Cyberterrorism: Fighting the Dark Side of the Internet

The recent data breach at Target involving at least 70 million customer accounts (pundits estimate that this figure could be over 100 million) has again focused our attention on the risks that we face in this age of the Internet. The Internet has revolutionized the way we work, live, socialize, and conduct businesses. Today, we have abundant connectivity through computers at home and at work, and on our laptops, tablets, smart phones, etc. Even our cars and homes are finding ways of getting connected. This Internet environment is the so-called cyberspace, and ubiquitous connectivity and the expansion of cyberspace has resulted in enormous gains in many sectors. It has revolutionized the education sectors with many universities now offering traditional classes, hybrid classes, and online classes. You can book your airline ticket without leaving your home or office and check-in for your next flight online.  You can buy almost anything via the Internet and have it delivered to your home or office. You can buy and sell stocks from anywhere via the Internet. Applying for jobs nowadays is conducted almost entirely online. The list of things you can do is endless. The Internet is also full of social media: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.

The common aspect of all Internet-based interactions and transactions is that the exchange of information can be personal, confidential, or financial in nature. While the benefits of using the Internet are undeniable, there is also a dark side to the Internet. Lurking in the same environment are hackers, hacktivists, and other malicious entities with different malicious objectives. Some of these entities want to steal personal information and use it for financial gain; others want to cause harm or damage to other entities or their adversaries and so on.

Hacktivists use the Internet to promote political ends, to promote free speech or human rights, and to achieve other objectives.  Hacktivism traces its roots back to the late 1990s, when a hacker collective called Electronic Disturance Theater (EDT) protested against Mexican government policies that were considered oppressive by staging online versions of sit-ins. These took the form of distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, a technique using large networks of hijacked computers to jam up websites with so much traffic that they crash. The EDT’s actions shut down several websites, including that of the Mexican president, igniting a flurry of concern about the security of the internet.

Target’s data breach is one of the largest in the history of the Internet when compared with the previous two largest data breaches in history. In August 2009, 130 million credit and debit card accounts were stolen from the Heartland Payment Systems servers, and at least 94 million credit and debit card accounts were stolen from TJX.  In December 2009, 32 million user accounts were stolen from RockYou. Data breaches of smaller sizes occur all the time but most companies would prefer not to make the violation public for obvious reasons. It was reported today, as I write this article, that a data breach involving 27,000 customer records had occurred at Barclays bank.

When it comes to cybersecurity, it is unfortunate that companies tend to comply as minimally as they can with regulations because improved cybersecurity can be costly; but a data breach could also spell the demise of a company.  Many Fortune 500 companies are still using outdated software. Hackers often exploit vulnerabilities in older versions of popular software to load malicious programs into computers, which can then be used to launch attacks.

Hence, there is a crucial need to secure this cyberspace using several defense mechanisms to ensure confidentiality, availability, integrity, accountability, and non-repudiation (an entity cannot deny having conducted a transaction); and this is what cybersecurity is all about. As a result of the changing nature and sophistication of attacks, there is a new demand for cybersecurity specialists to fight cyber terrorism at all levels of society, from multinational corporations to governments.

Written by Dr. Johnson Kinyua

Made in ? Where America Stands

As I cross a street in Washington, DC, a shiny black Mercedes stops to let me pass. “Made in Germany,” I think. I pass an electronics store with giant flatscreen TVs (Made in Japan) and a trendy clothing boutique with pretty shirts (Made in India). I get into my General Motors (Made in America) car and drive to a superstore. Pick up a toy – it is made in China. Those cups and plates, curtains for the home, the new pair of shoes – China, China, China. In the last four years, China has emerged as the definitive leader in global manufacturing. And yet, is the manufacturing share of global GDP large enough (at 16%) to have a positive effect on the other leading economies? University Magazine takes a look at the world’s top manufacturing countries and how the industry affects their economic outlook.

Besides accounting for 16% of global GDP, manufacturing accounts for 70% of all global trade. Service jobs in manufacturing make up 30-55% of manufacturing-heavy economies, and every for every dollar of manufacturing output, only 19 cents are spent on service input – quite a profitable enterprise. However, while advanced economies like the United States are coming up with more innovative manufactured products, they are outsourcing much of the traditional labor-and-time-intensive manufacturing jobs to other economies, such as China or India. In fact, out of the 62 million manufacturing jobs available in advanced economies in 2000 only 45 million remained in 2010. And many of these jobs were in different industries, requiring more specialized knowledge and training. While this may be a source of outrage to labor unions and anti-globalization groups, overall, the advanced economies prospered. According to the McKinsey Global Institute 2012 report, Manufacturing the future: the next era of global growth and innovation, advanced economies had a $342 billion trade deficit in labor-intensive goods, yet also a $726 billion surplus in innovative goods.

When we look at the last 25 years of manufacturing, we see several trends. Overall, the number of jobs created by manufacturing in the world has significantly increased. However, a large portion of the newly-created jobs are in developing and industrializing economies. In developed economies, like the United States, Canada or the United Kingdom, the percentage of manufacturing jobs is declining and the industry areas and type of remaining manufacturing jobs are shifting to be more innovative and technologically specialized. Large, developing economies have been moving up in global manufacturing. Finally, many of the economies that have been increasingly significant in manufacturing are Asian. The prime example of this is China, which had first surpassed the United States in its share of global manufacturing in 2010. China is also the number one exporter of manufactured goods, and well as the second largest importer. A steady increase in the share of global manufacturing can also be seen in India, moving up from 15th spot in 1980 to ninth in 2012. Finally, a much faster movement is seen in South Korea, 25th in 1980 and all the way up to fifth in 2012. The reasons for that are many – a shift in favorable economic policies in those countries, a cheap and available workforce and improving research and development. But does that mean an overall global shift to the East?

While China has taken over many areas of production and will remain strong, the United States remains extremely competitive in terms of manufacturing. China may have the lion’s share of many global products, China's exports are primarily in the toys, apparel and electrical and electronics industries. In fact, China is the world's largest manufacturer of toy products, with over 70% of the global market. The country presents several advantages to manufacturers: a growing middle class, increased research and development, a robust raw material supply base and established infrastructure, it also presents several challenges. It is slow to innovate, with a heavy tax burden and regulatory inefficiency, which results in lax quality control. On the other hand, despite its high labor costs and corporate tax rate, the United States has a highly technologically advanced labor force, with much research support for national laboratories and universities, high productivity and favorable policy actions. It is the second largest automobile manufacturer and the largest producer of ethanol biofuel.

With manufacturing continuing to play an important role in the world economy, there will be enough of a share within all the various manufacturing industries for all of these economies, both developed and developing, to grow.

Written by Katherine Magalif

Stop Wasting Your Time!

As young adults, we are always given advice on the best ways to approach education. I found htat the best advice came from my peers who had graduated in the years before me. The central theme that kept coming up in conversation with them was the importance of time management.
1 Organization - A comprehensive to-do list is an effective tool for organization. As an employee, my to-do list is in the form of an automated task list that is available on my work computer, cell phone, tablet, and even the internet. At all times, I can pull up my task list and see what major projects and deadlines are approaching.  Because of this, I am a much better planner, more efficient worker, and am better at reporting my accomplishments within any given timeframe. In addition to having an easily accessible to-do list, the best piece of advice I can give to any student or employee striving to become more organized is to take notes. Whether you are sitting in a classroom or in a meeting with your boss, the act of writing information down allows you to retain it much easier than if you are idly listening. Looking back at your notes later will also help you to effectively update your to-do list and plan action steps.

2 Scheduling – A clear schedule is essential to managing your time.  Figure out what time of day you are most productive and block that time off to get the actual work done.  Schedule meetings and menial tasks outside of your productive time so that you save your peak productivity hours for the important tasks that require the most focus and attention.

3 Priorities – Prioritize by what is important, when deadlines need to be met, and what will take the most time and attention. It is best to speak with your superiors and define what expectations and deadlines they would like for a given task.

4 Flexibility – When unforeseen circumstances arise, and things get moved around and added at the last minute, you cannot be so rigid in your scheduling that there is no room to rework deadlines. If you let yourself be completely upset by these types of situations, than you will have a much harder time being an effective worker and completing the task at hand.

5 Goals – Always keep in mind that there is a reason you are doing whatever it is that you are doing, and set tangible goals that will help you to reach your desired endpoint. If you are a student, remember that the big picture is the degree. If you work in an office environment, the big picture might be a promotion or an increase in compensation. Never lose sight of what you are working towards.
Written by Christina Koonts

VIU Professor Publishes Book!

VIU professor Dr. Mark Robinson is pleased to announce the upcoming release of his first book, Marketing Big Oil: Brand Lessons from the World’s Largest Companies. The book is the result of a gaping hole in literature on the subject of marketing big oil companies. “I had done research and couldn’t find any books on the topic of marketing oil,” he told University Magazine. “There were a few academic articles, but other than that there were only a few event-driven books.” Such event-driven books focus on disasters like the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill or the 2010 BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Dr. Robinson pointed out that, historically, oil company executives “didn’t worry about company image – only money.” As a result, oil companies seem incapable of escaping a negative reputation in the eyes of consumers.

This brings us to what Marketing Big Oil explores: the efforts of oil companies to overcome a persistently negative public image. Grounded by some inside experience in the industry (Dr. Robinson worked in marketing for Exxon for over a decade) and a year’s worth of research, the book first provides a history of the industry and then describes some of the major crises with which it is associated. Other segments of the book analyze companies’ use of advertising and, more recently, social media as a means of repairing a tattered public image – a goal Dr. Robinson believes is unattainable, despite impressive and successful campaigns such as Chevron’s “We Agree” advertisement series.

Dr. Robinson’s narrative style will draw you in to the intriguing history and controversy of his subject-matter, whether you are a business and marketing expert or simply someone who buys gasoline to fuel your car.

What Makes a Good Writer?

This is a question that often plagues many of us who want to improve our writing skills!  If there were one thing to help us write better it would be to “write with a purpose.”  That is, know why you are writing and what message you want to convey.  Here are some tips to help you write with purpose:

Define your audience
Knowing your audience is one of the most important aspects of writing with purpose.  You need to know who your audience is in order to get them interested and engaged in the topic.

Outline your goals
Clearly defining what you wish to accomplish helps in formulating the overall message that you wish to convey.  We often have lots of things to say, and clearly organizing your goals helps to be able to fully accomplish what you set out to do.

Choose your voice
Purposeful writing is intentional in the choice of voice and register.  Are you writing to convey a sense of familiarity or charm?  Are you writing to catch a wide audience? Are you writing for colleagues or peers?  Are you writing to catch the attention of a CEO?  Approach your writing with the appropriate tone and register for your intended audience.

Practice your writing
Practice makes perfect!  We often go through many drafts and versions of our writing in order to achieve perfection – that’s okay!

Be intentional
Purposeful writing is intentional in word choice, placement, and organization.  Be conscious of what you convey and why.  Be ready to defend your choice if necessary!

For more writing tips, please visit VIU's Writing, Research and Media Center (WMRC)!

Bad Apple: Dealing with a Difficult Employee

Every employer’s ultimate goal is to attract and retain valuable employees in their workforce through acquisition of the right talents that would help them attain their strategic objectives. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Some employees may end up exhibiting counterproductive behavior, which could hinder the company’s productivity as well as interfere with interpersonal relationships with fellow employees. So what should an HR Manager do in such a situation?

If you look at this list, you would agree that some of them may appear to be difficult depending on the circumstances. Since dealing with difficult employees is not as simple as it sounds, we would need to look at several factors, which will help us shed some light on steps that will result in a positive outcome for the company, the employee, and the co-workers.

Address the situation using the following steps:

1. Open a line of communication with the employee to investigate fully the nature of the problem. At this point, the policies of the organization will be revisited to ensure that the employee is on the same page with acceptable behavior, rules and regulations, as well as the strategic goal of the company. Employees may become unhappy if they are not linking their responsibilities to the goals of the organization and also their responsibilities are not challenging or their talents not fully utilized. This may result in boredom and we know that an idle mind is a devil’s workshop. Should such a situation arise, the HR Manager should address it right away so that it doesn’t get out of hand. It would be good to have a one-on-one with the employee. Also, the employee may prefer to discuss the issue with their own peers, and there has been proven success in engaging a respected co-worker to speak to a difficult employee.

2. Plan a course of action based on the findings in the first step. One of the actions would be to assign a mentor to the employee that seems to be struggling with work or interactions with his/her team members. A mentor should also be able to assist the employee with both personal and company goals. An employee may engage in counterproductive behavior due to inadequate knowledge and experience required to successfully complete their daily tasks. If this is the case, the employee should be assigned to take appropriate training programs to enhance their skills and competencies.  The HR manager would need to properly look into the circumstances surrounding the situation and address them, making sure to separate opinion from actual behavior.

3.Reach a positive outcome/resolution that will benefit the company, the employee, and co-workers. The decision has to be closely monitored to ensure desired results. If after applying the interventions mentioned in step #2 above the problem still persists, disciplinary action may be considered.

If the employee’s misconduct is considered serious in nature, it may lead to immediate discharge.  Otherwise for minor offenses, HR may impose several levels of penalties as follows:

- First offense—oral warning

- Second offense—written warning

- Third offense—second written warning and suspension without pay

- Fourth offense—termination

In summary, the key is not only to address the person’s behavior but also what may have contributed to the employee acting in an unfavorable manner. Often times the so-called “difficult employee” may actually be the most creative in the company. Companies want to retain their most valuable employees, and employees, on the other hand, do not wish to lose their jobs.

TYPES OF DIFFICULT EMPLOYEES:

• The hostile worker, who is verbally abusive and destructive
• The whiner, who complains just about everything
• The pessimist, who never believes there will be any good outcome and at such can affect others with his negativity
• The sniper, who constantly criticizes others
• The impatient, who doesn’t care about policies and procedures
• The know-it-all, very smart and an expert in his field but can be very exasperating
• The arrogant worker, who will never admit that he doesn’t really know anything
• The indecisive worker takes too long to make a decision, thereby causing unnecessary delay in productivity
• The silent employee takes an offensive position and simply does not contribute to any decision
• The “yes” worker that will agree to anything without really intending to carry it out

Written by Dr. Victoria Ashiru, Professor at the VIU School of Business.