Information Systems Management Management

Question: Identify the common ways hackers use to gain access to systems and SECONDLY to analyse and evaluate the methods and systems that are being used to block the attacks and defend the systems. Answer: Information Systems security is pretty important these days since all of the information is stored on computer systems and networks which are accessed by many people who make changes to the saved information and add or modify or delete the information. Information Systems of businesses and corporates are of crucial importance since they contain all of the companys data regarding the employees, employees details, business deals, strategies etc., and if the information system gets compromised then all of the information of the company will get leaked and thus pose a risk for the companys future (Bosworth and Kabay, 2002). There may be several purposes of hacking into information systems. Lets take a look at them one by one: Hacking to disrupt the companys working or to steal data: Often rival companies and business hire hackers to hack into other companys information systems and get vital information about their strategies and plan of actions etc (Schifreen, 1994). Hacking for fun: Sometimes there are some hackers who do it just for fun, they will hack into an information system and play with the content and then leave them. Though there is less risk of data loss in this case but there is a significant modification done by hackers which then results in risks for the future developments to be taking place in the company. Hacking to Prove: There are also hackers who do hacking to show some top organizations who claim their security systems to be unhackable that their systems can be hacked. Though this does less to no harm to the organisation since the organisations pay the hacker later on to let the organisation about the vulnerability he/she exploited and the ways to fix it (Nf, 2001). Therefore, some hackers make an earning from it. Sometimes, hackers amongst themselves bet on who will hack a particular organisations information system. And thus the information systems get hacked. Hacking to steal money: In some cases where the information systems of banks are hacked, the hacker not only wants to get access the information system but also tries to steal money by transferring them into his / her account. Hackers may also hack an organisations information systems to sell that information to the companys rivals and earn money through it (Orlov, 2012). Hacking for status: Some hackers may also hack information system to get a status and position among the fellow hackers. Hacking in competition / war: Sometimes, the rivalry of two nations or regions also comes into the hacking arena, where hackers from two countries try to hack into the systems and destroy data of the other country. One such example is the hacking war which was prevalent in Indian and Pakistanis hackers in the year 2013 where hackers from both the nations would hack into the websites and information systems of the other nation and then would leave a mark of their group or country on the hacked website or the system. Above mentioned were the main reasons why hacking of information takes place and it also highlights the potential threats that the victims may face after the hacking takes place. In some cases it is good since the hacker lets the organisation know about its information systems weakness while in other cases it is pretty harmful since the hacker may use the information for his / her own personal benefits or may sell the data to earn money from it. Based on the reasons of hacking mentioned above. The hackers can be divided among three basic categories: Black Hat hackers: Black hat hackers are the ones who hack into information systems to harm the organisation and steal data or money from the information system. White Hat hackers: White hat hackers are the hackers, which some large organisations employ in their organisation to protect their information systems from outside hackers. White hat hackers try to make the information systems security foolproof so that no black hat hacker can gain unauthorized access to the information system and steal data or money (Joe and Ramakrishan, 2014). Grey Hat hackers: Grey hat hackers are the ones which lie somewhere between the black hat hackers and the white hat hackers. They hack into the systems without the permission of the administrator but do not steal any data. They do it mostly for fun or if they want they would ask the organisation to pay them money to tell the organisation about a potential exploit which helped them to hack into the system. Some recent hacking attempts and hackings: Operation Aurora: Operation Aurora which happened in the year 2009 was a cyber-attack series on top IT organisations in the world including the likes of Google, Yahoo, Adobe, Rackspace etc from June 2009 to December 2009. This attack was done by a group of hackers called the Elderwood Group based in Beijing (China). It is said to have been supported by the Peoples Liberation Army in China. After the hacking attempts stopped Google quit the Chinese market and later revealed about the attacks in a blog post. Truecaller Hack: Truecaller which is a mobile application which gets the information of an unknown number which calls on your mobile phone so that you know if you want to pick up a particular call or not was hacked in the year 2013 (Agwu, 2013). The database of true caller was hacked due to which the private information of thousands of customers was compromised. Truecaller was hacked by a group of hackers called the Syrian Electronic Army or SEA. Ebay Hack: In February-March 2014, Ebay was hacked by some unknown hackers due to which the records of over 233 million customers and users was stolen including usernames, phone numbers, passwords and even physical addresses of the users. Sony Pictures Entertainment: On November 14, 2014, Sony Pictures Entertainments data was hacked by a group of hackers who called themselves Guardians of Peace also called GoP and asked the banning of the movie The Interview which was based on the assassination of a leader from North Korea named Kim Jong-un. And it was alleged that the North Korean government sponsored the attack, but the North Korean government denied from taking any responsibility of the attacks (Fischetti, 2011). The attacks compromised private of Sony, including its employees details, details about the employees families etc. The above mentioned hacks were some of the largest hacks of Information Systems to have been taken place in the past few years in which a large amount of data and information was compromised. And as seen from the above examples that whenever a hacking of large scale is planned, it never happens that only a single person is behind the hack, there is always a group of hackers who denote themselves by some name who are behind hacks involving large scale data. Now lets take a look at the ways the hackers adopt / use to hack into information systems of organizations (Anon, 2000). There are several ways and exploits and every day some or the other new exploit comes out into the open and then get fixed, so it would not be possible to cover all the hacking methods into a single paper. But we will cover the most commonly used ways of hacking into this paper. Also other hacking methods are most of the times some variations of the common ways of hacking. Reasons for Information System getting hacked There are several reasons due to which an information system may get hacked. Below are some of them Web Applications which are vulnerable: The information system may be running applications which are vulnerable for use on the web. Some administrators may not be security aware. Security patches which are out of date. Every day new threats arise on the web, thus it is necessary that the organisation applies security patches which are up-to-date (Ghosh, 2004). Missing passwords or easily guessable passwords: Use of passwords which can be easily guessed or no passwords for privileged accounts are also a reason for information system getting hacked. Methods used for Hacking I. Using privileged accounts In many It companies there are many privileged accounts which are very powerful in terms of the authority they have as compared to other accounts. The first hack mentioned above, Operation Aurora, took place due to the privileged accounts of the companies not being secured. And these accounts are not often recognized by Identity Access Management systems (IAM). Thus no automated way is there to control and manage the privileged accounts. Some examples of privileged accounts are: Service Accounts: The service accounts have privilege login usernames / IDs and passwords. Super-user / Admin login accounts: These are the account of the users who have the highest authority and are used to make significant changes into the system, install applications, remove applications, add users etc (Wilson, 2004). Application to application: Some information systems sun applications which need to interact with some other application either on the same system or on some application outside the home system, in such cases, the IDs and passwords can be stolen while the data is being transferred from one application to the other. If privileged accounts are hacked then there is nothing more the hacker needs to do in order to gain access to the system. All he / she needs to do is to login and steal data or make changes to the data, add users, install bots, or Trojans etc. and gain full access to the system. To stop compromising privileged accounts the following steps can be taken: Finding Keys: These involve carrying a thorough audit and analysis of the whole network and information system and get the exact location where the privileged accounts reside in the system (Lewis, 2012). And then keeping a check that the security of these accounts is maintained by changing the passwords on regular intervals and that sufficient number of checks are there so as to login into these accounts. Closing Security holes: Any security hole should be fixed immediately without any delay so that the hackers do not get any chance to get into the system. Securing the External Entities: Making sure that the external entities are well secured. Ensuring that the systems outside the home organisation with which the home system is connected or connects timely to get data or transfer data such as cloud partners etc. are secured and they follow the security guidelines. II. Trojan Horse / Virus / Worms Trojan horse are programs which dont do the harm themselves but they open the doors or vulnerabilities for the hackers to install ad run some virus or external application such as spywares or malwares into an information system. Trojan horses allow the hackers to gain access to an information system and then make changes to the system. Trojan horses are propagated through .exe files (Ghosh, 2004). Most of the developers of Trojan horses send the .exe file attached to mails to the targets which when clicked install the Trojan on the target computer and then the computer on which the Trojan is installed also works as a server and spreads the Trojan to other computers on the network called botnets. Some ways to protect a system from Trojans are as follows: Do not open mails from unknown senders or mails from weird email ids, especially the ones which contain link to some external application program or have an attached .exe file with them (Joe and Ramakrishan, 2014). Do not use pen drives or flash drives which have come from some other systems in the information system, since they may contain Trojans. III. Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) Distributed Denial of Service or DDoS is a superset of Denial of Service attack. In distributed denial of service, a web server or the information system is flooded with many number of pings within a single second on some open ports and after several minutes or hours the web server or the information system gets down due to the heavy amount of traffic it receives due to the pings and requests (Gupta, Joshi and Misra, 2010). In most of the cases big and large systems recover easily from such DDoS attacks. Ways to secure the information system from DDoS attacks: Do not keep unused ports open on the web server or on the information system. Since hackers use the open ports to launch a DDoS attacks, thus it is advisable to close any open ports which are not used on the system. Use not-so-used ports. There are several ports which are common to several applications and thus the hacker knows that those ports will be open. One way to secure a system from DDoS is to use non-conventional ports so that the hackers are not able to find out opne ports easily. Use some scripts in python which will filter out the bad traffic and only let the legit traffic reach to the ports (Gupta, Joshi and Misra, 2010). Specialized DDoS mitigation appliances: There are dedicated DDoS appliances available which help a system from getting down from DDoS attacks. On the ISP level: There are several ISPs which themselves block the illegitimate traffic (bad traffic) and thus prevent the systems from DDoS attacks. Cloud Provider: There are several cloud based hosts which do not let the illegitimate traffic to reach the system as they filter out the bad traffic at their servers only. Examples of such a cloud host is Cloudflare, Maxfront CDN etc. III. Packet Sniffing There are programs and applications called packet sniffers which steal the data travelling over a network (Rupam, Verma and Singh, 2013). Often the usernames and passwords etc. travel over the network which can be sniffed by packet sniffers used by hackers. Ways to protect system and network from Packet Sniffing: Change default passwords and use WPA2 encryption always since WPA2 is almost next to impossible to hack. Use long passwords and passwords which cannot be easily guessed for the routers and modems (Ansari, Rajeev and Chandrashekar, 2002). Use SSL i.e. Secure Socket Layer for all the data transfers taking place on the network. Use VPNs i.e. Virtual Private Network. When using VPN the data can be seen only at the receiving end and the senders end and thus no one can sniff the data travelling in between the two ends. IV. Cross Site Scripting / SQL Injection In cross site scripting the user or the hacker inserts some malicious code which maybe java/ JavaScript code from the client side which upon reaching the server application runs on the server side and sends the information back to the hacker. One way to submit codes to the server is through comments on sites or through contact forms on the websites which are directly connected to the information system servers (Fox, 2012). This way the attacker gets information about the server and then hacks into the server. SQL injection also works the same way as XSS. IN SQL injection the user / client injects an SQL code which then executes on the server side and sends the results back to the hacker. The only way to prevent XSS and SSL injection attacks is by doing proper sanitization of all the users submitted comments and queries to ensure that none of them contains any code which may run on the server side and send back the data to the user / hacker (Singh, 2012). In this paper we have covered a lot of the aspects of Security and Hacking of Information systems but there have been many a things which have gone unreported since Information Systems security is a very vast topic. References Agwu, E., 2013. Cyber Criminals on the Internet Super Highways.International Journal of Online Marketing, 3(2), pp.56-74. Anon, 2000. Protect against Internet intruders and hackers.Network Security, 2000(1), p.3. Ansari, S., Rajeev, S. and Chandrashekar, H., 2002. Packet sniffing: a brief introduction.IEEE Potentials, 21(5), pp.17-19. Bergeron, B., 2000. It may be fast but is it safe? Ways to protect your DSL system from hackers.Postgraduate Medicine, 108(1). Bosworth, S. and Kabay, M., 2002.Computer security handbook. New York: John Wiley Sons. Descy, D., 2006. Protecting your Computer from Viruses.TechTrends, 50(4), pp.3-4. Fischetti, M., 2011. Data Theft: Hackers Attack.Sci Am, 305(4), pp.100-100. Fox, D., 2012. Cross Site Scripting (XSS).Datenschutz Datensich, 36(11), pp.840-840. Ghosh, S., 2004. The Nature of Cyber-attacks in the Future: A Position Paper.Information Systems Security, 13(1), pp.18-33. Joe, M. and Ramakrishan, B., 2014. Enhancing Security Module to Prevent Data Hacking in Online Social Networks.Journal of Emerging Technologies in Web Intelligence, 6(2). Lewis, N., 2012. Access rights protect access to your data or lose it: serious misconceptions about information security.Computer Fraud Security, 2012(11), pp.8-10. Nf, M., 2001. Ubiquitous Insecurity? How to Hack IT Systems.Information Security: An International Journal, 7, pp.104-118. Orlov, V., 2012. CYBER CRIME: A THREAT TO INFORMATION SECURITY.Security Index: A Russian Journal on International Security, 18(1), pp.1-4. Rupam, Verma, A. and Singh, A., 2013. An Approach to Detect Packets Using Packet Sniffing.International Journal of Computer Science Engineering Survey, 4(3), pp.21-33. Schifreen, R., 1994. How hackers do it.Network Security, 1994(10), pp.17-19. Singh, T., 2012. Detecting and Prevention Cross Site Scripting Techniques.IOSRJEN, 02(04), pp.854-857. Wilson, P., 2004. Tips to stop your users from being phished.Network Security, 2004(9), pp.5-9.

Women Hardships free essay sample

Throughout time, women have had to face challenges whether small or big, all over the world. Gender discrimination happens everywhere to this day, whether women are discriminated against for a job, stripped of some rights, or underestimated in someway or another, we can still see that they are viewed and treated differently. Of course it is evident in some places more than others, and considering that I lived in Saudi Arabia all of my life, I can definitely see the difference. Women in Saudi Arabia are way more sheltered, and they are deprived of lots of things that men aren’t, like driving, or getting superior jobs in companies. In this case, â€Å"The Rooftop Dwellers† allows us to explore this struggle in an Indian cultural context. Moyna, the main character in the story, faces challenges in life directly caused from being a woman. Moyna is a young lady trying to make it on her own. We will write a custom essay sample on Women Hardships or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page This seems like a simple concept, but when put into the socio-cultural context that it is in, it becomes much more complex. This was a time when women were viewed as inferior to men; most believed that they should go from their parents’ home to their husbands’, and nowhere in between. Instead of being respected and appreciated for trying to make a career for themselves, â€Å"leaving the nest†, and being independent, they are looked down upon. The Indian society is highly prejudiced against the female gender. Basically a male dominated society, decision making at family and political level is almost single handedly handled by the men. (www. destinations India. com). Therefore, for Moyna to make the bold move of moving out and living on her own shows much courage and motivation. She left her parents’ house and Moved to Delhi for her new job in a publishing company for a literary review called Books. This attempt to make it on her own brings about personal growth and a struggle to prove herself to other people. As we discussed in class, it is evident that this story is written from a more feminist point of view. We sympathize with the woman, and see her struggle through her own eyes. Unlike other stories we read like Punishment where we can see the women are inferior to men, The Rooftop Dwellers shows us a more personal and up-close aspect of the issue. Throughout the story, Moyna is being judged, mistreated, and even disrespected. She has to struggle in her job, stand up to her landlords, and deal with Delhi’s men’s womanizing habits. Moving out of the hostel was her first step towards independence(although she was evicted), because a women’s hostel is where a single woman is â€Å"expected† to stay. This is because although they are not at home, a hostel still provides a somewhat safe and sheltered environment where all the single women can stay together. This arrangement is not a very comfortable one though; there was nothing there but the essentials, she didn’t have much space, and she had to shower under a tap. She also obviously had no privacy because there were so many women there, it was even mentioned that â€Å"If she left the door ajar, every girl going past would look in, scream, ’Oh Moy-na! ’ and come in to talk,† (3103. ) Staying in that hostel and accepting that way of life in itself shows her determination to become an independent working woman, despite the weaknesses she displays as the story progresses. It becomes apparent from her very first encounter with her new landlords that they don’t take their tenants very seriously and don’t feel the need to treat them in a professional manner. When Moyna enters the living room, she finds the family watching the show Mahabharata and they don’t shut if off or even look away from it, but tell her to sit and watch it with them. The fact being that she’s a young woman probably encouraged that behavior a little more. When Moyna is looking around for houses, she is turned down by many landlords because they â€Å"had nothing but fear and loathing for the single working woman. † She doesn’t understand why they would see her as such a source of inconvenience and trouble when she is only an inexperienced, naive girl trying to make it in the real world. It seems like Moyna’s situation is not helping her sex and relationship status together play a role in making her struggle even harder. Although this was a time of change, where more women were becoming independent and getting jobs, they are still not fully accepted into the community. Granted, it’s better than older times when they had no rights whatsoever and were not able to make decisions on their own, but they still haven’t obtained the level of respect they deserve.

contrast Max Mullers Theory Nature Worship With Edward Burnett Tylors Theory of Animism The WritePass Journal

Compare/contrast Max Mullers Theory Nature Worship With Edward Burnett Tylors Theory of Animism Introduction Compare/contrast Max Mullers Theory Nature Worship With Edward Burnett Tylors Theory of Animism )Â   The Wakeful World: Animism, Mind and the Self in Nature. New Alresford: Moon Books Phillips, Maurice (2013) The Evolution of Hinduism, Hong Kong: Forgotten Books Stark, Rodney (2008)Â   Discovering God: The Origins of the Great Religions and the Evolution of Belief, London: HarperOne

Reflection paper in article Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Reflection paper in article - Assignment Example In my third year in high school, at the age of 16, I had an experience with marijuana that not only inspired me into leadership but also signaled my transition to emotional, social, and intellectual maturity. I occasionally used the drug to â€Å"escape† my perceived troubles and bond with my peers. After three months, what had been an occasional habit started morphing into an addiction. I started missing classes, became antisocial, and started getting below average grades (I was a leading student before the episode). My parents noticed a change in my behavior and, after consulting with my teachers, decided that I should attend therapy. However, this failed because I was still in contact with the student who supplied the drug and would even purchase and use it after visiting the therapist. Since my parents assumed that I was moving towards sobriety, they entrusted me with errands such as taking my siblings to picnics and picking them from school using the family car. One day, after having smoked some marijuana on my way home from school, my father asked me to take my three younger siblings to the movies. I obliged, assuming that he would not know I was still practicing my old habits. On the way to the theater, I noticed a police car following me and immediately started panicking. I became paranoid and started drove faster, thinking that I would somehow â€Å"lose† the police car. Eventually, another police cut me off, and I was forced to stop. In the midst of the â€Å"chase†, I had forgotten that I had, in the front pocket of my trouser, a sachet of marijuana that I had purchased earlier. The police asked me to step outside the car, and I obliged. After being told to empty my pockets, I followed the instructions only for the sachet to fall out. When I had identified myself, the police informed me that one of the boys who supplied me with marijuana had been arrested

Good Corporate Governance and Sustainability Research Paper

Good Corporate Governance and Sustainability - Research Paper Example Under the good corporate governance applied, Ford performed very well in business plan development and compensation, business plan review, special attention review and automotive strategy meeting, corporate policy letters and directives, management systems. That is the main reason why Ford is only one of the auto companies which kept performing during the 2008 global financial crisis in America. Mallin (23) asserts that the element of diversity in companies is one of the things that benefit from corporate governance. Corporate governance promotes diversity by, firstly, ensuring a board of governance or company leadership that respects diversity. Gender diversity in companies’ leadership is one of the crucial issues commentators of corporate governance have emphasized. In the past five years, seven countries have passed legislation mandating female board representation and eight have set non-mandatory targets. A study of Canadian companies showed that boards with three or more women performed much better in terms of governance than companies with all-male boards. The study also found that the more gender-diverse boards were more likely to focus on clear communication to employees, to prioritize customer satisfaction, and to consider diversity and corporate social responsibility. To illustrate the point above, McKinsey & Company, as the world’s leading consulting firm, is a great example in the real world. Mallin (24) attributes the improvement of a company’s economic and financial performance to the varying skills and abilities of diverse groups of people. He argues that the skills of people from different backgrounds outperform homogenous groups. In order for companies to uphold corporate governance to ensure diversity, they invite applications from the public. This helps companies to pool  a variety of skills and abilities from which they can appointable candidates. In addition, corporate leaders use mentorship to educate persons from lower levels with the skills required to handle senior positions.

US Immigration Policy and Reforms Analysis

US Immigration Policy and Reforms Analysis The topic of illegal immigration has been an issue for debate with lawmakers, the President, member of congress and America as a whole for the past several years. In very general terms, illegal immigrants are people, primarily from Mexico and Central America who illegally cross over the border into the United States. These men and women of all ages are not fleeing their homeland because of repression, harsh dictatorships, genocide, civil wars or religious persecution; however, they are crossing over the American border primarily for economic reasons. These individuals are coming to the United States in seek of a better lifestyle. They want to make more money to help support their families both here in America and back in their home country. They are fleeing oppression, chronic unemployment, poverty, and little or no opportunities in their homelands. As unfortunate it is, the law stands between their desire to live and work in the United States. Strict policy is needed to prevent these immigrants from coming into the United States illegally. Otherwise the consequence will be massive illegal settlements in this U.S. Since the early 1800s, immigration has been both a crucial component of Americas growth and a periodic source of conflict. In 1907, President Theodore Roosevelt said, â€Å"we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin.† He went on to say, â€Å"This is predicated on the person becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American. There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isnt an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag! We have room for but one sole loyalty, and that is loyalty to the American people,† (Little, 2006). Its been seen over the past decade that the national debate over illegal immigration has grown. This displays a widespread belief that previous immigration control laws have failed and are continuing to. For example, despite a 1986 federal law that created penalties for employers who hire undocumented workers or illegal immigrants knowingly, businesses continued to do so. President George W. Bushs new strategy had taken form. Instead of his earlier emphasis on finding a way for U.S. businesses to continue employing illegal immigrants on a temporary basis, he now spoke of preventing such undocumented workers or illegal immigrants from ever entering the United States to begin with. â€Å"Weve got a comprehensive strategy that says were going to enforce this border. Were going to prevent people from coming here in the first place,† (Furlong and Kraft 2007, 121). President Bushs new strategy came as Congress prepared to consider legislation that addressed border security and immigration. Unfortunately because the Presidents standing in public opinion polls was so low and conservatives in his own party wanted a different approach, he had few choices but to change his policys direction. Democrats have accused the President of delaying action on immigration reform for far too long. Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts said, â€Å"It is time for President Bush to resist those on the right who rely on fear tactics to prevent our broken system from being fixed†. â€Å"True immigration reform† would have to be more comprehensive and more realistic than the Presidents proposals, he added, â€Å"strengthening our security while bringing an underground economy above ground,† (Furlong and Kraft 2007, 121). In 2005 the number of illegal immigrants in the United States rose dramatically to well over ten million people and was growing rapidly, at an estimate of a half a million people each year. According to Fred Elbel of the Department of Homeland Security, as of November 10, 2007 there was an estimated 34,094,840 illegal aliens in the United States. Since January 1, 2007, 3,134,840 illegal aliens have made their way over the border and into the United States, (Elbel, 2007). The western and southern part of America has seen the biggest influx of immigrants. Among a vast spectrum of other concerns, policy makers focus on the high cost to the states that are providing education and medical care for undocumented workers and their families. Some worry that a high rate of illegal immigrants suggests that the United States borders are without the needed security that is essential to prevent entry from potential terrorists. However, some, particularly business owners, are inclined to minimize the problem. They believe that the health of the U.S. economy is dependent on immigrant workers and they argue that the economy would suffer without the contribution of illegal immigrants. Some disagree and argue that the economic benefits from illegal immigrants working in America only helps their home economy. The Pew Hispanic Center estimates that ten percent of restaurant workers in the U.S., twenty-five percent of domestic help in private households, and nearly sixty percent of agricultural workers are in the country illegally. Also statistics show that fifty-six percent of illegal immigrants in the United States come north primarily from Mexico to supply thousands of U.S. employers and farmers with low-skilled workers. A completely hypothetical way of viewing illegal immigration is to think of the United States like a homeowner who went for a long walk and left their garage door open. Inside the garage is a new car, a wallet, a cellular phone, and a suitcase full of money. Another man, destitute of money and with little or no hope of positive opportunity, walks past the garage and notices that its door is open and unattended. He has a family who needs food and he himself has been unemployed for several months. He decides to enter the garage. No one noticed him enter. He found the new car, the wallet, the cellular phone and the suitcase full of money. Without hesitation, he takes the wallet and the suitcase and quickly disappears and enjoys what he took without permission. To make himself feel better, he tells himself that he only went into the garage and took what he did because he needed to feed his family and because he was down on his luck. He did not hurt anyone in the process and he figures that the homeowner can always file a claim with his insurance company to get back what was taken. When the homeowner returns from his walk, he notices that he has been robbed and files a report with the local police department. The police in turn tell him that there is nothing they can do since there were no witnesses. The police suggest that the homeowner lock up his garage the next time he goes for a long walk to prevent another illegal entry and robbery. Some would argue that the man who left his garage door open is at fault, others would say it was the intruder who stole the property, and some would say its both their faults. Was the one man a thief for entering the garage without permission and the homeowner careless for leaving the garage door open and unattended? Traditional law states that the intruder is a thief and common sense says that the homeowner was careless in failing to protect his assets from potential intruders. Did the homeowner deserve to be robbed because he left his garage door open? Some would say yes because he was careless. On the other hand the robber who walked away with the homeowners valuables committed a crime. If he was caught, tried and convicted, he could face fines and possibly some time in jail. Some people would look at from the perspective that the robber did what he did to feed his family and pay for his basic necessities. He only stole to help his family survive. He views it as something honorable because he provided for his family. In this hypothetical scenario, the fact that the homeowner left his garage door open and easily accessible to thieves does not give them permission for someone to trespass into his property and steal his valuables solely because they were just there. Regardless of the thiefs reasoning for taking someone elses private property, stealing is stealing no matter how it is rationalized. Similarly, illegal immigration may solve financial challenges faced by the growing millions of illegal aliens who are in the United States to work and improve their lives. Yet, no matter how a person looks at it, illegal entry is still just that, â€Å"illegal.† Jobs are taken from those who are rightfully entitles to them. It is not legal, moral, or ethically right to enter the country illegally and benefit from opportunities that were primarily designed for legal residents and citizens. The reasons why millions of people enter the United States illegally does not make it correct to break the law and disregard the sovereignty of the United States. Breaking the law is not justifiable because illegal immigrants want to take advantage of jobs, provide for their family, escape poverty, receive medical care, public education, and much more. As harsh as it is, illegal immigrants are not entitled to the freedom which were primarily designed for those who are in the country by birthright or legal residency status. The belief that it is socially acceptable to break the law as long as a persons reasoning is with good intentions is flawed. A person cannot take advantage of someones benefits because they need to. Immigrating to America legally, whether or not it is easy, is praiseworthy. Breaking they law and crossing the border illegally is not. The punishment should fit the crime. A person should not leave their garage door open if they value what they own and would-be intruders should learn that just because they garage door is open, it does not give them the right to walk in and take what they need. It is seen very often that desperate people do not care much about right and wrong or the law for that matter. Desperation often causes people to rationalize and justify all types of illegal activities. Illegal entry into the United States to work has been allowed to become a complex issue but this is not an unsolvable problem. The United States would be off to a good start if the government imposed hefty fines on employers who knowingly and unknowingly hire illegal immigrants or undocumented workers for labor. The loophole in the current law conveniently allows employers to look the other way and claim that they are not able to verify the authenticity of documents that their workers provide. Millions of people steal social security numbers from American citizens and get away with it. They in turn enjoy many of the same things honest people work for. While illegal immigrants only make up about five percent of the United States work force, they are quickly being noticed in non-traditional areas immigrant to settle. Areas like these are in the midwest and the south. Undocumented workers and illegal immigrants are willing to work for very low wages by American standards. This has caused political turmoil in these new areas where immigration had little or no presence before. â€Å"Immigration is now a national phenomenon is a way that was less true a decade ago,† (Greenblatt, Katel, Marshall 2007, 341). Mark Krikorian, executive director of the nonpartisan Center for Immigration Studies said, â€Å"In places like Georgia and Alabama, which had little experience with immigration before, people are experiencing it firsthand.† The beginning of any policy study involves a description of the problem. Obviously the problem is illegal immigration and unfortunately only a select few legislators are taking measures to fix the problem. The former Mayor of New York City and presidential candidate, Rudy Giuliani, has a firm stance of illegal immigration. He stated that â€Å"real immigration reform must put security first because border security and homeland security are inseparable in the Terrorists War on Us. The first responsibility of the federal government is to protect our citizens by controlling Americas borders, while ending illegal immigration and identifying every non-citizen in our nation. We must restore integrity, accountability, and the rule of law to our immigration system to regain the faith of the American people,† (Giuliani, 2007). The Governor of New Mexico and also Presidential candidate, Bill Richardson, has similar feelings about immigration reform as Giuliani. â€Å"As a Hispanic-American, and Governor of a border state, I know that our nation can no longer afford to ignore the issue of illegal immigration. Undocumented immigrants have broken the law to enter our country, but they are here – and most of them work hard, pay taxes, support families, and contribute to the communities they live in. Entire sectors of our economy rely on these laborers -construction, restaurants, and agricultural, for example. We cant just ignore this issue any longer. Splitting up families, building walls, and making impractical proclamations is not the answer. America needs to solve the problem, not tear itself apart over it,† (Richardson, 2007). He believes in recognizing the reality of the immigration problem and addressing it head-on. He has a plan to solve it by taking four realistic steps. First, secure the border. Second, increase legal immigration. Third, prevent employers from hiring illegal workers. Lastly, provide a path to legislation for most of the eleven million illegal immigrants already here. Representative F. James Sensenbrenner Jr., of Wisconsin, created the Real ID bill. This requires proof of citizenship or legal status in the United States in order to get a drivers license. This bill was signed into law in May 2005 and will take effect in May 2008. â€Å"We will never have homeland security if we dont have border security,† (Greenblatt, Katel, Marshall 2007, 341). Sensenbrenners reform means blocking states from issuing drivers licenses to illegal immigrants, imposing new restrictions on asylum seekers, and finishing a border fence near San Diego, California. The debate of immigration has divided the Republican Party. The Republican controlled House of Representatives passed H.R. 4437 in December 2005. This is a measure that contained procedures for securing the borders, harsher penalties for people assisting illegal migration into the United States and provisions for deporting illegal aliens that are already here, (Greenblatt, Katel, Marshall 2007, 343). The proposed legislation does not provide for a guest worker program or any form of amnesty for illegal workers. â€Å"The borders are out of control,† says T.J. Bonner, president of the National Border Patrol Council, the union representing ten thousand border officers. He said that the patrol catches no more than a third of illegal aliens crossing the border. â€Å"We have a situation where business is controlling our immigration policy rather than sound decisions that take into account all the factors, including homeland security,† (Greenblatt, Katel, Marshall 2007, 344). The government has almost stopped enforcing sanctions approved in 1986 on employers who hire illegal immigrants. According to Mary Dougherty, an immigration statistician at the Department of Homeland Security, in 2003 the agency levied only $9,300.00 in fines against employers. Time also reported in 2004 that the number of fines imposed on employers dropped ninety-nine percent during the 1990s from 1,063 in 1992 to 13 in 2002, (Greenblatt, Katel, Marshall 2007, 345). While there are many ideas and strongly differing views on what to do about illegal immigration, the government must recognize that any program that rewards illegal aliens who have broken the laws of the United States with citizenship is undeserved and unwarranted amnesty. Illegal immigration must be treated much like a broken water pipe. When a water pipe breaks, the very first thing that must be done is have the water shut off and then the mess is cleaned up. This is common sense that most in the government seem to be missing. This requires two different set of actions. First, slowing down and eventually preventing all illegal border-crossings and then making it harder for existing illegal immigrants to live in the US while simultaneously encouraging many to go home as well as deporting others. Doctors at The Heritage Foundation are quoted as saying, Immigration reform should be a matter of national priority. To be successful, reforms must include a comprehensive package of measures to reduce illegal entry into the United States as well as to reduce the current population of unlawfully present persons. The cornerstone of any such initiative must be a fair and practical program for repatriating foreign persons who are illegally present in the United States, (Carafano, Meese III, Spalding, 2005). For the sake of national security, the rule of law, and responsible immigration policy, Congress and the President must move towards reducing the number of people who are illegally in the United States. Immigration reform must not encourage this problem. In particular, any new initiative must not grant permission, as a matter of policy, for illegal immigrants to remain legally in the country. Such a program would undermine the credibility of efforts not only to control Americas borders, but also to advance reasonable legal immigration reform. A better alternative would be for policymakers to create a comprehensive solution that brings better national security. Part of this solution should be a realistic and reasonable program to assist illegal immigrants in returning to their homelands before applying for legal reentry to the United States. What the United States needs is a comprehensive strategy that reverses decades of ignoring, indeed encouraging, the disregard of requirements for legally entering and lawfully residing in this country. A better strategy would be to get the cooperation of federal, state, and local governments and non-governmental organizations to all work together. Laws need to be enforced within the United States, including identity theft,, prosecuting benefits fraud, tax evasion, and immigration violations. Also, America should work with other nations to enforce laws, to educate their citizens, and to develop more desirable legal alternatives for undocumented workers. The government must help other nations to adopt sound governance and economic policies that will promote growth in their economies and negate the need for citizens to take low-paying jobs in the United States. It has been made very clear that America does not want to anger other countries with border security and that most people cannot tell the difference between illegal invasion to work and legal immigration. It should then be up to the individual states to develop internal methods to prevent abuse of tax-based resources. States should not provide any form of preferential treatment towards individuals who break federal laws, even if they work and pay taxes. This may be justifiable in their minds but the fact remains that they are still in the country illegally. The government needs to also help the private sector by teaching employers how to identify legal workers quickly and easily at a reasonable cost and in a manner that respects individuals rights and privacy but at the same time identify the illegal ones through a national identification system, similar to the one crated by Sensenbrenners, The Real ID Act. The government should also implement a central document verification agency to pre-screen all employment applications and issue approval forms and identification photos to prospective employees. While at the current rate the government will never have an efficient wall to block out illegal immigrants. It is up to the individual states to create internal security measures to prevent budgetary and financial abuses caused by the growing illegal population. President Bush and a bipartisan group of ten senators announced an agreement on May 17, 2007, on a comprehensive, compromise plan to tighten border security and address the future of Americas twelve million illegal immigrants. â€Å"The agreement reached today is one that will help enforce our borders,† Bush said. â€Å"But equally importantly, it will treat people with respect. This is a bill where people who live in our country will be treated without amnesty, but without animosity.† Senator Kennedy said, â€Å"The plan isnt perfect, but only a bipartisan bill will become law,† (Greenblatt, Katel, Marshall 2007, 357). The agreement would grant temporary legal status to almost all illegal immigrants, giving then the right to apply for residence visas and citizenship through a lengthy process. Illegal immigrants would have to wait for eight years before applying for permanent resident status, pay fines of up to $5,000.00 and, heads of households would be forced to leave the country and reenter legally. Are these signs of positive actions to be taken toward illegal immigrants? Over the next few years will America see a reduction in the number of illegal immigrants and an increase in the applications for legal immigrants? American surely hopes so. Only time will tell what actions will truly be taken by the American government in response to the increasing number of illegal immigrants crossing its borders. Bibliography Carafano, James Jay, Edwin Meese III and Matthew Spalding. 2005. â€Å"Alternatives to Amnesty: Proposals for Fair and Effective Immigration Reform.† The Heritage Foundation. http://www.heritage.org/Research/LegalIssues/bg18588.cfm. (10 November 2007). Elbel, Fred. 2007. â€Å"How many illegal aliens are in the U.S.? Refernce..† The American Resistance. http://the americanresistance.com/ref/illegal_alien_numbers.html. ( 10 November 2007). Furlong, Scott R. and Michael E. Kraft. 2007.Public Policy: Politics, Analysis and Alternatives. New Jersey. Pearson Prentice Hall. Giuliani, Rudy. 2007. â€Å"12 Commitments To The American People.† JoinRudy2008. http://joinrudy2008.com/getinvolved/emailland.html (10 November 2007). Greenblatt, Alan, Peter Katel and Patrick Marshal. 2007. Issues For Debate: In American Public Policy. 8th Ed.. Washington D.C.. Congressional quarterly Inc.. Little, Dick. 2006. â€Å"Illegal immigrant problem growing.† Paradise Post.com. http://paradisepost.com/columns/ci_468119.html. (10 November 2007). Richardson, Bill. 2007. â€Å"Realistic Immigration Reform.† Richardson for President. http://action.richardsonforpresident.com/page/content/immigrationreform.html. (10 November 2007).

Mississippi Burning: Reaction paper

The 1988 film tells a fictionalization version of the  investigation into the real-life murder of civil rights workers in Mississippi in 1964. The film focuses on the two fictional FBI  investigators who go to Mississippi to investigate the murders. The FBI  agents are portrayed as heroes who descend into this injustice in the  hundreds, however in reality the real FBI agents and the justice  department reluctantly protected the Civil Rights workers and the  protestors reportedly witnessed the beatings without interfering. Mississippi Burning claims to highlight the injustice of  southern society in 1964. The FBI agents are given the job to  investigate the disappearance from a Mississippi town. It is made as a  point of fact that two of the men were white. The FBI agents, one a  former by-the-book Yankee determined never to violate the rights of the  interrogated, the other agent, is a local man who has been tainted by  the South. He is a streetwise complex character who believes that to  handle â€Å"Scum.† You must sink to â€Å"Gutter level.† At first glance the audience recognizes these characters  bringing out the old buddy-buddy film formula however, the film expands  this cinematic clichà © by becoming an ideological statement. Mississippi  Burning brings out the resistance of a Southern community to change  from an old way of thinking at a time when anti-liberal values of a  small town in America still seem right when the Supreme Court is  chipping away at the achievements of the 1960’s. The films message is  that all these battles have to be fought again and much harder than  before at any cost for the lives of the men who were unjustly killed. Order#31113448 Mississippi Burning Pg.2 The film like â€Å"Birth a Nation,† is stereotypical is historically  inaccurate. Black men in â€Å"Birth A Nation,† are portrayed as shiftless,  lazy, rapist, criminals whereas the black men in Mississippi Burning  are seen as only mute victims. Southerners are portrayed as red-necked,  ignorant, racists who are all members of the KLAN. The Klan is doing the church burnings, cross burnings, lynching  and murders of the three activists however, everyone does not want to  speak up because of fear of retribution from the KLAN and the mutual  bigotry that is rampant in town. The KLAN is a major terrorist force  that keeps the people in town quiet. The investigators become the  embodiment of the conflict, which is the essence of the film. A diner  scene where the investigators enters an obvious segregated diner  question a black kid who was brutally beaten up the KLAN. Another is  when the investigators visit the Deputy’s wife in the hospital where it  is found the KLAN beat her because she helped the FBI agents. The investigators end their personal differences to come together  as a force at the end of the film to resolve the central problem.  Anderson hires someone to get out important crucial information from  the Mayor of the town with threats of castration. The FBI agents create  a mock execution to frighten the criminals into revealing the truth by  chasing the deputy with a razor blade. The crime is resolved with all  the rednecks, the deputy and their co-conspirators sent to jail. The  FBI agents leave with a mutual understanding, which shows the strength  of the film. There isn’t a sense that racism has been abolished and  seems instead to be left with a sense of shifting despair and hope. -Works Sited- Mississippi Burning. Directed by Alan Parker, written by Chris Gerolmo, Crime Drama, 1988