MIS :: Electronic information

Electronic information is essential to the movement of political relation organizationalobjectives. Its reliability, integrity, and availability ar significant concerns in virtuallyaudits. The use of computer networks, particularly the Internet, is revolutionizing theway government conducts business. While the benefits ready been enormous and vastamounts of information are now literally at our fingertips, these interconnections alsopose significant risks to computer systems, information, and to the critical operationsand infrastructures they support. root word elements such as telecommunications,power distribution, national defense, law enforcement, and government and hintservices are subject to these risks. The same factors that benefit operations stop number andaccessibilityif not properly controlled, can leave them vulnerable to fraud, sabotage,and leering or mischievous acts. In addition, natural disasters and inadvertent errorsby genuine computer users can have devasta ting consequences if informationresources are seedy protected. Recent publicized disruptions caused by virus, worm,and denial of service attacks on twain commercial and governmental Web sites illustratethe potential for damage.Computer warrantor is of increasing importance to all levels of government in minimizingthe risk of venomous attacks from individuals and groups. These risks include thefraudulent loss or misuse of government resources, wildcat access to release of splendid information such as task and medical records, disruption of critical operationsthrough viruses or navvy attacks, and modification or destruction of data. The risk thatinformation attacks will venture vital national interests increases with the followingdevelopments in information technology Monies are increasingly transferred electronically between and amonggovernmental agencies, commercial enterprises, and individuals. Governments are promptly expanding their use of electronic commerce. Nation al defense and intelligence communities increasingly believe on commerciallyavailable information technology. Public utilities and telecommunications increasingly curse on computer systems tomanage everyday operations. More and more sensitive economic and commercial information is exchangedelectronically. Computer systems are cursorily increasing in complexity and interconnectivity. Easy-to-use hacker tools are readily available, and hacker activity is increasing. Paper supporting documents are being reduced or eliminated.Each of these factors significantly increases the need for ensuring the privacy, security,and availability of state and local government systems.Although as many as 80 percent of security breaches are probably never reported, thenumber of reported incidents is growing dramatically. For example, the number ofincidents handled by Carnegie-Mellon Universitys CERT Coordination Center1 hasmultiplied over 86 times since 1990,2 rising from 252 in 1990 to 21,756 in 2000. Further,the Center has handled over 34,000 incidents during the first three quarters of 2001.Similarly, the Federal self-assurance of Investigation (FBI) reports that its case load of