Assessment 2: Responding to a data breach

Topic overview

In 2013 the Target corporation in the US suffered a massive data breach, exposing over 100 million customers’ personal information (including credit card numbers). Analysis of the events of the breach, and the factors that contributed to it, revealed a long and complex chain of weaknesses and mistakes made by Target and its business partners. Your task is as follows:

1. Read the following paper, which can be found here: https://doi.org/10.48550/ 1701.04940

Shu, X., Tian, K., & Ciambrone, A. (2017). Breaking the target: an analysis of target data breach and lessons learned. arXiv preprint arXiv:1701.04940.

2. Answer the following questions:
   • Identify and describe one key technical vulnerability that contributed to the breach (30 marks)
   • Propose a technical control that would have prevented or mitigated the damage resulting from this vulnerability being exploited. Clearly explain how the suggested control would address the identified vulnerability (30 marks)
   • Describe a failure in Target’s response to the breach, in the context of the Kill Chain methodology (20 marks)

Assessment guidance

This assignment submission has two parts:

• Questions a) and b) must be answered in approximately 500 words and submitted as a PDF
• The answer to question c) must be submitted as an audio file of between 2 and 4 minutes in length

The marking rubric is given below. A suggestion for the format of the assignment is as follows:

• For the written component:
  • Identify and describe the vulnerability
  • Identify and describe the control
• Describe how the control addresses the vulnerability
• References (referencing and citation should use APA format)
• For the audio component:
  • Identify and describe a failure in Target’s response
  • Identify and describe this phase of the breach using the Kill Chain framework as a reference
  • Referencing is NOT required

Audio may be recorded using any method that produces a high-quality audio file of a suitable type. Suggestions for software to use to record the audio file:

• Zoom meeting client (use ‘Record to this computer’ option)
• Windows Sound Recorded or Voice Recorder
• QuickTime on the Mac
• Audacity (excellent free audio utility available for Windows and Mac)
• OBS

Submission format

In keeping with La Trobe University policy, all assignments are to be submitted in Moodle via Turnitin (link provided at bottom of this page and on main Assessments page).

To be accepted, your assessment submission must generate a similarity score (you are responsible for checking this). Submitting in Word or PDF format is the best way to do this. If your submission does not generate a similarity score, it cannot be checked for plagiarism and, therefore will not be marked.