ITEC 1050, Spring 2010, Textbook Assignment
Covers Chapters
Assignment Date
Due Date
Chapter 9 and 10
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Percent of the Grade
Method of Submission
10% of the course’s grade as specified in the revised syllabus
o You should download this MS Word document from
the course web page, rename it with your name,
insert your answers, and then attach it to an e-mail
and send that to Professor Katz at
frank.katz@armstrong.edu.
o Obviously, there may not be enough space between
each question to properly answer it, so you may have
to press ENTER a few times to make enough space to
answer the question.
o Please use some other color than red to answer your
questions. Red is reserved for me to grade your
answers.
o No other method of submission will be accepted.
Each question is worth 11 points.
Scoring
Thursday, April 29, @ 11:59pm
Due to the proximity of the due date to the end of the
semester, there will be no “cutoff period.” Late
assignments will NOT be accepted.
From Chapter 9
1. What is a digital signature? What is a digital certificate? How do they differ?
2. Go to my information security link web page:
http://infotech.armstrong.edu/katz/katz/katzinfosec.html
Use the links to find two different “current malware”. List and describe one or two
characteristics of the malware you chose. Also include the discovery date.
ITEC 1050, Spring 2010, Textbook Assignment
3. Go to my information security web page listed above. There are three Internet Hoax sites
listed. Use any of them and find two virus hoaxes. Describe each. Give the URL (web
address) for each. You can do this easily by just copying the web address of the page
containing the information into your document.
Then for each that you chose, explain what the consequences of following the instructions
in the virus hoax would be. Could either cause serious problems with your computer, and if
so, what?
4. As described in class and in the text, what is symmetric or private key encryption? What is
public key encryption? Where is the public key kept? What is a significant issue with private
key encryption?
5. Hashing. This was described in class. For us in ITEC 1050, it’s the application of a simple
mathematical formula to a count of the number of different characters in a message to
create a “hash,” which is a mathematical result that proves that the message is authentic.
The hash is sent to the recipient of the message. Any alteration of the message should
result in a different “hash” value. In real world applications, the “hash” is calculated by
counting different characters in a message, but applying an extremely complex formula to
that count. Here you will use a simple formula to the following message:
TRANSFER TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS TO MY ACCOUNT
The formula is:
(Number of T’s x Number of O’s x Number of A’s) – Number of D’s + Number of E’s =
6. Go to the FBI website I provided on my web page above. Find the link on how to file an
Internet Crime Complaint, which takes you to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center.
Now you are going to have to do a little digging. Find the annual report for 2009 and report
back the most prevalent Internet crime in 2009 and its percentage of all crimes they
reported. Report back an unusual Internet crime in that chart that you may not have heard
about and its percentage of all Internet crimes. Then go to the chart of the Top 10 states by
count, INDIVIDUAL PERPETRATORS. Is Georgia on this list? If so, what rank is Georgia?
ITEC 1050, Spring 2010, Textbook Assignment
From Chapter 10
7. Our text lists several different job descriptions in Web Technologies in Figure 10.11 on page
417. Go to http://www.salary.com Key in Web Designer, Network Security Manager, and
Java Developer and the zip code 31401 (downtown Savannah) and report back the 25th and
75th percentile salary in the salary range for each position. Make sure you use the FREE
Salary Wizard – I don’t want any student paying for the results of such a salary survey.
8. What is certification? What are some of its benefits and risks?
9. Computer Science and Management Information Systems are both academic disciplines that
prepare students for the work in the world of information. Briefly compare the two – don’t
just state that Computer Science is X and assume that the opposite is true for MIS. Describe
both. Even though you may not be majoring in either degree, what role in the workplace
could you have interacting with graduates who possess these degrees?