily causes a buffer overflow in Microsoft Office 2003-2010. It then attaches to the Windows common controls, MSCOMCTL.Listview, and MSCOMCTL.OCX (Exploits-db, 2012) and could be used to execute command level invocations to the victim system. Potential for a weapon The potential to use this exploit as a weapon is high according to Microsoft’s Security TechCenter. They rate it as “Critical” (TechCenter, 2012) in all affected Office products due to the potentially limitless uses. For example, if a user unintentionally activates this code, it could introduce a virus that takes any and all personal information and exports it to a file that is then sent off to the attacker. Another major point is the potential victim pool is so big and diverse that there will probably be at least a couple people affected, if not thousands. All told, roughly half a billion people use Office. Yet for all the ways consumers use it at home, there are many more time-saving solutions to be found in the world’s most ubiquitous desktop software. (Schultz, 2009) Because the code cannot self-intialize, due to the exploit being in ActiveX Framework, the user must be tricked, or socially coerced into clicking the link and accepting ActiveX prompts. However, once the user does that, the potential is really incredibly limitless. Risk and Rewards The major risk of weaponizing this exploit is Microsoft patch frequency. Microsoft releases a new patch to fix their bugs, loopholes, and exploits as soon as they can identify a fix. That being the case, the exploit has a potentially short existence; depending on how quickly the patches are installed by the end users. However, should the victim be coerced into starting this overflow process, the attacker would have access to do just about anything to the victim’s machine including self-propagation of the code to the other 499,999,999 users.   References Exploits-db. (2012, April). Exploit 18780. Retrieved from exploits-db: http://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/18780/ Schultz, M. (2009, January 8). Microsoft Office is Right at Home. Retrieved from Microsoft: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/news/features/2009/jan09/01-08cesofficeqaschultz.aspx TechCenter, M. S. (2012, April 10). Microsoft Security Bulletin MS12-027 - Critical. Retrieved from Security TechCenter: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/security/bulletin/ms12-027