White Paper Risk Analysis Metric Machine Parts Supplies Corp - Assignment Example

? White paper risk analysis metric machine parts supplies corp. Introduction Metric machines parts and supplies Corp., experiencesfrequent network crashes, and this has led to the interruptions of customer service and e-mail service. It is, as the company says, quite costly. To overcome this problem, a better network solution has been proposed by Metric machines parts and supplies Corp., which have the following characteristics: availability, reliability, scalability, security, flexibility, performance management and economic efficiency. The CIO has also proposed that Metric machine parts and supplies will design and implement its own network by using advanced technologies that are highly available, efficient and manage security. This network will be operated by a small Information technology department (White, 2011). He further proposes the use of virtual private network (VPNs) technologies that will connect remote offices and users securely to facilitate the company’s expansion. Availability of the network will enable users to have the data always. The availability will then help the information technology department with the information it requires to track the organization’s network for any problems that may occur and to take the necessary steps to tackle them. Availability provides the required maximum uptime to business operations. According to White (2011), reliability is vital to Metric machine parts and supplies because of the 75,000 customers it serves. Reliability means that the network has to function as designed and produce the required results that are accurate to avoid interruptions caused by the systems crashes, which the company is experiencing today. Scalability means that the network must support the rapid growth rate at Metric machine parts and supplies and also support the plans for acquiring the various parts suppliers. For Metric machine and parts supplies to have a new design security of data is a priority, and, therefore, to achieve this security, some processes and procedures need to be followed and implemented. White (2011) further adds that Metric machine parts and supplies does not need to rely on other network management teams to operate its network. It has its own small team of Information technology specialists who can provide technical support to all the branch offices. To achieve the economic efficiency is paramount to the organization. The ongoing operations and maintenance costs should offset the initial investment costs, and therefore reduce the long-term overall cost of ownership of the network. Finally, the company is going to implement the use of virtual private network technologies designed to help connect the remote offices and the users securely (White, 2011). Policies, laws and technical controls should be implemented to ensure security of data and a better performing network. The organization must implement these policies to ensure availability and security of data (Tyson and Crawford, 2011). The rules must have behaviors that are likeable and unacceptable to employees using the Metric machines parts and supplies facilities. To enforce availability and reliability virtual private network must have the following equipment: the network access server which is responsible for maintaining and setting up each and every tunnel in a remote-access virtual private network. For the security of data and network the equipment, such as the firewalls, must be installed and act as a barrier between the private network and the internet. This will help protect against the internet traffic that is malicious (Tyson and Crawford, 2011). For authentication purposes, an authentication, authorization and accounting server needs to be installed. This will confirm who the users are and identify what the internet allows them to access. Impact The proposed solutions have a substantial impact on Metric machine parts and supplies as an organization. For example, data are reliable, and this provides correct and accurate customer information. Availability of data increases employee performance because the resources they need are readily available. The new network acquires new branches because of the flexibility factor, and this enables the network not to crash frequently. The implementation of the policies, laws and security equipment results into network security and the laws help control the behaviors of employees towards the company’s facilities. In addition, since Metric machine parts and supplies have its own Information technology specialist, they no longer have to employ people from outside, to manage their network. This will cut on cost and improve the company’s economic growth (White, 2011). Challenges and security risks Some of the challenges and security risks the company has are; due to increase in availability the network has alt of users accessing the data, hence compromising the data. Reliability makes the Information technology specialists have the mandate to keep on supporting the network to provide data that are accurate. This creates lot of time needed to perform the task, posing a challenge to the professionals for overtime. Scalability means rapid growth of acquisitions and this means more software and hardware to cater for this need. Metric machine parts and supplies have to spend more than required to acquire this equipment (White, 2011). The risk of data being tempered with is a possibility because of the traffic of the network that is modified while installing the Metric machine parts and supplies networks. Mitigation strategies The mitigation strategies to such security risks mean proper equipment installation. To ensure that data is readily available and reliable, access controls need implementation by Metric machine parts and supplies. As for data security, installation of antivirus and firewalls is needed to limit traffic entering and leave the computer (McDowell, 2009). Conclusion Metric machine parts and supplies new network helps the company to be scalable that is to acquire other branches rapidly. It also helps the company to achieve a more available and reliable data that are secured. The Virtual private network technologies encourage the remote locations to have access to the company’s resources. In addition, the new design increases the company’s economic growth by lowering the cost of network ownership. This is an achievable goal to the company. References McDowell, P. (2009). Understanding denial of service attacks. US: computer emergency readiness team. Tyson, J. and Crawford, S. (2011). How VPNs work. North Carolina: Discovery Company. White, M. (2011). 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