27 Jan Unit 2 Assignment Directions: Case Scenario 1: The Case of Cybersecurity for Small Retail Business

Unit 2 Assignment Directions: Case Scenario 1: The Case of Cybersecurity for Small Retail Business
This assignment is written as a scenario. Read the Scenario and then write a paper that addresses each step listed under “Steps for Assignment.” Keep in mind the relevance to your “client,” a small retail business owner, who operates stores both online and offline.

Scenario:
You are a consultant in a cybersecurity firm. One day a small retail business owner arrives at your office for her appointment. The owner purchases classic t-shirts found in thrift stores, yard sales, and estate sales which she then upcycles into new products. The owner has rented a brick-and-mortar space in a suburban area outside of Baltimore, Maryland but also wants to sell the upcycled products online. She has purchased a domain name and opened an eBay store.

As a previous victim of identity theft, the owner is aware of cybersecurity concerns and is applying for a small business grant to assist with cybersecurity prevention. The owner needs your help to understand the concepts and relationships requested in the grant application.

Steps for Assignment:
Provide responses for each step keeping in mind relevance to the owner and a small retail business that operates both online and offline.

Step 1. The grant requires information on assets, vulnerabilities, and threats regarding hardware, software, and data.

Explain how hardware, software, and data are assets to the retail company.
Discuss how to choose the most significant asset to protect (i.e., companies have many assets that must be prioritized, so the one with the most value can be your focus of prevention).
Identify the potential vulnerabilities in hardware, software, and data.
Step 2. The owner expresses her confusion about the concepts of vulnerabilities versus threats. Briefly differentiate the two concepts, providing relevant retail examples for both.

Step 3. The owner is required to incorporate Confidentiality, Integrity, and Accessibility (the CIA triad) in the grant, where relevant. Overall, the owner feels very confused about the CIA triad concepts. Discuss each of the triad’s concepts and provide retail examples. Also address how the triad concepts are related to each other in a retail application. Relate CIA to access control, which will help the owner understand this connection.

Step 4. The grant’s last section requires a discussion of a viable contingency plan in preparation for a breach. A contingency plan focuses on the steps to be taken in the case of a breach. The plan should respond to both the situation and the mitigation of its impact. The owner needs your help in determining two steps or two plan components that can be incorporated into the plan section of the application for the grant. These steps or components should be relevant to the retail industry and to a small business.

Step 5. Include a references page listing the sources you used. The references page is the last page of your paper. Imagine that these references will help the owner research further information.