Accounting Information System

When global firms like Home Depot, Office of Personnel Management, and Target become prime targets for hackers, the attack themselves become front-page news. Financial and personal data have been compromised despite firms having measures in place. You will review three firms (only one firm being the Home Depot, OPM, or Target breach) where a successful attack was made on their systems by hackers. In terms of the second & third firms, you are free to select a breach/attack that occurred within the last three years.

Paper Layout

• Part I (Facts of Case #1): You will describe what happened and how did the firm respond to the breach/attack. Also, you will identify and discuss how consumers reacted to the breach/attack. Finally, assess how much responsibility should lie with the firm per this breach/attack.

• Part II (Facts of Case #2): You will describe what happened and how did the firm respond to the breach/attack. Also, you will identify and discuss how consumers reacted to the breach/attack. Finally, assess how much responsibility should lie with the firm per this breach/attack.

• Part III (Facts of Case #3): You will describe what happened and how did the firm respond to the breach/attack. Also, you will identify and discuss how consumers reacted to the breach/attack. Finally, assess how much responsibility should lie with the firm per this breach/attack.

• Part IV (Prevention): Identify and discuss at least three measures firms must take to limit/prevent breaches and attacks from happening. One of your preventive measures must be a technology-based measure, such as robotic processing automation (RPA), blockchain, artificial intelligence (AI), or data analytics would have prevented/limited the impact of data breaches.

• Part V (Role of the Government & Others): In this section, discuss the role that the Federal Government and large associations (e.g., ISACA, AICAP, IIA) should play regarding preventing/limiting breaches. Be sure to speak about the Government first and then pick an association to discuss.

• Part VI (Awareness): Explain how this assignment will make you more aware of data breaches. Identify and discuss a set of recommendations you can take to protect yourself and your firm if you are working.

Paper Guidelines

• Page Length: Your response should not exceed eight pages (double-spaced) or four pages (single-spaced). Note that the cover page, reference page, and appendix, if provided are excluded from the page count.

• References: You will need to include at least four literary references and at least four in-text citations to support your paper. These references must be related directly to the topics covered in the paper. References & citations must be properly formatted as noted below.

• Headings: You will need to use headings (short, brief, and centered) to separate each area of your paper. Your headings should have an appropriate title such as Prevention instead of Part IV.

• Margins & Font Sizes: Use standard margins (minimum .5"; maximum 1.5") and standard font size (minimum 10 point; maximum 12 point) in your paper.

• Writing Style: APA is the preferred writing style, but you can choose any appropriate writing style (e.g. MLA), except that all references are to be formatted via APA. Please consult the UMGC Effective Writing Center (http://www.umgc.edu/writingcenter/index.cfm) for assistance regarding the choice of styles and formatting of references via APA.