Information Assurance ISSC 361 Requirements for this assignment: An

ISSC  361  Project  Paper  Guidelines/Suggestions  

Information about the project paper: Project: There will be a project paper (worth 15%) with topic selection (2%), outline (5%), and presentation (8%), for a total of 30%of the final grade. The work has been divided up, so as to spread out the impact on your schedules. If you follow the program, you should be able to produce the final product on schedule, building on your previous work! Deliverables To help move you along the paper process, we’ve broken it down into four deliverables: Topic, Outline, PowerPoint Presentation, and Paper Topic Selection (Week 2) Your paper topic must be on Information Assurance (IA) or an area closely related to IA. Your professor (that would be me) must approve your topic before you can proceed with the outline, presentation, and paper. The approved topic must be the same for the outline assignment, the PowerPoint presentation, and the final paper. Some thoughts on paper topic selection: Information Assurance is an extremely broad topic, made up of a lot of almost as broad sub- topics. If you look through your textbook’s table of contents, you should be able to find something that interests you enough to write about it. For the sake of an example, let’s say the topic of interest to you is in Chapter 17 of the book (7.5.2 – TEMPEST). By way of definition, TEMPEST was a phenomenon discovered in World War II, in which teletypes were discovered to emit radio signals that could be read from a distance, allowing eavesdropping on electronic communications. To counteract TEMPEST, elaborate shielding was created to enclose teletypes, typewriters, and eventually computer terminals and even data centers. So you might decide to research whether TEMPEST is still an issue as your paper topic.

ISSC  361  Project  Paper  Guidelines/Suggestions  

Step 1 would be to begin to create a thesis statement. For guidance on that, you could consult the style guides in the APUS on-line library, located at: http://apus.campusguides.com/content.php?pid=205954&sid=3202561#11508381

Looking at the thesis construction examples on that page, I come up with the research question: ‘In an age of mobile computing and microprocessors, is TEMPEST still a concern/risk?’ Step 2: In order to figure out if that’s a valid question, you’ll need to do some initial research The APUS Library has an excellent set of resources for you to explore. If you’ve never done online research using the library’s databases (or even if you have, and need a refresher), check out the tutorial at: https://apus.adobeconnect.com/_a795569749/LibraryWelcome2010 and watch the Youtube video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6drn0pKnOU&list=PLhKydzNQdJMQb68bh8CEY6BA4ZTvVk 5NI&index=1

ISSC  361  Project  Paper  Guidelines/Suggestions  

After I have done the initial research (keeping track of all the articles I look at, and downloading or bookmarking/logging the ‘good ones’ – learn how to use Refworks!), I’m able to determine It follows that the topic/thesis statement should be something like: “Although the original need to control emissions from radiotelegraph machines has diminished, it is still necessary to assess the risk of TEMPEST exposure in modern systems” Note: asking the question and formatting the thesis this way makes it much easier to do a good job. If you just told me you wanted to write about TEMPEST, I would say, ‘that’s an awfully broad topic, can you cut it down?’ By doing some initial research, you can discover if there is even anything written on the topic, you may find there is nothing public on your topic! It’s also important not to get in over your head. You probably don’t want to write (and I certainly don’t want to read!) a 500 page paper on the history of TEMPEST, so by doing some work up front, you’ll help focus yourself on a clear, to the point area. Save the massive paper for your PhD dissertation! Outline (week 3): The outline of the paper is the skeleton of your paper. It should include all areas you plan to discuss in your paper. It should include (Use APA format!):

1. A title page with the title, your name, date, class and school info 2. You may wish to include an abstract or leave it for the final paper. 3. Headings of all areas you wish to discuss with a short statement describing the

extent of your planned discussion 4. References page – with at least half (5) of the required final product references you

plan to include in your final paper

Presentation (week 6): The presentation must be done using PowerPoint or a compatible product used for creating presentations. This is basically an executive summary of the paper you plan to write. It should highlight the major headings included in your Outline – simplified and presentable to management. You should try to “sell” your project to management. Include rich graphics to make it interesting (and attractive), include notes to tell me how you will be presenting it (basically your cheat sheet for the presentation), and include references for the last slide to make it convincing.

Note: Sometimes Turn It In chokes on PowerPoint files, so please submit this one as a PDF file.

Project Paper (week 7): Your paper will be graded on the following categories:

• Focus/Thesis • Content/Subject Knowledge • Organization of Ideas/Format • Writing Conventions (Grammar and Mechanics – APA Style)) • Use of Computer Technology/Applications (i.e. Appropriate use of word processor or

spreadsheets as it relates to the finished product )

ISSC  361  Project  Paper  Guidelines/Suggestions  

Carefully review the Citation, Reference Page, and Direct Quotations vs. Paraphrasing sections of the APA Style Guide at http://apus.campusguides.com/content.php?pid=205954&sid=3202561#11514338 Content:

1. At a minimum include the following: o Detailed description of the area researched o Technology involved in the area o Future trends in the area o Example companies involved in the area o Regulatory issues surrounding the area o Global implications for the area o References (minimum of 10)

2. You may use resources from the APUS Online Library, any library, government library, or

any peer-reviewed reference (Wikipedia or any other publicly-reviewed source are not accepted). The paper must by at least 10 pages double-spaced, 1" margin all around, 12 point fonts (Times New Roman or Arial) with correct citations of all utilized references/sources, Pictures, graphics, etc… are extra – allowed but do not count for the minimum page count. The title page and references are also required but don't count in the minimum page count. A minimum of 10 references are required.

3. The paper will be subjected to checking against plagiarism. The paper must follow acceptable originality criteria (no more than 15% max total, and 2% per individual source match are allowed).

4. Save the file in Microsoft Word format using the following file naming convention: ISSC361_Project_First_Last.doc(x) (where first and last are your first and last names resp.) and submit the file in the assignment area

Originality report requirements:

1. The originality report must be less than 15% match 2. No single source shall be above 2%

I will give you the chance to rework your papers until an acceptable level of match is achieved. If turnitin.com matches more than 40% you will be subject to academic reporting.