Case Study: Viruses

Thecountry of Iran is expending tremendous resources on developing a nuclearenergy program that is believed by the Western countries to beweapons-oriented. Recently, a virus named the Stuxnet  has been in the news because it wasintroduced into the Iranian computers controlling their nuclear program andwreaked havoc on their centrifuges. Unfortunately, this virus has now escapedand is available to malicious attackers so that it could potentially be used againstour own infrastructure.Watchthe video from “60 Minutes” titled, “Stuxnet: Computer worm opens new era ofwarfare”, located at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WmaZYJwJng, concerning the Stuxnet virus.Readthe article titled, “News briefs: Flame, Stuxnet, breach at LinkedIn and othersecurity news”, located at http://www.scmagazine.com/news-briefs-flame-stuxnet-breach-at-linkedin-and-other-security-news/article/245502/, concerning the Flame virus and Stuxnet.  Writea three to five (3-5) page paper in which you:1. Describethe virus and how it propagated itself onto servers over the Web based on theactual information provided. Assess the Web-based risks that led to the attack.2. Createa graphic rendering of how the virus was able to replicate onto remote serversusing Visio or an equivalent such as Dia.Note: The graphically depicted solution is not included in the requiredpage length.3. Describesome of the common vulnerabilities to utility companies with a virus such asStuxnet.4.  Discuss some securecoding efforts and practices under way to mitigate the vulnerabilities exposedby this particular episode.5. Determine if Stuxnetor a similar virus could happen here, and how you would protect the utilityinfrastructure in light of a heavy reliance on the Internet and Web-basedapplications which allow remote access.6. Useat least four (4) quality resources in this assignment. Note: Wikipedia and similar Websites do not qualify as qualityresources. Yourassignment must follow these formatting requirements:· Betyped, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inchmargins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA orschool-specific format. Check with your professor for any additionalinstructions.· Includea cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, theprofessor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and thereference page are not included in the required assignment page length.· Includecharts or diagrams created in Visio or Dia. The completed diagrams / chartsmust be imported into the Word document before the paper is submitted.Thespecific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:· Compareand contrast Web-based risks.· Describethe attributes and qualities of secure coding practices.· Usetechnology and information resources to research issues in securing Web-basedapplications.Write clearly and concisely about Web application security topics usingproper writing mechanics and technical style conventions.