ITEC 1050, Spring 2010, Textbook Assignment

Covers Chapters

/ Chapter 9 and 10

Assignment Date

/ Thursday, April 15, 2010
Due Date /
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.
Percent of the Grade / 10% of the course’s grade as specified in the revised syllabus
Method of Submission /
  • 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 .
  • 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.
  • Please use some other color than red to answer your questions. Red is reserved for me to grade your answers.
  • No other method of submission will be accepted.

Scoring / Each question is worth 11 points.

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:

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.

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?

From Chapter 10

7.Our text lists several different job descriptions in Web Technologies in Figure 10.11 on page 417. Go to 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?