Adeel Notes - Digital Support Services PDF

Session 1 -- 12/09/2024 ======================= What is digital support services? In cyber security? In Digital infrastructure? Referring to a range of different services you may find in an organization or a business, these services help manage maintain and optimize their digital infrastructure an...

Session 1 -- 12/09/2024 ======================= What is digital support services? In cyber security? In Digital infrastructure? Referring to a range of different services you may find in an organization or a business, these services help manage maintain and optimize their digital infrastructure and systems Digital support services is when you support someone over the internet, this could be through apps, email or online forums. **IT support** -- front end people that you may meet for problems - Providing IT support, fixing misc things - Offering guidance, training people that may not know how to use the software - Maintain the services used by the business, emails, servers and wifi A **digital support service** in cyber security would be responding to a threat, such as malware or other threats. Penetration testing, malware analysing, ect are all services that are given through the internet. **Digital infrastructure** support services are the core components of what makes a network. - Management of a network - Managing the data coming in and out - Network working correctly - Maintaining server health - Network admin - Monitor network - Implement security measures - Respond to security breaches - Security implementation **homework** Look at the role of an infrastructure technician jobs 4 of them Download job specs Explain what the job role is / responsibilities +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ | Job role | Link | Responsibilities | +=======================+=======================+=======================+ | infrastructure | | - Knowledge of | | | | Firewalls, IPS | | | | and Cisco routers | | | | | | | | - Ideally Exposure | | | | to IS27001 | | | | standards | | | | | | | | - Basic SQL Skills | +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ | IT Apprentice | | or installation. | | | | | | | | - Process returns | | | | from customers | | | | and document on | | | | our ticketing | | | | system all | | | | information | | | | relating to the | | | | return. | | | | | | | | - Receive items | | | | into stock and | | | | help the service | | | | desk manager with | | | | correctly | | | | recording details | | | | of the new items | | | | in our stock | | | | systems. | | | | | | | | - To make a | | | | positive | | | | contribution to | | | | update and | | | | maintain Service | | | | Desk | | | | documentation | | | | including | | | | knowledge base. | | | | | | | | - Work within the | | | | IT Operating | | | | Model, following | | | | defined IT | | | | processes and | | | | procedures. | | | | | | | | - Ensure a high | | | | level of customer | | | | service is | | | | delivered. | | | | | | | | - To maintain a | | | | professional | | | | discipline within | | | | the team and the | | | | practice by | | | | adopting the | | | | procedures | | | | applicable to the | | | | department. | | | | | | | | - Upon management | | | | request you | | | | should be willing | | | | to perform duties | | | | outside normal | | | | business hours, | | | | e.g. on-call | | | | service or | | | | overtime. | +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ | Infrastructure | https://www.reed.co.u | - Design, | | Engineer | k/jobs/infrastructure | implement, and | | | -engineer/53363240?so | manage network | | | urce=searchResults&fi | and server | | | lter=%2Fjobs%2Finfras | infrastructure. | | | tructure-technician-j | | | | obs | - Monitor system | | | | performance and | | | | troubleshoot | | | | issues. | | | | | | | | - Collaborate with | | | | cross-functional | | | | teams to support | | | | IT projects. | | | | | | | | - Ensure security | | | | and data | | | | protection | | | | standards are | | | | met. | | | | | | | | - Provide technical | | | | support and | | | | guidance to | | | | users. | +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ | Similarities | Differences | | +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ | - Provide technical | - Upon management | | | support and | request you | | | guidance to | should be willing | | | users. | to perform duties | | | | outside normal | | | - Design, | business hours, | | | implement, and | e.g. on-call | | | manage network | service or | | | and server | overtime. | | | infrastructure. | | | | | | | | - Ensure a high | | | | level of customer | | | | service is | | | | delivered. | | | | | | | | To make a positive | | | | contribution to | | | | update and maintain | | | | Service Desk | | | | documentation | | | | including knowledge | | | | base | | | | | | | | - Configure | | | | computers, | | | | network & | | | | security devices | | | | prior to shipping | | | | or installation. | | | +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ | 1. Implement and | Installing, testing, | | | support physical | maintaining | | | an virtual server | intrastate components | | | environment | and systems | | +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ | 2. Ticketing system | | | | / support | | | | operator | | | +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ | 3. Implement and | applying security to | | | support firewalls | digital devices and | | | / switches and | networks | | | wifi | | | | infrastructure | | | +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ | 4. Design implement | Design and | | | and document and | documentation to | | | maintain computer | organizational | | | systems | standards | | +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ Service desk roles ------------------ - What are the 3 tier service levels 1\. basic help such as, is the cable in or restart your system if tier 1 cannot solve the issue then the issue will be passed onto tier 2 2\. more in depth support, these people will have a better understanding of how things work. These people will have a deep understanding of the service / product but didn't make it / own it. If these people cannot solve the issue, it will be passed onto tier 3. 3\. Expert product service support, These people will try to duplicate the issue they have been given in a test field to examine why the bug is happening and how to fix it. The people in tier 3 are most commonly the people who made the software/product. - 2 job roles in the service desk department 1. **Service desk support analyst**, these people will hand peoples issues and questions they may have. Depending on the question or issue they may be able to solve it. 2. Service desk engineer, these people are professionals who help users solve their problems with computer hardware and software. These people work closely with other IT professionals and can assist with tasks that are not related to their knowledge of expertise. Specialist roles in digital support ----------------------------------- - Network engineer: - Server engineer A server engineer will install configure and maintain servers (physical and virtual), manage server operating servers and applications, monitor server performance and resolve issues, putting in place security measures and patches, preform backups of data regularly and optimize server performance and scalability. - Infrastructure engineer A infrastructure engineer will design the overall IT infrastructure for the workplace (networks and servers), manage and optimize data centre operations, implementing cloud technology, planning upgrades to the infrastructure, works on automating the infrastructure when possible, backup failure implements Key factors that can influence the business environment ------------------------------------------------------- Pestle of analyst ----------------- P Political factors -- External forces that are driven by government and politics --- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ E Economic factors -- Driven by the state of the market and economy, Factors must include interest rates, employment rates and charges and the cost of materials S Social factors -- Driven by emerging trends, may include family dynamics or cultural changes T Technological factors -- Considering the rate of innovation of new technology, the focus is digital technology however things like AI are getting used by companies more and more because of its ability to reduce costs and speed up workflow L Legal factors -- A business must cooperate with the rules and regulations with the place they are operated. Keeping aware of any law changes that may impact the business E Enviromental factors -- The company must think about their carbon footprint and how they are either helping to fight climate change or reduce it. Social factors -------------- Population growth Age distribution Cultural barriers Consumer views Workforce trends ways that social media has impacted Microsoft --------------------------------------------- **Advantages** **Customer engagement and support** Microsoft has used social media to listen to feedback and help people with their problems with their software. **Multi-platform marketing / Increased brand awareness** has been used by Microsoft to get their named more recognised with the public. **To make a connection with the customer** so they feel more connected to the brand. **To hire people,** they use social media to advertise job roles **Disadvantages** **A risk to their reputation / content backlash** if the brand were to say something that made the public mad. **Brand consistency** is a disadvantage because it usually isn\'t the same person running social media brand accounts. **Examples of Microsoft using social media** An example of Microsoft using social media for their benefit is their online support plan. Another example of Microsoft using social media for their benefit is that when they hire a new employee, they allow them to socialize before walking into the office through work group chats and social media channels. Another example of this would be that Microsoft has a dedicated twitter / x account for giving customers the support they need.. **How much do you think Microsoft invested in research and development in 2020?** In 2022 microsoft spent 24.5 billion dollars on research and development, using this a good guess would be 20/23 billion dollars on research and development. Tasks ===== 1.1 types of organisations and stake holders within the business environment ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Identify and explain 3 different organization types - Identify and explain stake holder types (both internal and external) - Explain the term "business to comsumer" (B2C) and business to business (B2B) - Explain the term "business to many" (B2M) - List 2 differences and explain between B2B and B2C buyers Three types of organizations: ----------------------------- - Private sector organizations are owned by individuals and are driven by profit. The profit made from private sector organisations benefit the owners, shareholders and investors. Private sector organisations are funded from private money or bank loans. - Public sector organisations are owned by the government and are used to provide goods and services to benefit the public, an example of this would be the NHS. The money that makes these businesses able to run comes from taxes from the government. - Third sector organisations are owned and ran by volunteers, these organisations aim to help the community and not the need to make profit. All profits made from Third sector organisations are reinvested in the community/business. Types of internal stake holders ------------------------------- An internal stake holder is directly involved in the company's operations. A few of these people are: - Employes, these are the people that work directly for the company, these people contribute skills, ideas, time and effort into the business. - Mangement, are the people that are setting goals and making most of the decisions in the company. It is managements responsibility to guide a team of workers in the right direction to reach a goal. - Shareholders, are people that have a financial interest in the company and own a small stake in the company. The reason people do this is because they believe that the company has potential and would like to turn a profit. It is important to note that because they technically own a part of the business they can vote on decisions that may impact the company. Types of extremal stake holders ------------------------------- External stake holders are people that are outside the company that may have an interest or influence on how the business operates. Some examples of exernal stake holders are: - Customers, these people purchase goods or services from the business. These people are considers external stake holders as the role they play in business allows for the business they purchased from to keep running. - Suppliers, these are often not a single person rather an entity in business, most commonly another business. The supplier can supply a business with the raw goods. - Governments, the government has a huge influence on the way a business may operate, this is the entity that makes all the legislation rules. These laws may be at a local level, or they may be at a international level. What is business to business (B2B)? ----------------------------------- Business to business refers to the action of 2 business exchanging products or services rather than a business selling goods to a customer. An example of B2B is when a retailer purchases stock from a wholesaler. What is business to customer (B2C)? ----------------------------------- Whilst both B2B and B2C are aimed to make profit B2C aims to sell products/services to the average person who is not affiliated with a company. The big difference between both strategies is the target audience of who they are selling to. An example of B2C is a supermarket such as asda, tesco, ect. What is business to many (B2M)? ------------------------------- This is a business model that aims to completes both B2B and B2C practices. Whilst these companies may sell goods/services to both businesses and customers they may have a target audience and aim to sell more to a business or customers. An example of a B2M business model is This is because both businesses looking to make a profit and customers looking to buy a product can buy from the business. The differences between business to business (B2B) and business to customer (B2C) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- One of the main differences between B2B models and B2C models is the target audience they are designed to reach. A B2B model aims to reach for another business to sell their products to, whilst a B2C model aims to sell to the general public. Another difference between B2B and B2C models is the process of payment. This is because the B2B process takes longer to complete as it needs to be ran by multiple people high up in the company, this is different to a B2C model as only 1 person needs to decide if they want to buy the goods/services. Risk Rating =========== Task 1: identify internal risks associated with opening/starting a computing business ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Human error -- This risk would be associated with employees either not being trained correctly or just a common mistake. This risk rating can vairy depending on the mistake made. Technological risks -- this would be a computer failure or software failure. Internal fraud - An employee could be using company resources in a way that is not agreed upon. Employee practices -- This risk would be associated with how an employee may do business, whilst they may have been trained; overtime they may develop poor security practices which may lead to security threats. Operational risk -- This risk would be linked to how the business operates, there may be a flaw in how the business is ran. Financial risk -- this risk is associated with the money that is coming into and out of the business, poor planning for this budget may lead to going bankrupt. Computer security -- If the computers/data on them is not secure there may be a chance that an employee may either accidentally or intentionally expose this data. They may also damage devices or steal them from the company. Task 2: identify external risks associated with opening/starting a computing business ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Data breaches -- This risk would be a threat to the security of customer data, and would mean more than data loss but also reputation damages Competition risk -- This risk would be related to the other companies doing business in the same field as you, this is a risk because their may be a company that is doing the services you offer at a better rate/cheaper than you do. Reputation risk -- If the company is viewed in a negative way from either too much bad customer experiences or is underperforming their reputation may be at risk. Cyber threats -- This covers topics like hacking, phishing. And may end a business if hacked in the right way. Task 3: In a table format risk rate how much risk (high/medium/low) and rate the impact of each risk. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- \# Internal/external risk Description Risk rating Impact rating ---- ----------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Human error - internal Employees not being trained to do the task correctly. Or a common mistake Low/med/high The impact may vairy as it depends on what mistake was made 2 Technological error -internal A software the company may rely on could have a bug/not be working for a short amount of time Low -- med This can vairy depending how much the company needs the software. 3 Internal fraud - internal An employee may try/use company property for their own benefit. E.g. Crypto mining Med-high This can be a threat as it is misuse of hardware and may lead to damages, security risks, financial charges 4 Employee practices - internal An employee may not have the best security practices, risking cyber attacks Med -- high If an employee has bad security practises it may lead to bigger threats as they are vulnerable to letting attackers in 5 Operational risk -- internal Their may be a flaw in how the company operates. high If there is a flaw in how the company operates the whole infrastructure may be at risk as well as the company. 6 Financial risk -- internal The money flowing in and out the company may be budgeted poorly High Poor financial management will eventually lead a company to bankruptcy sooner or later 7 Computer/data security - internal If the hardware in not secure it may be damaged or stolen. Med -- high This varies on what hardware was stolen, as if a keyboard was stolen that's not a problem. It is not the same for hard drives with sensitive data though. 8 data risks If customer/employee data was at risk this could be a huge threat to the company High This will be a risk as the data of employees/customers may be at risk. 9 Data breaches -external Private data being leaked to a group/the public, damaging the reputation. High Data being leaked form a company will damage their reputation and put customers and employees at risk 10 Competition risk -- external There may be other business doing the same services you offer at a better rate than you. Low This is not as much of an issue as competition forces people to improve or fall behind 11 Reputation risk -external If your company is not able to hold to good standards the companies reputation may be damaged Med This is a risk as the reputation of the company can be mitigated as much as possible, this would be done through great customer services ect. 12 Cyber threats -- external Threats like hacking, malware and phishing pose a threat to the company as it could lead to more threats/reputation damage High This poses a huge threat to the company as a attack on the company would damage their reputation and put customers/employees at risk of a data leak. The measurable value of digitalization in business ================================================== How sales and marketing play an important role in business. ----------------------------------------------------------- Whilst they are different they both work hand in hand to deliver profits for the business. Sales is a vital part of any business as they need to sell things to stay in business. This part of the business focuses on closing deals with clients, these clients can range from another company or a member of the public, this depends on what the business is selling. Sales in business use a many different techniques to try to maximize the amount of sales. Marketing is also a vital part of a business, this is because marketing gains the company publicity and this can bring in more sales. The main role for the marketing team in a company is to make sure the company is seen as much as possible but in a way that reflects the values of the company. Market research - Target audience research -- Explain how digitalization in business can transform how to gather information about customers -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Digitalization in market research could have a positive effect on the business when used correctly. Digital market research could be done in a variety of ways. The most common method of this would be surveys completed online. This would be done by asking a select group of people to do a survey to get their opinions about a product. The benefit this could have on a company would vairy from better public opinion to more profit in sales. Target audience research is important for a business to grow as it makes the business able to better understand the audience that they are trying to reach. This would have a positive effect on the business as if they an appeal better to their target audience the audience would be more likely to purchase the product. Transforming on collecting information about their customers is quite a vast topic, however both fields have grown since being implanted into many different types of business. For example, to get an opinion on a product or service a business would need to hold a focus group or a similar event with a room full of people. However, now that this system has been digitalized the process has been streamlined to maximize the amount of people they can survey to get the most accurate information out of the survey. This could also be said for target audience research. How does digitalization increase the opportunities for brand promotions? ------------------------------------------------------------------------ As we move to a more digital world the opportunities for brand promotions keep increasing, this can be through a sponsorship in a YouTube video, or a paid google link. The main point of advertising digitally to maximize the amount of people that either click on the advert or see the advertisement. There is also the benefit of getting more sales when advertised to more people, as the more people that see your company\'s products the more customers that are likely to buy them. Explain how communication and coverage via social media impacts on business. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Communications via social media can have a positive and negative effect on a business. The positive effect of a business having a social media presence is the fact that it is free advertisement if a post or comment were to gain publicity. This would impact the business in a positive way as more people would see the business name on the post that gained significant attention. On that topic there are 2 types of attention, positive and negative attention, the main negative effect is the fact that the company may be put in a bad situation if the person running the account may say something that offends people. This puts the company in a bad light and may inflict people\'s opinion about the company. If this were to happen the consequence might be a loss in revenue. How would a business track or analyse consumers behaviour when using their products (websites/apps)? ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The main way of a business tracking what users do on a website is to get them to agree to collecting browser cookies, this allows the website to see how long they spend on what section of a website. This allows for the data to be collected and documented for analysis. This process can be preformed on an application as well as a website. After the data is collected going through the data and monitoring how many people look at a particular part of the website and making changed based on the results. Class scenario ============== Hired as a cyber sec consultant by a firm techease ltd We are cyber security consultant for techease LTD Mobile app dev specializes Recently expanded Worried about cyber sec risks whilst growing even more Identify security risks Create list of policies to Task 1: Brainstorm a list of cyber sec risks the company might face, MINIMUM OF 8 RISKS Task 2: Rank the risks in from the previous task in the format of how likely it is to happen and what is the impact in a table format with the risk ranking as: low, medium, severe Task 3: Draft up security policy document to address the security risks from the company to follow this should include ways to mitigate the risk, minimize the risk.