Data Security Threats and Mitigation

This assignment delves into the various data security threats that Balogne, a company utilizing business analytics, might face. It examines both internal and external threats, such as cybercriminals, nation-state actors, and disgruntled employees. The assignment then proposes preventive measures to mitigate these risks, including implementing authentication controls, updating antivirus software, employing encryption techniques, and regularly patching security updates.

Executive summary
In this business report, we are going to represent and analyze the business data of Balogne. The
company has many outlets in Australia and dealing with sugar products. We are going to use Excel
software for the preparation of charts and pivot tables for micro and macro analytic purpose. We have
some resources available in form of case study, the data of previous two years 2014 and 2015. On the
basis of these data we will drive the expected data of next year’s 2016 and 2017 in upcoming sections
and in excel worksheet. Next we will assume inflation and deflation for the upcoming years and verify
the impact of volume sold and overall earning year wise and product wise.
Table of Contents
Introduction...............................................................................................................................................1
Company’s Overview.................................................................................................................................2
Knowledge management...........................................................................................................................2
Purpose of BI..............................................................................................................................................3
Porter’s five forces model..........................................................................................................................9
Analysis of Supplier power for Balogne...................................................................................................10
Data security in Balogne..........................................................................................................................10
Internal threat......................................................................................................................................11
External threats....................................................................................................................................12
Recommendation for securing data.........................................................................................................13
References...............................................................................................................................................13
Introduction
In this report, we are going to analyze the financial performance of a company name Balogne.
Financial analysis is a crucial part of any business organization from the decision making
perspective and future planning for business. The investors invest money in a company which
has strong financial background with a handsome turnover. In order to analyze the
performance of any business organization we must need appropriate data and a software to
analyze it. In this report we will use Microsoft Excel for analyzing business data of Balogne. This
project report comprises of two parts: Part A is the analytic report and Part B is excel
spreadsheet.
1

Company’s Overview
Balogne Pvt. Ltd is a sugar product company situated in Mackay, Queensland. It was founded
in 1965 by Louis Hape. The company is dealing in refinery of sugar products of various types.
Company is growing and has a strong financial turnover in the Australia. The company has
requirement of analyzing the business trends in current scenario, the information of
distributors and the data for the decision making process. In order to fulfill these requirements
and planning for strategic information we are preparing a report which will focus on all above
key requirements.
Knowledge management
Knowledge management is the systematic arrangement of resources of a company which can
be used to prepare the tactical and strategic planning of organization (Whiting, 2015).
Knowledge management has following key factors (Koenig, 2012):
 Initiation
 Processes
 Strategic planning
 Storage system
 Sharing information
 Refinement of knowledge
 Sustainability
Knowledge can be categorized as explicit, tactic and implicit. Explicit knowledge which can be
seen in tangible form. Implicit knowledge that is not in tangible form but can be convertible in
explicit form. Tactic knowledge which is difficult to express in tangible form.
2

Knowledge management is beneficial for any business organization because:
 It enhances the capability of organization to find out the solution of various problems
and meet the business challenges
 It is used to understand the complexity of system which has people and the processes,
procedures and the most importantly the information system of business organization
(Bounds, 2009).
 It improves the knowledge processing capability of business organization
Purpose of BI
Business intelligence is a term used to represent the application, technology and efforts to
collect data, integrate this data and analyze the information (Smith, 2015). The main purpose
of business intelligence is to provide support in decision making process of any business
organization. We can say that it is data based decision support system. This process is very
useful for business forecasting and analyzing the data to support it. There are various tools
available which can be used for BI process. Some of them are: Microsoft Excel, SharePoint,
SAP, Dundas BI etc.
Analysis of Data
As per the data provided in case study, we have developed a chart as shown in the following
figure. We have data of 2014 and 2015 of various types of sugar products. The data of year
2015 is as:
2015
Variable cost per Unit Fixed Cost(overhead) Sell price per unit
Volume
sold
3

$1.95 $35,000 $2.99 3450000
$1.50 $40,000 $2.35 2450000
$2.50 $45,000 $5.15 2450000
$1.75 $32,000 $3.15 450000
$1.35 $28,000 $2.89 370000
$5.35 $48,000 $7.99 185000
$7.15 $55,000 $8.25 420000
$4.25 $41,000 $6.25 380000
On the basis of this data we have calculated the data of year 2016 and 2017 as:
2016
Variable cost per unit Fixed cost(Overhead) Sell price per unit
Volume
sold
$2.05 $36,050 $3.14 3933000
$1.58 $41,200 $2.47 2474500
$2.63 $46,350 $5.41 2744000
$1.84 $32,960 $3.31 495000
$1.42 $28,840 $3.03 392200
$5.62 $49,440 $8.39 197950
$7.51 $56,650 $8.66 470400
$4.46 $42,230 $6.56 429400
2017
Variable cost per unit Fixed cost(Overhead) Sell price per unit
Volume
sold
$2.11 $37,492 $3.30 4798260
$1.62 $42,848 $2.59 2870420
$2.70 $48,204 $5.68 2908640
$1.89 $34,278 $3.47 608850
$1.46 $29,994 $3.19 380434
4

$5.79 $51,418 $8.81 207847.5
$7.73 $58,916 $9.10 437472
$4.60 $43,919 $6.89 472340
To present and analyzing the above differentiation, we have created following two type of
charts:
RAW WHI BRO ICI CAS CUB GOL TRE
0
1000000
2000000
3000000
4000000
5000000
6000000
7000000
8000000
9000000
10000000
Yearly Earning Chart
2015 $Earnings 2016 $Earnings 2017 $Earnings
Product Type
5

28%
13%
40%
4%
3% 3% 3% 5%
2017 $Earnings
RAW WHI BRO ICI CAS CUB GOL TRE
The variation is selling product is due to changes in inflation and deflation rates which are
dependent on many factors. Our assumed inflation/deflation rate of interest in variable cost,
fixed cost and selling price is as follows:
Sensitivity Table for Expenses &
Revenue % of GROWTH/LOSS to COSTS
& SELL PRICE Column1 Column2
Inflation/Deflation(2016) Inflation/Deflation(2017)
Variable cost 5% 3%
Fixed cost 3% 4%
Sell price 5% 5%
The fluctuations is volume sold year wise will depend on the sale of previous year. This
sensitive data used in the report of Balogne is:
Sensitivity Table for Volume Sold % of
GROWTH/LOSS to VOLUME SOLD Column1 Column2
Product Type n 2016 n 2017
RAW 14% 22%
WHI 1% 16%
6

BRO 12% 6%
ICI 10% 23%
CAS 6% -3%
CUB 7% 5%
GOL 12% -7%
TRE 13% 10%
As we can see that the inflation/deflation is impacting the variable and fixed cost of products
drastically when the %inflation/deflation is increasing to compensate the %profit, Balogne
must produce more quantity of products. Earning of brown sugar (8602455) is maximum in
year 2017 and minimum earning is of golden syrup (537315) in 2017.
To present the data as per the requirement, we used pivot table, which is a macro tool of
analysis in Excel. In excel sheet we have used slicer also which is providing the facility to filter
data in single click. Here the pivot table is showing the details of every product year wise and
aggregate earning of product in three years 2015-2017.
Earning Forecast By
Product (All)
Row Labels
BROWN SUGAR
Earnings of 2015 $6,447,500
Earnings of 2016 $7,635,180
Earnings of 2017 $8,602,455
CASTER SUGAR
Earnings of 2015 $541,800
Earnings of 2016 $634,187
Earnings of 2017 $626,712
GOLDEN SYRUP
Earnings of 2015 $407,000
Earnings of 2016 $543,312
Earnings of 2017 $537,315
ICING SUGAR
Earnings of 2015 $598,000
Earnings of 2016 $727,650
Earnings of 2017 $927,857
RAW SUGAR
Earnings of 2015 $3,553,000
Earnings of 2016 $4,294,836
Earnings of 2017 $5,660,682
7

SUGAR CUBES
Earnings of 2015 $440,400
Earnings of 2016 $548,717
Earnings of 2017 $576,895
Total
Earnings of 2015
$14,749,20
0
Earnings of 2016
$17,494,11
4
Earnings of 2017
$20,709,17
4
TREACLE
Earnings of 2015 $719,000
Earnings of 2016 $901,740
Earnings of 2017 $1,039,747
WHITE SUGAR
Earnings of 2015 $2,042,500
Earnings of 2016 $2,208,491
Earnings of 2017 $2,737,513
(blank)
Earnings of 2015
Earnings of 2016
Earnings of 2017
Total Earnings of 2015
$29,498,40
0
Total Earnings of 2016
$34,988,22
8
Total Earnings of 2017
$41,418,34
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Now if we change the inflation and deflation rate as per the following table, we can analyze
the fluctuations in Sale of products clearly. It is also represented as below chart. The growth in
variable cost is -2% and in fixed cost is 2%. The selling prices is being changed by 6% per
annum.
Sensitivity Table for Expenses & Revenue
% of GROWTH/LOSS to COSTS & SELL
PRICE Column1 Column2
Inflation/Deflation(2016) Inflation/Deflation(2017)
8

Variable cost 3% -2%
Fixed cost 8% 2%
Sell price 2% 6%
RAW
WHI
BRO
ICI
CAS
CUB
GOL
TRE
0 1000000 2000000 3000000 4000000 5000000 6000000 7000000 8000000 9000000 10000000
Yearly Earning
2017 $Earnings 2016 $Earnings 2015 $Earnings
Porter’s five forces model
It is simple and powerful tool which can be used to understand the force factors that could be
beneficial for the growth the any business. It will improve the potential growth of any business
organization (Martin, 2017). For the business point of view, it is very important as if we understand the
potential factors of our business environment which may affect the profit outcome of business, we can
create appropriate business strategies for the business. This tool was created by Professor Michael
Porter in 1979. According to Michael Porter the five forces are:
 Competitor’s count
 Power of suppliers
 Power of Buyers
 Alternative substitute
 New entry
9

Porter’s five forces
Analysis of Supplier power for Balogne
The power of supplier is how much is the possibility of price increases by the suppliers of any
business organization. How many suppliers a business organization has is also very important.
In this business organization will try to find out the quality of suppliers and if they switch from
one supplier to other, what will be the effect on business. The more is the number of potential
suppliers, more are the chances of cheap supply.
Data security in Balogne
Business intelligence is very crucial process. It processes a huge amount of data. Data can be
extracted from scheduled queries or ad hoc queries. This information can be transformed in
Other presentable formats for better understanding. The threats are very common in business.
According to IBM, the threats can be of two types:
10

Internal threat
According to computer world survey almost 50% of businesses are increasing their IT security
budgets, more than 41% businesses are increasing their analytical budget and 35% businesses
are considering that security is the biggest obstacle in the businesses (JAMES, 2011). Internal
threats
are the vulnerability issues which are occurred due to the internal factors of any business.
Main
internal threats occurred due to business partners, compromised internal accounts, employees
and contractors.
BI tools are not best suited as per the data types and as per the format needed for business
reporting.
Resistance to change: Most of the time the latest technological implementation is opposed by
internal users due to the lack of technical knowledge of employees. The reason behind this
may be the unclear communication about the BI tools. It is supposed to be cleared to the staff
that the BI tools are for the betterment and easiness of the business operations.
Failure to change: The implementation of business intelligence tools will surely change the
working culture of organization. There might be chances of data security breaches which will
increase due to the use of Internet uses. It is recommended that before implementing BI, there
must be a proper planning in Balogne. Some other internal threats are as follows:
 Financial gain
 Illegally copying the sensitive data of accounts and drives by employees of
organization.
 Intentional or unintentional data leaks
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External threats
External threats may occur due to security breaches of outsiders (Groot, 2017). Hackers and
Attackers are the main considerable factors in external threats. The debate is ongoing on the
differences between internal and external attacks in data security (Lord, 2017). The main
external threats are due to cybercriminals, the nation state sponsored attackers, Hacktivists
and competition sponsored attackers. Some of external security threats are:
 Denial of service attack
 Trojan horse
 Malware and worms
 Physical theft
 Malicious USB drops
12

Recommendation for securing data
To secure data from internal and external threats following preventive measures can be taken
in Balogne:
1. Implement authentication and authorization in business analytic software.
2. The antivirus software must be updated on regular time interval.
3. To protect data encryption and decryption techniques can be used.
4. Firewall and window security updates must be patched regularly.
5. The data can be protected and controlled by specific authorized team members which
have rights to manage the data.
6. Installation of anti-malware programs on server of company
7. Server must be protected and backup for accidental data breaches and system crashes.
8. Preparing reports and saved with password
9. Passwords and other credentials must be updated on regular basis.
References
Bounds, S. (2009, May 12). bounds.net.au. Retrieved from bounds.net.au:
http://bounds.net.au/node/29
Groot, N. G. (2017, September 27). insider-outsider-data-security-threats. Retrieved from
digitalguardian.com: https://digitalguardian.com/blog/insider-outsider-data-security-threats
JAMES, L. (2011, september 22). yfcommunitynews-top-10-business-intelligence-risks-and-their-
solutions-part-one-107620. Retrieved from www.yellowfinbi.com:
https://www.yellowfinbi.com/blog/2011/09/yfcommunitynews-top-10-business-intelligence-
risks-and-their-solutions-part-one-107620
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Koenig, M. E. (2012, May 4). What-is-KM-Knowledge-Management-Explained-82405.aspx. Retrieved
from www.kmworld.com: http://www.kmworld.com/Articles/Editorial/What-Is-.../What-is-KM-
Knowledge-Management-Explained-82405.aspx
Lord, N. (2017, july 27). insiders-vs-outsiders-whats-greater-cybersecurity-threat-infographic. Retrieved
from digitalguardian.com: https://digitalguardian.com/blog/insiders-vs-outsiders-whats-
greater-cybersecurity-threat-infographic
Martin, M. (2017, June 26). 5446-porters-five-forces.html. Retrieved from
www.businessnewsdaily.com: http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/5446-porters-five-
forces.html
Smith, R. (2015, September 5). olap-bi-definitions/business-intelligence. Retrieved from olap.com:
http://olap.com/learn-bi-olap/olap-bi-definitions/business-intelligence/
Whiting, B. (2015, January 10). what-is-knowledge-management-definition-process-examples.html.
Retrieved from study.com: http://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-knowledge-
management-definition-process-examples.html
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