Cybersecurity Risk Analysis of a Publicly Traded e-Commerce Company

Researching the Chosen Company

Task:

For this project, you will begin by researching a publicly traded company that engages in e-Commerce. You will then review the company’s risk statements as published each year in the company’s Annual Report to Investors (also published in the company’s annual filing of SEC Form 10-K). After analyzing the company’s e-Commerce operations and its risk statements about those activities, you will construct and document your own cybersecurity risk analysis which focuses upon the company’s e-Commerce activities (including all supporting business processes).

A list of approved companies appears at the end of this file (see Table 2). If you wish to use a company not on the approved list you must first obtain the approval of your instructor.

Note: before beginning this assignment, you should review NIST SP 800-30 R1: Guide for Conducting Risk Assessments. Pay special attention to Appendix D: “Threat Sources: Taxonomy of Threats Sources Capable of Initiating Threat Events” and Appendix H: “Impact: Effects of Threat Events on Organizations, Individuals, and the Nation.”

Research Your Chosen Company
1.Review the company’s website to learn about the products and services which it sells via e-Commerce.
2.Retrieve and review the Hoovers profile for the company. These profiles are written by professional analysts; pay close attention to the types of questions the analysts ask and answer in the company profile. Use this URL to access the database http://ezproxy.umuc.edu/login?url=http://www.mergentonline.com/Hoovers
3.Use the search bar at the top of the “Search & Build a List” tab to find your chosen company.

4.The company profile web pages in the Hoovers database are interactive and have expanding menus / options (see figure below). You may find it helpful to use the “OneStop Report” button to generate a PDF version of the information. Select “Core” under categories (Available Fields: Company Summary, Contacts, Corporate Family, Corporate Overview, SWOT, and News). Click on the field names in the middle column to select them for your report.

5.After you have looked at the company website and the Hoovers report, Identify 3 or more additional sources of information about the company and how it operates in cyberspace. These can be news articles, data breach reports, etc.
6.Using the information obtained from your sources, identify the types of information and business operations which drive this company’s need for cybersecurity products and services. (What needs to be protected?)
Analyze the Company’s Risk Statements
1.Using the links from Table 1 (at the end of this file), download a copy of your selected company’s most recent Annual Report to Investors from its Form 10-K filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. (Note: the company is the author of its Form 10-K. Do not list the SEC as the author.)
2.Read and analyze the Risk Factors section in the company’s report to investors (Item 1.A). This section is a professionally written risk analysis that has been written for a specific audience. Pay close attention to what the company includes as risk factors and how the writers chose to present this information.
3.Analyze the risk factors to determine which ones are related to e-Commerce / Internet operations or are otherwise affected by the use of information in digital form and Information Technology systems and infrastructures. Make a list that shows what information, digital assets, and/or business operations (processes) need to be protected from cyberattacks and/or cybercrime (including insiders and external threats) and the type of risk or threat that could affect those assets and processes.

1.An introduction section which identifies the company being discussed and provides a brief introduction to the company including when it was founded and significant events in its history.
2.A business profile for the company. This information should include: headquarters location, key personnel, primary types of business activities and locations, major products or services sold by the company, major competitors, stock information (including ticker symbol or NASDAQ code), recent financial performance, and additional relevant information from the business profiles. (Use information from Hoovers and other authoritative sources)
3.An overview of the company’s e-Commerce operations which summarizes information obtained from its annual report, the Hoovers profile for the company, and other sources which you found in your research.
4.A separate section in which you describe this company’s needs or requirements for cybersecurity. What information and/or business operations need to be protected? While your focus should be upon the company’s e-Commerce activities, you should also address the back-office or supporting information and business processes required to deliver those e-commerce activities.
5.A separate section which provides a detailed summary of the identified risks and potential impacts upon the company’s operations as a whole. What are the likely sources of threats or attacks for each type of information or business operation? (E.g. protect customer information from disclosure or theft during online purchase transactions.). What are the possible impacts should these risks occur? You may present your summary in table format.