Security Model for Educational Satellite Networks

Education has been the greatest tool for human resources development. The advances in information and communication technology has brought out a paradigm shift in the educational sector by making it more accessible, relevant, qualitative, and equitable for the masses. The use of satellite technology like INTELSAT, PEACESAT, and ATS in education has enhanced the opportunities for learners to acquire new skills (Moore & Kearsley, 1996). Both on-campus and distance mode students can be benefited by it. The satellite technology can serve a large geographical area. It allows audio and video signals uplinked from a station to be received to any number of downlink earth stations (Willis, 1995). Oliver (1994) reported that the transmission costs do not increase with the increase in the number of downlink stations. Satellite Instructional Television Experiment (SITE), one of the India’s early experiments conducted during 1975 to 1976, produced and transmitted 150 different science programs of 10 to 12 minutes duration, offering them to more than 2,330 villages in six geographical clusters. According to Shrestha (1997) and Govindaraju and Banerjee (1999), this experiment demonstrates the effectiveness of satellite communication for educational purposes.

Information Security Policies for Networkable Devices

Recent years have seen a surge in the introduction of networkable Windows-based operating system (NWOS) devices. Some examples are home entertainment systems (e.g., Xbox), smart phones (e.g., Motorola i930 and PlamOne’s Treo), and Pocket PC (e.g., Toshiba e850). While NWOS devices present an appealing proposition for both software vendors and buyers in terms of the flexibility to add supplementary software applications, such devices also introduce new challenges in terms of managing information security risks. NWOS devices are particularly vulnerable to information security threats because of the vendors’ and buyers’ lack of awareness of the security risks associated with such devices. In addition to the direct damage to business operations that an infected NWOS device might cause, other consequences may also include alienated customers and a tarnished reputation (Austin & Darby, 2003).

Information Ethics from an Islamic Perspective

The Web of networks has created a convenient global environment for people to work, socialize, learn, buy, and sell. The Web has also been used as a tool to breach privacy, gain illegal possession of property, battlefield for cyber warfare, and in some cases, cause loss of life. The field of ‘information ethics’ was developed to curb this negative impact. Elrod and Smith (2005) define information ethics as a “field that applies ethical principles within the context of information provision, control, and use. This field considers issues about all aspects of information technology and information systems for personal, professional, and public decision-making.” Moore (2005) defines information ethics as having three public interests related to privacy, property, and control. Mason (1986) proposes a different set consisting of privacy, accuracy, property, and access.

Ethics in the Security of Organizational Information Systems

Organizational security initiatives by corporations have been voted number one for IT project priorities for the year 2006. The increasing concern for the security of information systems is further intensified with the plethora of governmental regulations emphasizing security, both of information systems and of soft data.

Ethics Education for the Online Environment

As a greater number of business transactions and communications are facilitated by the Internet, understanding individual behavior in this arena is becoming issue that distinguishes transactions conducted via the Internet from those in traditional business settings is that of anonymity (Davenport, 2002). The sense of being anonymous and having little accountability allows individuals to behave in ways that they “traditionally” would not behave if they were known to the other parties involved.

Ethics and Access to Technology for Persons with Disabilities

The growth in technology has provided unprecedented access to information and experiences for persons all over the world. An Internet search yields volumes of information, personal digital assistants (PDAs) connect people with friends and information worldwide, and prosthetic devices provide both cosmetic effects and mobility for persons with a wide variety of orthopedic impairments. Although the current level of access to technology is a recent phenomenon, most people take these conveniences for granted. However, technology may be a mixed blessing for persons with disabilities and pose ethical dilemmas for developers who wish to provide global access for all.

Ethical Concerns in Computer Science Projects

Many more computer systems do not work in the way they are intended (Sommerville, 2004; Pressman, 2004). Computer systems are also increasingly vulnerable to misuse (Edgar, 1997; Rowe & Thompson, 1996) and crime (Barrett, 1997; NHTCU, 2003; Casey, 2004). The concerns ascribed to the development of computer systems can also be attributed to the development of computer artifacts in undergraduate and postgraduate projects; poor software practice can often be traced back to the education of the practitioner. The main issue addressed here is the steps academics, computing schools, and departments and universities should take in order to address the potential harm that could result from inappropriate projects, and the potential benefits of introducing an ethical approval phase.

Document Security in the Ancient World

While issues of encryption, firewalls, surveillance technologies, and cyber terrorism occupy the day-to- day thoughts of contemporary practitioners on the frontiers of information science, the essential problems they face are old, not new. The concept of document security goes back to some of the earliest eras from which writing survives. Testimony to the efforts of information professionals confronting security issues in the ancient world can be found in business, government, family, and temple contexts.

Defending against Distributed Denial of Service

Recently the notorious Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks made people aware of the importance of providing available data and services securely to users. A DDoS attack is characterized by an explicit attempt from an attacker to prevent legitimate users of a service from using the desired resource (CERT, 2006). For example, in February 2000, many Web sites such as Yahoo, Amazon.com, eBuy, CNN.com, Buy. com, ZDNet, E*Trade, and Excite.com were all subject to total or regional outages by DDoS attacks. In 2002, a massive DDoS attack briefly interrupted Web traffic on nine of the 13 DNS “root” servers that control the Internet (Naraine, 2002). In 2004, a number of DDoS attacks assaulted the credit card processor Authorize. net, the Web infrastructure provider Akamai Systems, the interactive advertising company DoubleClick (left that company’s servers temporarily unable to deliver ads to thousands of popular Web sites), and many online gambling sites (Arnfield, 2004). Nowadays, Internet applications face serious security problems caused by DDoS attacks. For example, according to CERT/CC Statistics 1998-2005 (CERT, 2006), computer-based vulnerabilities reported have increased exponentially since 1998. Effective approaches to defeat DDoS attacks are desperately demanded (Cisco, 2001; Gibson, 2002).

Cyber-Terrorism in Australia

Cyber-terrorism has evolved as a new form of terrorism since the development of new information and communication technologies (ICTs) such as the Internet. It has become an issue of concern to the Australian government as well as a global issue since the impact of the September 11, 2001, tragedies, the Bali bombings in 2002, and the London bombings of 2005. Australia, together with other leading nations such as the U.S., currently faces the threat of conventional terrorism; however, we also now face the possibility of a new digital form of terrorism: cyber-terrorism. This article explores this new form of terrorism and provides examples of possible cyber-terrorism and closely related cases. It also highlights vulnerabilities within Australian computer systems and provides an overview of the future trends of this new emerging threat within the Australian context.