Carl S. Guynes

Critical success factors in data management

Abstract The purpose of this exploratory study was to determine the critical success factors (CSFs) of data and database administration functions. A field survey was made in 16 large corporations of information systems executives who were identified as having a key role and interest in data management issues. Several important data and database administration factors were identified. Of these, three were found to be CSFs for data administration and four were found to be CSFs for database administration. Two overlapped both areas. The overlapping factors had to be considered from both a technical and organizational perspective.

Security issues on the internet

The Internet is a collection of networks originally paid for by the U.S. Department of Defense. Its purpose was to provide a communications infrastructure more resilient to attack than the public communications channels in the event of war. When research became a priority in the 1960s and 1970s, money was given to the National Science Foundation, which became the de facto administrator of the network. The NSF ran the primary arteries of the Internet until the late 1980s. A substantial amount of funding was later added by the U.S. Congress when it decided to include the federal supercomputing facilities in the Internet. As universities tied into the network, they would pay to link a particular network, such as the Bitnet, with the Internet. [2]

The Client–Vendor Offshore Relationship: Success Factors

IT Offshoring has become a common strategic practice for many U.S. companies. Success offers access to technical expertise in emerging markets. This study recognizes the complexity of the IT offshoring relationship and examines social exchange factors difficult to address in contracts, and the relationship of these factors to a successful relationship. A recent survey of Fortune 500 CIOs found that a close relationship between client and vendor, characterized by trust and communication, is correlated with success.

Teaching the undergraduate CS Information Security Course

This paper presents a lab based approach to teaching the undergraduate CS Information Security course. Given the magnitude of real and potential loses associated with security breaches, employers increasingly expect graduates of CS programs to have an understanding of information security concepts. The infrastructure requirements for the course includes setting up a secure laboratory environment to accommodate the development of viruses and worms. The labs and lectures are intended to instruct students in the inspection and protection of information assets, and detection of and reaction to threats to information assets.

Protecting statistical databases: a matter of privacy

Design Considerations The purpose of a statistical database is to provide statistical summaries of information stored in the database in response to user queries. This article addresses the problem of trying to ensure the confidentiality of information about individuals, while still providing useful statistical summaries of the data to researchers. Compromise of a statistical database is defined as the extraction of individually identifiable information from the database. Compromise occurs when a database user is able to deduce, from the responses of one or more queries, information about an individual that was not previously known by the user . [10]

The information infrastructure: policy and security considerations

To understand possible implications of the emerging information infrastructure, it is appropriate to first look at the evolution of technology related policies in an attempt to identify unresolved policy issues related to information technology. It is also appropriate to create an awareness of likely decision points that may critically influence our future society, and try to envision the role of public administrators in establishing and information infrastructure and telecommunications policy.

Motivating students to acquire mainframe skills

There has been a perception in both industry and in academia that mainframe skills are obsolete. As a result, there has been a decline in curricula addressing these skills. However, recent evidence shows that many organizations are still actively supporting mainframe technologies and report a need for students graduating in information technology to be trained in those skills, especially as much of their current mainframe workforce moves toward retirement. This paper examines the question of what motivates students to acquire mainframe skills. To do so, this research is investigates IBMs Master the Mainframe contest, a competition that attempts to engender enthusiasm for acquiring mainframe skills and ensure an adequate supply of such skills to organizations relying on them.

HIPPA, privacy and organizational change: a challenge for management

Organizational change surrounding the security of identifiable health information has become imperative. This is a significant challenge for managers who are held responsible for loss of privacy through faulty security procedures. Management cannot completely secure the organization and still provide employees and customers with the information and services they need. Organizations must decide how much and what type of security they need, how to assign priorities, and how to manage security as the organization evolves in a competitive environment.

Network security in a client/server environment

There are numerous network security and access control issues to be considered when implementing a client/server system. As the server is usually the central location for critical data, adequate physical security and operational security measures need to be taken to insure the safety of the data. Although there are a large number of tools available to perform security and control functions on mainframe systems, there are significantly less tools available that are designed specifically for client/server systems. Until these tools are developed, companies must exercise extreme caution when placing mission critical applications on a client/server system. The end-user computing evolution provided computing power at the workplace, and resulted in end-user demand for access to corporate data with little regard for the security of that data. (Adam, 1992).

Ethics, information systems, and the information highway

The power represented by information and its access using the information highway (IH) has spawned serious discussions about the It-rs effects on the social and ethical relationships within society. There are some who feel that the implementation of the IH will provide benefits to humanity and some who feel that it will produce disadvantages. Although people disagree on the nature of the effects, both groups generally agree on two points. The IH will be part of the telecommunications future of the nation, and it will produce fundamental shifts in American lifestyles. Whatever our personal feelings on the subject, we in the information systems profession must accept the fact that ethical considerations are important in the development of the information highway. It is no longer acceptable to say that ethics as they related to information systems are someone elses obligation. All people who interact with others using computers must accept responsibility for acting ethically.