Cloud Breach of a U.S- Based Company

Target Corp, Neiman Marcus, and Target Inc are three companies whose networks were breached over the holiday shopping season in 2014. I chose this topic because security breaches are becoming more prevalent in the U.S. Research shows that in recent years, retailers have improved their security, making it more difficult for hackers to obtain credit data using other approaches. In the 2014 attack, the main technique used by the attackers is through pieces of malicious software to steal data. One of the pieces of malware used is RAM scraper, or memory- parsing software which enables cyber criminals to grab encrypted data by capturing it when it travels through the live memory of a computer, where it appears in plain text.

I. Analyze and review of the breach of Target/Neiman Marcus

i. Analysis of the breach taken place

II. How did the breach take place and what went wrong?

i. Reasons for the breach

ii. When the breach took place

III. Parties responsible for the breach

i. Cyber criminals

ii. Method used by culprits to successfully carryout the breach:

a. Malicious software such as RAM scraper, or memory-parsing which allow the encryption of data

IV. How could the breach have been prevented

i. Steps that should have been taken to prevent it

V. Preventions taken to avoid future attacks

i. Steps to be taken to ensure and avoid attacks

VI. Conclusion

References

Arlitsch, K., & Edelman, A. (2014). Staying safe: Cyber security for people and organizations. Journal of

Library Administration, 54(1), 46-56.

Hughes, J. (2014). Data breeches in the cloud: Who is responsible? Retrieved from

1. What went wrong?

2. Why did it occur?

3. Who was responsible?

4. How could it have been prevented?

5. What advice would you offer to prevent such a breach from occurring in the future?

The paper should meet the following requirements:

· Be 8 pages in length, not including the reference page.

· Your paper should include an introduction, a body with fully developed content, and a conclusion.

· Writing MUST be in APA format and 8 page double spaced

· Support your answers with the readings from the course and at least four scholarly journal articles.

· Cite a minimum of eight to 10 related sources—five of which should be academic peer-reviewed scholarly sources—to support your positions, claims, and observations

· Be clear and well-written, concise, and logical, using excellent grammar and style techniques.

*********I have also included a copy of an outline to show how I want the paper to flow, as well as links to articles of the topic I selected. PlEASE INCLUDE THE HIGHLIGHTED PORTION OF THE OUTLINE IN THE INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPH, along with other things you come up with***** Thank you!!