MASTERS OF SCIENCE: Information Security and Dumpster Diving Report

This report focuses on the risks of information security, particularly those posed by dumpster diving. It highlights how easily accessible information in universities, such as the University of Cincinnati, can be exploited. The report details vulnerabilities like improper waste disposal, unsecured computer systems, and the use of removable storage devices. It emphasizes the lack of secure practices such as shredding documents and the potential for data breaches due to networked systems. It also touches upon the challenges of encryption methods that depend on passwords. The paper references the works of Salomon (2003) and Long (2011) to support the analysis of these risks. The report emphasizes the necessity of safeguarding information through better practices and better training of staff to protect sensitive data from unauthorized access.

Running Head: MASTERS OF SCIENCE IN COMPUTER SCIENCE 1
MASTERS OF SCIENCE IN COMPUTER SCIENCE
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Institution:
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SAFETY OF INFORMATION
Dumpster diving in general terms means looking for something of great value in a trash, but in
today’s world, it is a means of getting information that can be used to carry attack on computer
network. It does not involve looking for passwords or codes alone but can also include checking
phone lists, calendars; which help an attacker can gain access to various sites of interest
(Springer Science & Business Media, 2011).
In university of Cincinnati, there is a lot of information which should be kept safely and if need
of disposable, it should be done in a proper way. In this institution dumpsters can easily access
information because there is no proper storage and waste disposal, this is because of the high
number of students and there is no proper policy on information storage and also all trash are not
disposed properly.
Information can be accessed easily by divers in this institution because there is a lot of paper
work being done and that the wastes are not properly disposed. The used documents which might
be containing important information are thrown on open trash bins which are kept in open areas
where dumpsters get access to it.
This institution has common laboratories especially computer laboratories which are accessed by
each student, therefore because those computers have some information, dumpsters are able to
get information from the computers because they are not coded and do not have passwords to
prevent access. The use of flash disks and other storage devices has caused a threat to safety of
information; this is because those are small gadgets which cannot be seen and one can transfer
information into it and move away with them.

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There is no shredding of papers in this institution as they waste papers and all other trash are
stored in dust bins which can be easily accessed by everyone; this gives dumpster divers an easy
time to get the information needed.
Old computers from the laboratories are left without being used and the information in it is not
removed, this causes easy access of information in them because all information is still in them.
The staff working in this institution has not been trained on the need to maintain safety of
information from hackers; therefore the documents kept in an unsafe manner and can easily be
taken away.
Because the computers in this institution are networked to one server, another person can access
information from another computer without any difficulty hence loss of information. With
networked systems, personal information can be hacked by dumpster divers.
With the advancement of technology, other safe ways of safeguarding information like
encryption (Salomon, 2003) has been embraced but this has a challenge too because it involves
the use of passwords which can easily be corrupted.

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References
Salomon, D. (2013). Data privacy and security: encryption and information hiding.
Springer Science & Business Media. Long, J. (2011). No tech hacking: A guide to social
engineering, dumpster diving, and shoulder surfing. Syngress.