Project 1 of CSIA

Project 1: Cybersecurity for OPEN Data

Scenario:

A federal agency has asked your cybersecurity consulting firm to provide a research report examining Open Data services’ usefulness and security issues. The report is intended for a group of executives at the agency who are currently involved in converting paper-based data sets and data request forms to digital formats for distribution via digital government websites and mobile applications. This report is particularly important as the agency head has received inquiries from Congressional staff members conveying concerns that various elected officials have about potential issues with the
integrity and
authenticity of downloaded data. The agency’s executives were also surveyed, and they provided the following
security risks and related items in a list of concerns for the planned conversion to an
Open Data delivery method:

a. Confidentiality / Privacy (ensuring proper redaction of personally identifiable information from government data sets)

b. Integrity (ensuring data sets are unchanged when moved from back-end servers to front-end, customer-facing apps and websites)

c. Authenticity (origin of data is known and can be verified/proven)

d. Availability (reliability) of the Open Data service (mobile apps, website, network infrastructure)

e. Non-repudiation of data sets (assurance that the originating source cannot deny having provided the data or data set)

Research:

1. Read / Review the weekly readings for weeks 1-4 including readings marked as “optional” or “review.”

2. Research the federal government’s
OPEN Data mandate. Here are some sources that you may find useful:

a.
Open Data Policy-Managing Information as an Asset – OMB Memorandum M-13-13 (PDF file is in the week 2 readings). This Memorandum includes significant discussion of security issues and policy solutions, including references to FIPS 199 and NIST SP-800-53)

b.

c.
/privacy-policy#data_policy (see sections on Security, Privacy, and Data Quality and Retention)

d.
Guidance for Providing and Using Administrative Data for Statistical Purposes – OMB Memorandum M-14-06 (PDF file is in the week 2 readings). This memorandum discusses privacy and security issues related to using information collected for statistical purposes (e.g., the census, employment, economic data, etc.).

3. Research how government information, e.g.
OPEN Data, is used by businesses and the general public. Here are some sources to get you started:

a.
Building on a year of open data: progress and promise

b.
Open Data Day: Resources

c.
16 Innovative Applications and Businesses Created with Open Data

d. 27 Open Data Applications Ideas

4. Research the issues that can arise when businesses depend upon the
confidentiality, integrity, availability, authenticity, and
non-repudiation of government-provided
Open Data. Suggested sources include:

a.
Authenticating Digital Government Information

b.
Legal and Institutional Challenges for Opening Data Across Public Sectors

c.
Risk Analysis to Overcome Barriers to Open Data

d.
Reconciling Contradictions of Open Data Regarding Transparency, Privacy, Security and Trust

5. Find five or more best practice recommendations for ensuring the security (confidentiality, integrity, availability, authenticity, non-repudiation) of information provided by the federal government through its OPEN Data initiative. Note: For this assignment, you may treat “licensing” concerns as an “availability” issue.

Write:

Write a five to eight (5-8) page research report summarizing your research. Focus on clarity and conciseness more than length when determining what content to include in your paper. At a minimum, your summary must include the following:

1. An introduction or overview of
OPEN Data provides definitions and addresses the laws, regulations, and policies that require federal agencies to identify and publish datasets and information collections. Discuss the role of the executive branch’s
Open Data / Open Government policies in making data available via Data.Gov. This introduction should be suitable for an executive audience.

2. A separate section in which you discuss the value (benefits) of
Open Data. This section should provide several specific examples of how government-provided businesses and the general public use Open Data.

3. A separate section in which you address security issues for Open Data (confidentiality, integrity, availability, authenticity, and non-repudiation). Focus on how these issues can impact the availability and usefulness of
Open Data. It would be best to discuss how the U.S. federal government addresses these issues. Provide examples of issues and mitigations or solutions.

4. A section in which you address
best practice recommendations for ensuring the confidentiality, integrity, availability, authenticity, and non-repudiation of
Open Data. Your recommendations should address using the NIST guidance for risk management, including security and privacy controls.

5. A separate section in which you summarize your research and recommendations.

Submit For Grading

Submit your white paper in MS Word format (.docx or .doc file) using the Project 1 assignment in your assignment folder. (Attach the file.)

Additional Information

1. Consult the grading rubric for this assignment’s specific content and formatting requirements, including the minimum number of sources.

2. Your 5—to 8-page research report should be professional in appearance, with consistent use of fonts, font sizes, margins, etc. Headings and page breaks are best to organize your paper.

3. Your paper should use standard terms and definitions for cybersecurity.

4. The CSIA program recommends that you follow standard APA formatting since this will give you a document that meets the “professional appearance” requirements. APA formatting guidelines and examples are found under Course Resources. An APA template file (MS Word format) has also been provided for your use CSIA_Paper_Template(TOC+TOF,2021).docx.

5. You must include a cover page with the assignment title, name, and the due date. Your reference list must be on a separate page at the end of your file. These pages do not count towards the assignment’s page count.

6. It would help if you wrote grammatically correct English in every assignment you submit for grading. Only turn in work with (a) using spell check, (b) using grammar check, (c) verifying that your punctuation is correct, and (d) reviewing your work for correct word usage and correctly structured sentences and paragraphs. 

7. You must credit your sources using in-text citations and reference list entries. Your citations and reference list entries must follow a consistent citation style (APA, MLA, etc.).