VII

part 1

Ransomware is one of the biggest cyber threats that public and private organizations face every day. Ransomware is malicious software that encrypts data on a computer or network. Individuals usually must pay the hacker a “ransom” via Bitcoin or another form of cryptocurrency to unencrypt the data. There have been mixed reactions to the questions about individuals paying hackers to unencrypt the data. Would you pay a hacker to unencrypt your data? Should public and private organizations pay a ransom? Why, or why not? How do you believe that ransomware is changing the landscape of global cyber threats?

part 2

 In Unit VII, you selected a topic and created the annotated bibliography. Using that research, for this assignment, you will submit your fourth mini research paper on your chosen topic area of examining and analyzing the three cyber terrorist threats that exist to one of the 16 sectors of critical infrastructures (CI) outlined by the Department of Homeland Security.Further, you are required to outline three resiliency-based and reactionary-based planning strategies for each proposed cyber terrorist threat that exists.For your research, you will want to consider the following questions:

• What critical infrastructure sector did you choose? Why?
• What are the roles and purpose of your chosen critical infrastructure sector?
• What local, state, and federal government agencies have a role in your chosen critical infrastructure sector?
• A large majority of the critical infrastructure sector is owned and operated by the private sector. What role does the private sector have in your chosen critical infrastructure sector?
• What are the three cyber terrorist threats that exist for your chosen critical infrastructure sector?
• Why are vulnerability assessment and risk assessment vital in critical infrastructure planning?
• What are three resiliency-based strategies used for your chosen critical infrastructure sector?
• What are three reactionary-based strategies used for your chosen critical infrastructure sector?
• As a researcher, what future recommendations do you have to further protect your chosen critical infrastructure sector?
• Include photographs as examples of your chosen critical infrastructure sector. (Note: Photographs do not count towards the total required page count for this research paper.)

The research paper must be written using the following outline structure:

• Title page: This must be included.
• Introduction: This section should be at least one page in length.
• Body of paper: This section should be onetwo pages in length. This should include a review and discussion of the literature.
• Summary and conclusions: This section should be at least one page in length.
• References: Adhere to APA Style when creating citations and references for this assignment.

While the level of detail in each section of the research paper will vary, the final paper must be a minimum of three pages in length, not counting the title and references pages. An abstract is not required. You must use a minimum of five sources.