Reference no: EM133389486

The following case is based upon real situations. Read all of the case study below and answer the following questions for the case study.

• What should be the very first course of action?

• Should the public be informed about the situation? If so, how will their trust be regained?

• What steps should be taken to prevent similar attacks in the future?

• What are the ethical issues of this situation?

• How should students be dealt with if they were the people initiating the attack?

Shoulder surfing

A former student "shoulder surfed" (physically observed) the password of an employee while still in high school. After graduating, he used this information to get into the district's student information system. From there, he gained access to a different district's payroll data including birth dates, social security numbers, and bank account information of 5000 current and former employees. This information was then used for identity theft purposes including requesting and using credit cards, creating checks and altering bank account information. The perpetrator was caught and arrested after attempting to use a fake check at a local store. At a cost of $62,000 the district gave all of the affected employees fraud prevention and resolution services. According to the district superintendent, the district suffered "damage to our reputation with the public and our employees. Hundreds of hours were spent investigating the extent of the compromised data and developing the plans and procedures to protect staff from further exposure to fraud.... answering employee questions and preparing internal and external communications. It is impossible to measure lost productivity as employees worried about their financial security and work to change bank account and payroll information."