Unit 05 Security Assignment
Unit 05 Security Assignment
Higher Nationals
Internal verification of assessment decisions – BTEC (RQF)
INTERNAL VERIFICATION – ASSESSMENT DECISIONS
• Constructive?
Y/N
• Linked to relevant assessment
criteria? Y/N
Give details:
Internal Verifier
Date
signature
Programme Leader
Date
signature (if required)
Resubmission Feedback:
Pearson
Higher Nationals in
Computing
Unit 5: Security
General Guidelines
1. A Cover page or title page – You should always attach a title page to your assignment. Use previous page as your cover
sheet and make sure all the details are accurately filled.
2. Attach this brief as the first section of your assignment.
3. All the assignments should be prepared using a word processing software.
4. All the assignments should be printed on A4 sized papers. Use single side printing.
5. Allow 1” for top, bottom , right margins and 1.25” for the left margin of each page.
1. The font size should be 12 point, and should be in the style of Time New Roman.
2. Use 1.5 line spacing. Left justify all paragraphs.
3. Ensure that all the headings are consistent in terms of the font size and font style.
4. Use footer function in the word processor to insert Your Name, Subject, Assignment No, and Page Number on each
page. This is useful if individual sheets become detached for any reason.
5. Use word processing application spell check and grammar check function to help editing your assignment.
Important Points:
1. It is strictly prohibited to use textboxes to add texts in the assignments, except for the compulsory information. eg:
Figures, tables of comparison etc. Adding text boxes in the body except for the before mentioned compulsory information
will result in rejection of your work.
2. Avoid using page borders in your assignment body.
3. Carefully check the hand in date and the instructions given in the assignment. Late submissions will not be accepted.
4. Ensure that you give yourself enough time to complete the assignment by the due date.
5. Excuses of any nature will not be accepted for failure to hand in the work on time.
6. You must take responsibility for managing your own time effectively.
7. If you are unable to hand in your assignment on time and have valid reasons such as illness, you may apply (in writing)
for an extension.
8. Failure to achieve at least PASS criteria will result in a REFERRAL grade .
9. Non-submission of work without valid reasons will lead to an automatic RE FERRAL. You will then be asked to complete
an alternative assignment.
10. If you use other people’s work or ideas in your assignment, reference them properly using HARVARD referencing system
to avoid plagiarism. You have to provide both in-text citation and a reference list.
11. If you are proven to be guilty of plagiarism or any academic misconduct, your grade could be reduced to A REFERRAL or
at worst you could be expelled from the course
Student Declaration
I hereby, declare that I know what plagiarism entails, namely to use another’s work and to present it as my own
without attributing the sources in the correct way. I further understand what it means to copy another’s work.
Assignment Brief
Student Name /ID Number W.M. Nisal Yuwin Weerasinghe / E005528
Unit Tutor
Issue Date
Submission Date
Submission Format:
The submission is in the form of an individual written report. This should be written in a concise, formal
business style using single spacing and font size 12. You are required to make use of headings, paragraphs
and subsections as appropriate, and all work must be supported with research and referenced using the
Harvard referencing system. Please also provide an end list of references using the Harvard referencing
system.
METROPOLIS CAPITAL Bank is one of the leading private banking service providers in Sri Lanka. It
operates over 100 branches and 500 ATM machines across the island as well as 8 Branches overseas. In
order to provide their services, METROPOLIS CAPITAL Bank has a primary datacenter located in
Colombo and a Secondary datacenter located in Galle. Each branch and ATM must have connectivity to
the core banking system to be able to operate normally. In order to establish the connectivity between
datacenters, branches and ATM machines, each location has a single ISP link. This link provides VPN
services between branches, ATMs and datacenters as well as MPLS services for the bank and it
establishes connectivity between datacenters, ATMs, and branches.
METROPOLIS CAPITAL Banks Head Office is a 5 Story Building in Kollupitiya with the Ground
Floor allocated for Customer Services, the First Floor allocated for HR, the Second Floor allocated for
Meeting Rooms and Senior Executive Staff, the Third Floor is allocated for the Technical Support Team
and the Fourth Floor hosts High Performance Servers running core banking systems. Fifth Floor is for
some other outside companies that are not related with the METROPOLIS CAPITAL Bank. Other than
this, METROPOLIS CAPITAL bank provides a lot of services to customers including online and mobile
banking facilities. Therefore, their core banking system must communicate with several outside systems
and all communication between outside systems, Data centers and the Head Office is protected by a
single firewall. In Addition, METROPOLIS CAPITAL Bank has recently implemented a bring your
own device (BYOD) concept for Senior Executive Staff and HR Departments and to facilitate this, they
are providing employee WiFi as well as a guest WiFi Hotspot.
The bank has signed agreements, AMCs, contracts and NDAs with several Local and foreign IT service
vendors. Some local vendors provide services and supports to foreign companies. METROPOLIS
CAPITAL Banks Technical Support Team is a local third-party vendor, contracted by METROPOLIS
CAPITAL Bank and managed by their Supply chain management officer. The Technical Support Team
provides onsite and remote support for their customers.
METROPOLIS CAPITAL bank strictly follows the rules and regulations enforced by the government
and the Central Bank. Therefore, they have obtained the ISO 31000:2009 certification. In addition to
this, the areas of datacenters, branches, ATM and HQ is covered by CCTV and 24x7 monitoring is
happening. Other security functions like VA scanning, internal auditing, and security operation done by
the bank employees. They have purchased a VA scanning tool, Privilege access management (PAM)
system, Endpoint detection and respond (EDR) system, Data loss prevention (DLP) tool, Web
application firewall (WAF) and Secure mail gateway which are managed by the Technical Support
Team.
It has been reported that an emergency is likely to occur where a work from home situation may be
initiated. Therefore, you have been employed by METROPOLIS CAPITAL Bank as a Network Security
Analyst to recommend and implement a suitable Security solution to facilitate this situation.
Activity 01
Discuss and assess the security procedures and types of security risks METROPOLIS CAPITAL
Bank may face under its current status and evaluate a range of physical and virtual security measures
that can be employed to ensure the integrity of organizational IT security. You also need to analyze
the benefits of implementing network monitoring systems for METROPOLIS CAPITAL Bank with
valid reasons in order to minimize security risks identified and enhance the organizational security.
Activity 02
2.1 Discuss how an incorrect/improper configuration for network infrastructure such as firewall and VPN
could impact METROPOLIS CAPITAL Bank. Assess IT security risks that may face by the employees of
METROPOLIS CAPITAL Bank and propose how the organization can facilitate their employees with a
“Secure remote working environment”.
2.2. Discuss how following technologies would benefit METROPOLIS CAPITAL Bank and its Clients to
increase network performance. (Support your answer with suitable illustrations).
i) Static IP,
ii) NAT
iii)DMZ
Activity 03
Review risk assessment procedures for METROPOLIS CAPITAL Bank to protect itself and its clients.
Explain the mandatory data protection laws and procedures which will be applied to data storage solutions
provided by METROPOLIS CAPITAL Bank. Explain the topic "ISO 31000 risk management
methodology" and summarize the ISO 31000 risk management methodology and its application in IT
security. Analyze possible impacts to organizational security resulting from an IT security audit.
Recommend how IT security can be aligned with organizational Policy, detailing the security impact of
any misalignment.
Activity 04
4.1 Design and Implement suitable security policy to prevent misuse and exploitations in line with
METROPOLIS CAPITAL Bank using the Organizational policy tools for the given scenario,
While evaluating and justifying the suitability of the tools used in an organizational policy to meet
business needs. Identify the stakeholders who are subject to the METROPOLIS CAPITAL Bank and
describe the role of these stakeholders to build security audit recommendations for the organization.
4.2 Discuss and present a disaster recovery plan for METROPOLIS CAPITAL Bank for all their sites to
guarantee maximum reliability to their clients. (Student must develop a PowerPoint-based
presentation which illustrates the recovery plan within 15 minutes of time including justifications and
reasons for decisions and options used).
Grading Rubric
Grading Criteria Achieved Feedback
Table of Contents
Acknowledgement ....................................................................................................... 15
Activity 01 .................................................................................................................. 16
1.1 Security Procedures and Types of Security Risks: ....................................................... 16
1.1.1 Physical Security Measures: .................................................................................. 16
1.1.2 Cybersecurity Measures: ........................................................................................ 16
1.1.3 Operational Measures: ........................................................................................... 16
1.1.4 Employee-Related Measures: ................................................................................ 17
1.2 Benefits of Network Monitoring Systems: ................................................................... 17
Activity 02 .................................................................................................................. 18
2.1 Incorrect/Improper Configuration for Network Infrastructure: .................................... 18
2.1.1 IT Security Risks for Employees: .......................................................................... 18
2.1.2 Facilitating a Secure Remote Working Environment: ........................................... 18
2.1 Static IP: ......................................................................................................................... 19
2.2 NAT (Network Address Translation): ............................................................................ 19
2.3 DMZ (Demilitarized Zone): .......................................................................................... 20
Activity 3 ................................................................................................................... 21
3.1 Review of Risk Assessment Procedures: ...................................................................... 21
3.2 Mandatory Data Protection Laws and Procedures: ....................................................... 21
3.3 ISO 31000 Risk Management Methodology: ............................................................... 21
3.4 Impacts of IT Security Audit: ....................................................................................... 22
3.5 Alignment of IT Security with Organizational Policy: ................................................. 22
Activity 04 .................................................................................................................. 23
4.1 Design and Implementation of Security Policy: ........................................................... 23
4.1.1 Evaluation of Organizational Policy Tools: ........................................................... 23
4.1.2 Identification of Stakeholders: ............................................................................... 23
4.2 PowerPoint-based presentation which illustrates the recovery plan for a METROPOLIS
CAPITAL Bank ...................................................................................................................... 25
References .................................................................................................................. 33
Table of Figure
Figure 1 Slide01 DR Plan METROPOLIS CAPITAL Bank ............................................................ 25
Figure 2 about Metropolis Capital Bank ................................................................................. 25
Figure 3 Why Recovery Plan ................................................................................................... 26
Figure 4 Risk Assessment ........................................................................................................ 26
Figure 5 Types of Disasters Considered .................................................................................. 27
Figure 6 Recovery Time Objectives (RTO) and Recovery Point Objectives (RPO) .................. 27
Figure 7 Critical IT Systems and Data ...................................................................................... 28
Figure 8 Backup and Data Protection ..................................................................................... 28
Figure 9 Redundancy and Failover Systems............................................................................ 29
Figure 10 Communication Plan ............................................................................................... 29
Figure 11 Testing and Training ................................................................................................ 30
Figure 12 Vendor and Third-Party Coordination .................................................................... 30
Figure 13 Continuous Improvement ....................................................................................... 31
Figure 14 Legal and Regulatory Compliance ........................................................................... 31
Figure 15 Conclusion ............................................................................................................... 32
Acknowledgement
Before heading into the proceedings of this assignment I would like to thank my lecturer
Ms. Kavindi for all her effort made to coach me and my colleagues. Your guidance and
support was most needed and the motivations helped. And I would like to thank Esoft
organization for giving me this opportunity to reveal out my talents though the
assignment. I would like to thank my friends in batch 2022/23 Feb/March for all the
support.
Thanks, You
W.M. Nisal Yuwin Weerasinghe
Activity 01
METROPOLIS CAPITAL Bank faces a multitude of security risks across its diverse
operations. Physically, the vulnerability lies in unauthorized access to critical areas such
as datacenters, branches, and ATMs. Cybersecurity risks encompass network
vulnerabilities, potential breaches of the single firewall protecting communications, and
the introduction of BYOD, which adds complexity and increases the risk of device-related
vulnerabilities. Operational risks stem from dependence on third-party vendors and the
need to maintain regulatory compliance. Moreover, employee-related risks, including
insider threats and potential security lapses in unsecured WiFi networks, contribute to the
overall risk landscape.
ensure ongoing compliance with security standards. Regular internal audits will further
validate adherence to regulatory requirements.
Activity 02
can fortify the security of employees' devices. Encouraging the use of secure, password-
protected home WiFi networks and providing guidelines for securing personal routers
mitigates the risk associated with unsecured networks. Enforcing multi-factor
authentication (MFA) for remote access adds an extra layer of security against
unauthorized access. The deployment of remote monitoring tools enables the tracking of
employee activities, ensuring early detection of any suspicious behavior or security
incidents. Regular security audits of remote devices and networks identify and address
potential vulnerabilities, contributing to an overall robust IT security posture for remote
employees.
guard against certain types of cyber threats, bolstering the overall security posture of the
bank. Furthermore, NAT facilitates internet access for multiple clients by enabling them
to share a single public IP address, ensuring efficient utilization of the limited pool of
public IPs (CISCO, 2020).
Activity 3
The ISO 31000 risk management methodology provides a structured and international
standard for effective risk management processes. In the context of METROPOLIS
CAPITAL Bank's IT security, this methodology guides the organization in identifying,
assessing, treating, monitoring, and communicating risks systematically. By establishing
the context, identifying risks, assessing their potential impact, implementing risk
treatment strategies, and continuously monitoring and reviewing these processes, the bank
can integrate a risk management culture that aligns with organizational objectives.
Activity 04
To enhance the effectiveness of the security policy, METROPOLIS CAPITAL Bank can
leverage various organizational policy tools. Security Information and Event
Management (SIEM) tools provide real-time monitoring and analysis, while Data Loss
Prevention (DLP) solutions prevent unauthorized data transfers. Identity and Access
Management (IAM) systems offer centralized control over user access, and Security
Awareness Training Platforms educate employees. Endpoint Protection Platforms (EPP)
ensure comprehensive protection against malware and other threats. These tools provide
automation, monitoring, and enforcement capabilities, aligning with the organization's
business needs.
Figure 6 Recovery Time Objectives (RTO) and Recovery Point Objectives (RPO)
Figure 15 Conclusion
References
Arnal, C., 2023. Strengthening Security: The Power of Multiple Layers Against Advanced Threats.
[Online]
Available at: 2023
Ask, 2023. The Benefits of Implementing Network Monitoring Tools for IT Security. [Online]
Available at: https://www.ask.com/news/benefits-implementing-network-monitoring-tools-
security
Burton, D., 2020. The Dangers of Firewall Misconfigurations and How to Avoid Them. [Online]
Available at: https://www.akamai.com/blog/security/the-dangers-of-firewall-misconfigurations-
and-how-to-avoid-them
Lunaproxy, 2023. Advantages And Disadvantages Of Data Center IP And Static Residential IP.
[Online]
Available at: https://www.lunaproxy.com/help/blog/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-data-
center-ip-and-static-residential-ip
[Accessed 28 12 2023].