You will select an issue and pick a senior official associated with that issue and prepare an issue paper for that official. The paper should discuss the pros and cons and implications of the issue and make recommendation(s) with rationale. Remember that you are thinking (and writing) as a well-informed manager and you should understand your official and his/her interests, constraints, and what he/she already knows about this issue so you do not waste your words on a simplistic explanatory paper.
This paper is limited to 8 double-spaced pages, excluding the cover sheet and References. Please cite sources within the body of the paper as necessary and provide a separate References page with complete citations, using correct APA format.
The paper should address how to manage the implementation of any recommendations.
The following are details of the scenario that you will use when you flesh out your paper.
Issue and Senior Official Chosen for this assignment
|
Issues |
Senior Officials |
|
1.Economic espionage and theft |
Director of National Intelligence |
1. Economic Espionage and Theft
You are a staff assistant to the principal that you picked. You are asked to attend a meeting with your boss. Pan American International Bank has been penetrated electronically by a sophisticated opponent. The bank has “lost” hundreds of millions of dollars; no one knows how much because bank records have been altered. Bank IT security officials have also discovered that the bank has been used as a conduit to implant Trojan Horses in the computer systems of several of its major clients. These clients all appear to be high technology firms involved in leading edge research and development. Analysis of one Trojan Horse indicates that it surreptitiously collects and covertly forwards data to an IP address in the Netherlands. An investigation report by Dutch authorities report that this IP address forwards the data to an ever-changing set of other IP addresses in many countries. Attempts to patch the problem by bank IT security experts and consultants have failed. Pan American’s CEO is concerned about insolvency and liability. The National Deposit Insurance Corporation is investigating the bank’s books and has indicated that it may take over the bank. As the bank is one of Wall Street’s largest, with a broad international reach into Latin America and elsewhere, Senator Jones (D-NY), a member of both the Senate Finance Committee and Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, is very concerned and asked for this meeting. Senator Jones has made no secret of his preference for the U.S. Government to step in and use its offensive cyber capabilities to counter and destroy the perpetrator(s). Senator Jones asks “What can be done? And why are we not doing it?” Your boss asks you to prepare an appropriate issue paper with recommendations.
