Internet Resource Guide for Security and Risk Analysis Majors

By Haley Shaw

Table of Contents
Front Matter .................................................................................................................................... 3 Whats in the Guide .................................................................................................................... 3 Who the Guide is For .................................................................................................................. 3 What the Guide Assumes ............................................................................................................ 3 How the Guide is Organized for Use .......................................................................................... 3 Tips for Using the Guide............................................................................................................. 4 Penn State Websites ........................................................................................................................ 5 The College of Information Sciences and Technology at Penn State ......................................... 6 ISTs COMPASS Service ........................................................................................................... 7 Government Websites ..................................................................................................................... 8 Catalog of U.S. Government Publications .................................................................................. 9 Statistical Abstract of the United States.................................................................................... 10 United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team.............................................................. 11 National Institute of Standards an Technology Computer Security Resource Center ........... 12 Private Sector Resources............................................................................................................... 13 Gartner ...................................................................................................................................... 14 Security Strategies Journal .........................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.

Front matter

Whats in the Guide

This Internet Resource Guide contains useful information related to undergraduate studies in Security and Risk Analysis majors and similar fields of study. The guide contains information about resources available on the Internet that would help students in their years of study at Penn State, either with general homework questions or in research related to their field. This guide contains both general websites as well as indexes, professional journals and resources put forth by the government of the United States.

Who the Guide is For

This Internet resource guide is intended for students at Penn State University who are majoring in Security and Risk Analysis or a similar major. It could be useful to students ranging from freshman to seniors and could be used by students considering Security and Risk Analysis as a major as well. Students who need resources for a thesis paper or research project could use this guide as well as students who need resources for a simple homework assignment.

What the Guide Assumes

This guide assumes the user is an undergraduate student at Penn State University and majoring or considering majoring in Security and Risk Analysis or possibly Information Sciences and Technology. This guide also assumes that the readers are familiar with how to use the internet and its resources. It assumes they have a general interest in the subjects being discussed and are interested in learning more about them. This guide will not teach the user; it will only show the user the resources that will help them learn.

How the Guide is Organized for Use

This guide is organized with the use of a table of contents at the beginning of the document. The resources are separated into three main categories. First, there are websites associated with Penn State. This section will probably only be useful to students enrolled at Penn State and in the College of IST. Next, there is a section of government websites. These will be useful to anyone studying Security and Risk Analysis or a similar field. The third section contains private sector sources. These are resources created by individual companies that students could use.

Tips for Using the Guide

Below are a few tips that can help with the use of this internet resource guide: Take advantage of the table of contents in this guide. It is easier to find exactly what you want before going through the entire document. Read through all of the abstracts before going to the webpage. The resource may not serve as a good resource for you, and by reading the abstract, time can be saved. Use the Location link to find the source quickly and easily.

Penn State Websites

This section of the internet resource guide contains two websites that are resources from Penn State. The first resources is general information about the College of IST at Penn State, and the second one is a job postings website that requires login credentials, which are obtained by being a member of the college.

The College of Information Sciences and Technology at Penn State

Website - Informational Location: http://www.ist.psu.edu/ Description The homepage of the College of Information Sciences and Technology can be useful to a student studying Security and Risk Analysis, a major within this college. The website has many useful resources including contact information, enrollment information, and much more. On the right hand side of the page is a blue box, which contains links to important information for an undergraduate student such as the different programs offered within the college, events happening within the college, information about faculty members who students might have to contact, and important announcements of what is happening in the college. On the left hand side of the page, there are general articles about news and research currently taking place. This information could be useful to undergraduate students interested in exploring career paths. Students also could use this feature of the website to find out about projects that interest them and possibly become a part of a project. On the top of the page there is a toolbar that targets each specific audience that would be coming to this page. Within the Current Students tab, there are many useful links that will give the current student almost anything they could be looking for. Tips Check the website regularly. The news and updates change and you can always find something that might interest you. Start using the resources on this website from the beginning of your time in the College of IST. You dont want to be a senior and then realize all the opportunities you missed while you were in school because you did not check this website. Get ahead early in your college career and use this website to make sure you are keeping up with what you need to be doing in order to graduate on time.

ISTs COMPASS Service

Website Job and Event Postings Location: https://ist-psu-csm.symplicity.com/students/ Description Every member of the College of Information Sciences and Technology at University Park is given the chance to join the COMPASS website that the college maintains. The website contains many good resources for any undergraduate student. The main feature of COMPASS is the job postings page, which lists full-time jobs as well as summer internships. In some cases, students can apply to the job on this website but in other case there is a link to the companys website to apply. It is very easy and very straightforward. Another feature of COMPASS is the page where students can sign up for events happening within the College of IST. Companies occasionally visit the college and want to host students, but can only host a certain number. These types of events are posted in COMPASS and students can sign up for them on a first come first serve basis. One last service of COMPASS is the feature where students can sign up for job interviews. If a student applies to a job through COMPASS and is selected for an interview, they can log into the homepage and a box will pop up where they can select the time they would like for the interview. This website makes it a lot easier for students to become part of the professional world. Tips: Take advantage of your access to this website. Sign up for events with companies early in your college career in order to network and put yourself in a good position to have a job when you graduate. The College of IST requires all students to complete an internship. Do not put it off until your last year in case you do not get one. Apply to internships on this website as a freshman or sophomore and you might get one. Make sure you keep your documents that are uploaded to the website up to date. You do not want to apply for a job and realize that the resume you used is an old version.

Government Websites
These next four resources are products of the United States government. There are two general websites and two databases that relate to the studies of Security and Risk Analysis.

Catalog of U.S. Government Publications

Database U.S. Government Location: http://catalog.gpo.gov/F The Catalog of U.S. Government Publications is a tool that allows the user to search through federal publications, both historical and current, and offers links to those publications available online. These publications come from the legislative, executive and judicial branches of the U.S. government and are updated daily. Users are able to search by agency, title, subject, and keyword. There are several other features of the Catalog of U.S. Government Publications. Within each record, the user can take advantage of the Locate a Library feature and find the record in a nearby federal repository or find where they can get expert assistance. In addition, the searches can be narrowed down to specific collections or formats. This tool can be useful for students studying Security and Risk Analysis because it offers official government reports in regards to security. An example report that can be found on this website is Transportation Security: Action Needed to Strengthen TSAs Security Threat Assessment Process. This report is an adjudication of the practices and performances of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and is just like reports studied in Security and Risk Analysis classes at Penn State. Tips: You can use the Advanced Search feature to have more success in finding what you want.

Statistical Abstract of the United States

Database U.S. Government Location: http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/ The Statistical Abstract of the United States is both a print and online source of information. It provides statistics of social, political and economic conditions in the United States annually and has done so since 1878. Both government and private organizations provide data to the website in order to compile the abstracts. The website is very easy to use with the main subjects down the left-hand side of the home page. By clicking any one of them, the user will get a page where they can choose a file to open, which contains the data. This website can be useful to people studying Security and Risk Analysis in many different ways. Anything can be found, from statistics relating to national security to employment statistics of people studying science and technology. The article Civilian Employment of Scientists, Engineers, and Related Occupations by Occupation and Industry: 2008 could be useful for a Security and Risk Analysis student to use. This article gives employments statistics of fields relating to Security and Risk analysis and a student could use it to see if it is a good field to study and be employed after college. Tips: Scan over all of the categories and sub-categories on the left-hand side before choosing one. The documents are short so they can be read quickly.

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United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team

Website U.S. Government Location: http://www.us-cert.gov/ Description This website is an official US government website with many resources. First, at the top of the page, there is a place for anyone visiting the website to subscribe to an email list that will provide them with security alerts, tips and updates. Below that section, there are two main columns on the page. On the left there is a section with current activity. It shows which software has recently had updates and tells if there are any big problems. On the right side of the page there is a section of announcements. In this section the website tells the user about big events in the world that could affect malicious intent online. Below this section is a place where the website tells the user of recent vulnerabilities. By clicking on any one of them the user can find out an overview of the vulnerability, a description, the impact of the vulnerability, and a solution to the problem. It also gives information on who is most likely to acquire this vulnerability. Perhaps one of the most useful sections on this website is back on the homepage. At the top of the screen, there is a button that says Report. Any user can come to this page and report if they have had an incident on the internet with phishing, malware, or other vulnerabilities. This can be useful to put a stop to the vulnerability for everyone else. Students will find this website helpful through information they can find about these vulnerabilities. Also, there is a publications section that can offer good resources to the student to use in reports. Tips: Sign up for the email list that provides security alerts, tips and updates. It might save your computer from becoming infected with some kind of vulnerability. Read some of the publications. Though some may be long, they have a lot of useful information for reports and even life in general.

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National Institute of Standards and Technology Computer Security Resource Center

Website U.S. Government Location: http://csrc.nist.gov/ Description This website for the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) contains many useful resources for a student studying Security and Risk Analysis. On the homepage there are many different sections that have information. First, on the left are Quick Resources which contain internal and external links with useful websites that a user would be interested in if they were already on the NIST website. Another useful section for students is the publications section. There is a small section on the homepage as well as a link across the top of the page that takes the user to all of the publications contained on the website. By clicking this link, the user can then choose which category they would like, on the left-hand side of the page then they are taken to a page that contains the publications. This website is useful for students to use for research projects. Some of the publications seem very advanced, perhaps more advance than an undergraduate student will need to know, but these sources could be useful for a these paper or research project. Tips: Use the search feature on the top right hand side of the website to find what you need. Use the Quick Resources section to find more trusted resources.

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Private Sector Resources

The last two resources in this internet resource guide are an index and a journal relating to Security and Risk Analysis. They are resources of private companies and are both available to the public.

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Gartner
Index Location: http://www.gartner.com/technology/home.jsp Description Gartner, Inc. is the worlds leading information technology research and advisory company. They offer up to date technology-related information to clients in over 13,000 different organizations from the government sector to the private sector. Their website is filled with resources including an index of thousands of articles useful to a student studying Security and Risk Analysis. On the homepage of the Gartner website there is a search bar on the top right-hand side where the user can search through these articles. The articles contain many different subjects, but all of them relate to information technology. They could be used for general homework questions as well as a research project because this is a reliable resource. Within each article there is a small biography of the author of the article, with a link to a more full biography. After the article there is also a place for responses to the article. In this section there are either links to other articles on other websites relating to the article, or there are comments from readers. Only registered users can post comments and the registered users are the people that use Gartner, Inc. as a consulting company. Tips: Browse through the articles and find an author that suits the research you are conducting. You can go to their profile page and browse all of the articles that they have written.

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Journal of Strategic Security

Journal Location: http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/jss/ Description The Journal of Strategic Security (JSS) is a journal published by Henley-Putnam University with support from the University of South Florida Libraries. It is a peer-reviewed professional journal and published four times per year. The journal talks about key issues related to national security such as terrorism, extremism, and other security threats. On the website, all of the articles and book reviews from the most recent issue are available in PDF format. This resource could be very useful to a student studying Security and Risk Analysis in many ways. It would be a good resource for students to read in their free time because it has a lot of good background information on issues plaguing the United States everyday. In order to be competitive in the job market, a student need to know more than only what they learned in class, and this is a good place to get information. It could also be very useful in research projects. The articles contained in the journal include very interesting and valuable data. Tips: The articles contain abstracts. Read the abstracts before you spend time reading the full article to make sure that the article will relate to what you need. On the left hand side of the screen you can select an issue to read. There are many issues to read and take advantage of the content.

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