Secured Localization of a New Generation Global Computing System - Research Proposal Example

ID 19714 Academia Research Order No. 240144 11 September 2008 Research Proposal on Secured Localization of a New Generation Global Computing system Table of Contents: Introduction: In the modern era, IP networks have become a very important medium for interactions pertaining to business, sales, marketing, news & views, education, research, collaboration, etc. The computing systems ensuring formal Business to Business (B2B), Business to Customer (B2C) and Customer Relationship Management engagements within a single cultural framework have matured to such an extent that they have almost become a Legacy. However, similar systems at a Global level have not matured to a great extent given that the span of expectations of the global users and the local impacting factors varies considerably depending upon diverse Cultural Factors, Language, Writing style, Local beliefs, Currency, choice of graphics/icons, Annotations, Business Styles, etc (Perrault and Gregory, 2001). Attempts have been made to solve most of these challenges by enhancing technology systems. In today’s global computing world, advanced technology systems like multi-lingual Translation Engines, Distributed Computing, Overlay Computing, Component based Computing, Service Oriented Architecture, Cryptography Systems, etc have enhanced the experience of Global Computing to a large extent. These technology solutions definitely have enhanced the global computing experience. However, they cannot bridge the gaps in cultural acceptance of content of a Global Application. Example, a translator converting American English to German language might do an excellent job grammatically but the Germans may not like the writing style of translated script because of some cultural mismatch. This is the reason that some companies have preferred to maintain multi-lingual web-sites rather than relying upon the translation engines. Moreover, security has remained a large challenge in Global Computing posed by known threats and emerging threats turning up continuously (Perrault, Anna H and Gregory, 2001; Jones, Cameron and Twidale, Michael 2006). Other challenges that needs further research & enhancements pertaining to Global Computing are (but not limited to) Software Development, Platform Integration, Data Consistency, Speed & Performance, Identity Management, Legal & Compliance framework, Quality of Service, etc (Perrault, Anna H and Gregory, 2001; Jones, Cameron and Twidale, Michael 2006). Description of the Project and its Significance: Following are some examples of Global Computing platforms (Nicola, Rocco De, 2006): Internet: An integrated platform of millions of websites whereby practically every educated individual of the world gets millions of avenues to collaborate with the rest of world. Intranets and Extranets: Collaborative platforms deployed by an organization to interact with employees and customers. Virtual Private Networks: Secured connections between clients and servers via site-to-site and user to site encrypted tunnels. World Wide Web: An integrated platform of millions of IP based networks which can be used by businesses and people to connect to practically any part of the world. Telephone Network: Establishment of Voice over IP networks and their connectivity to local PSTN networks has created a virtual exchange which has empowered every multi-media enabled personal computer to act like a telephone. Moreover, such technologies have also presented Video over IP systems to global users such that they can interact with any Internet user across the globe using Video-Conferencing. GRID: A well co-ordinated multi-protocol network of resources across the world managed at higher layers of the OSI seven layer model without any centralized control that ensures proper personalization to an individual, groups and companies. Following is a partial list of applications of Global Computing platforms: Knowledge Enhancements Knowledge Management Business Process Collaborations and Transactions Trading, Sales, Marketing, Brand Building, etc. News and Views People Networking Financial Transactions Workforce Collaboration – Communications, Messaging and Conferencing Work Flow – A piece of working flowing among a number of individuals/groups to finally arrive at a result Cultural Collaborations Event Management – like live show publishing Software controlled Process Engineering controlled through web-enabled panels Remote Asset Management Remote Security Monitoring and Alerts Business Process, Technology Process and Knowledge Process outsourcing The above list can be expanded considerably in the current context as well as to include the evolving applications of the future. Given the wide range of current and future applications of Global Computing, the challenges are also stringent. This Research Proposal is pertaining to a detailed Research to be conducted on “Policies and Procedures that should be implemented by a Global Computing Service Provider/Organization to ensure Security in Localization”. A partial list of security systems in Global Computing that are used in the current context is (Seigneur, Jean-Marc, 2005): Secured Authentication Engines (Identity Management) also termed as Trust Engines Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) Secured Socket Layer (SSL) Message Integrity Systems – for reliable delivery of messages to the correct recipients Access Control Systems and Privileges IPSec (Secured IP networking) Certification Authorities Anti-Scamming and Anti-Spamming Anti-Malware Intrusion Detection and Prevention Data Security while creation, transit, storage and destruction Researches have been conducted on the effectiveness of these technologies. These technologies are very expensive – both from the perspective of implementation as well as management. The problem statement is – Should a Service Provider of Global Computing or an organization choose and implement every available technology to ensure secured Localized computing to global users without compromising on quality of service and deliverables? It has been found that all Global Computing service-providers/organizations like Google, Linkedin, Yahoo, IBM, Dell, eBay, etc have implemented their own policies and procedures in line with their own understanding of business models and financial limitations. However a single comprehensive framework, that can guide an organization to choose and implement the most appropriate security technologies against a thorough risk & applicability analysis, is not present for the Localizations services of Global Computing. The known and emerging threats pose urgency to Research, Analyze and Build such a framework which can form a strategic guide for all Global Computing organizations. It is hereby proposed that a detailed Research is undertaken against this challenge. Review of existing Research conducted on Global Computing Security: A Research on Trust, Security & Privacy in Global Computing conducted by Jean-Marc Seigneur, Doctor of Philosophy (Computer Science), University of Dublin has been analyzed. This research paper provides a detailed insight into the various Security Systems and Technologies used in Global Computing. This is an excellent and in-depth piece of work. This research can be used to establish a direction in order to take the analysis further to ensure that a Global Computing organization gets the benefits of the output of this research (Seigneur, Jean-Marc, 2005). Expected Outcomes: The tangible output will be a Guideline Document to: (a) Carry out a Business Risk Analysis – recommendations on the most appropriate methodology of risk analysis will help an organization to evaluate their business risks pertaining to Global Computing (b) Map it with the Assets deployed across world for Global Computing – The risk exposure of every asset contributing to the end to end Global computing (like Network components, Servers, Software Platforms, Language Engines, content management platforms, etc.) will be analyzed. (c) Pick and Choose the most appropriate technologies – will help to ensure optimal and most appropriate investments (d) Implement selected technologies (e) Prepare a Standard Operating Framework – will help to establish an operating framework around the technologies implemented (f) Prepare Policies and Procedures targeted towards secured localization experience of every authorized user (g) Prepare Policies and Procedures targeted towards protection of all the assets from unauthorized modifications by anonymous users Proposed method of the Research: The Research will be conducted by: (a) Carrying out a detailed study of policies and procedures pertaining to systems and information security in Global Computing companies. The methodology used would be to browse Internet, study various available policies/procedures, buy some books, articles and journals and take down important notes for a proper correlation later. (b) Prepare a general questionnaire that will take this research towards some practical scenarios (c) Select few companies, take appointment with their security managers and run them through the general questionnaire on this subject. (d) Study existing Research done on this subject (e) Study of the globally accepted security standards (like BS7799, ISO 27001, etc) and try to map the implementation to address this challenge. (f) Prepare the document and get it reviewed. Expected Time to complete the Research: This Research is expected to be completed in six months with the following approach: (a) Study on Internet and collecting books, journals, articles, etc. – One Month. (b) Preparation of the general questionnaire and interviewing Security Managers of some selected organizations having a Global Computing framework. – One Month (c) Study the outcomes of existing Research work on this subject – One Month (d) Study of Global Security Standards and mapping of their implementation to address this challenge – Two Months (e) Prepare the document and get it reviewed – One month. Expected size of Research Paper – about 150 pages References: Harvard – A Guide to referencing, Victoria University 2002, A new school of thought, Australia Leveson, Nancy. White paper on approaches to Safety Engineering. 2003 Natural Language Engines for Advanced Customer Interactions, Banter Inc., 2001 Milner, Robin. Modelling the Global Computer. 2002 Jones, Cameron and Twidale, Michael. One System Worldwide – Challenges to Global Information Systems. Graduate School of Library and Information Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. 2006 Nicola, Rocco De. Opportunities and Challenges of Global Computing, Dipartimento di Sistemi e Informatica, Universit`a di Firenze. 2006. Hermenegildo, Manuel. Grand Challenges in Software Development and Certification PowerToolsAnd Global Computing Foundations and Systems, CS Department, Technical University of Madrid, Spain (and CS and ECE Departments, University of New Mexico, USA), 2004 Perrault, Anna H and Gregory, Vicky L. Think Global Act Local – The challenges of taking the website Global. School of Library & Information Science. University of South Florida. 2001 Foster, Ion. What is the Grid? A three point checklist. Argonne National Laboratory & University of Chicago. 2002 Seigneur, Jean-Marc. Trust, Security and Privacy in Global Computing.Trinity College, University of Dublin. 2005. In addition to the cited references, I would like to extend my special thanks to all those who extended to me knowledge and information that helped me to put together this Research Proposal. On their request, their names have not been published herewith. Bibliography: Berman, Fran and Geoffry, Fox et al. Grid Computing: Making the Global Infrastructure a Reality. Wiley 2003. Global Computing. Programming Environments, Languages, Security, and Analysis of Systems. Springer Publishing, 2002 Li, Maozhen and Baker, Mark. The GRID – Core technologies. Wiley 2003. Nicola, Rocco De and Sangiorgi, Davide. Trustworthy Global Computing. Springer Publisher, 2006 Foster, Ion and Kesselman, Carl. The GRID-2 – Blueprint of a new computing infrasructure. Morgan Kauffmann, 2003 Dhillon, Gurpreet. Information security Management – Global Challenges in the New Millenium. IGI Global, 2001. Cameron, Debra. Global Network Security – Threats and Countermeasures, Computer Technology Research Corporation, 2000. Merkow, Mark and Breithaupt, James. Information Security – Principles and Practices. Prentice Hall, 2005 Peltier, Thomas. Information Security Risk Analysis. Auerbach publications, 2005 End of Document Read More