Hackers come in many colours Open disclosure of software vulnerabilities is often associated with gray-hat hackers, described as security researchers who aren’t particular about who learns of their findings. Research the three types of hackers (white hat, gray hat and black hat) and try to determine their typical positions on full disclosure of software problems prior to patches or new versions of the software being made available in the marketplace. Use Google.com or your favourite Internet search engine with a query of “Open Disclosure of Software Vulnerabilities” to help you formulate your answers. Outline of the Report 1. Title/Cover Page 2. Table of Contents, including page numbers of all report sections, tables, and figures 3. Abstract 4. Introduction 5. Research methods and approach 6. Results 7. Discussions, including discussion about scope and limitations 8. Conclusions 9. References Individual Research Report Assessment Criteria (10 marks) 1. Length of the report: 2000 - 2500 words [0.5] 2. Originality, i.e., your own interpretation, analysis and synthesis of other people’s work [1.5] 3. The quality of references (the relevancy and credibility of the references) [0.5] 4. The results are evidence-based [1.5] 5. The reasoning is logically sound and of high clarity [1.5] 6. Consistency of referencing style [0.5] 7. The accuracy and comprehensiveness of the answers or solutions [1.5] 8. Clarity and structure of written work [1] 9. The language is accurate, concise and readable [1.5] Notes on Report Presentation 1. Your work must be typed. Number your pages. 2. Always keep a copy of your work. 3. An analytical essay should be an evidence-based argument. It should present a case. You should discuss a problem and not simply narrate events. It may be necessary to devote some space to narrative or description, but the major task will be the weighing and the assessing of evidence and arguing from that evidence to a solution of the problem. Have a clear idea of what the problem is and what it involves. Remember that there will seldom be a single clear-cut answer to it. 4. Read and take notes in your own words, taking care to acknowledge the source exactly (full citation including page numbers or URL). 5. Sources vary in quality and not all works on a topic will be relevant or suited to your purpose. Wherever possible, work out your own solutions and interpretations. Do not accept without question the views and interpretations of any author. Part of your task is to assess and criticise the work of other writers. Do not rely on a single source of information or ideas; you should try to find a range of relevant writings. Where there is some disagreement among the experts, discuss this fact. 6. Plan your essay carefully; spend time getting a logical organisation. When you are taking notes from a book or an article, record the page numbers so that you can refer to them exactly when you are writing your paper. Write it in clear, simple and grammatical prose. Do not submit your first attempt; give yourself time to revise and improve your paper. 7. As far as possible, you should use your own words. It is a good idea when you have done your preliminary reading for the paper, to write your first draft without having your source material in front of you. Then you can decide what material to draw on to support your arguments and how to use it. Use quotations only to illustrate or back up a point in your argument – for example, if your purpose is to discuss the style or argument that author exemplifies. Do not use a quotation simply because you think the author is better at phrasing a point than you are. Try to avoid long quotes; they are seldom necessary. 8. Keep direct quotes to a minimum and only to make a point that cannot be made in your own words. It is preferable not to conclude with a quote. It's your argument, why use someone else's word? It is important to understand what is, and is not, acceptable practice when using other people's material. You should avoid paraphrasing passages closely. If you copy phrases or sentences word for word, you must make it clear that they are quotes, by enclosing the words in quotation marks, or, if you are using a passage of several lines, by separating it out as a block quote, indented for clarity. If you express an idea or argument that is neither your own nor an item of common knowledge, you must also attribute this. In both cases, acknowledge the source in the approved manner. The boundary between your words and ideas, and those borrowed from another person, must always be clear to the reader, otherwise you will be plagiarising. Plagiarism can lead to a grade of zero for the essay. 9. Optional: On the first page of the text should appear an abstract of not more than 200 words in continuous prose (not note form) which outlines the arguments of the essay. An abstract is not an introduction to the essay. 10. Do not use conversational style or colloquialisms. Use the third person as a general rule. Check spelling and use the computerised "spell check" if it is available on the word processing package you are using. Also use a thesaurus to help in choice of words and to avoid too much repetition. An integral part of your essay structure is the construction of proper sentences and writing good paragraphs. Good, logical argument construction is essential in making clear your point of view. You must provide evidence if you are to be convincing. 11. Use appropriate punctuation. Many common essay problems involve punctuation. Refer to this section of this guide, for the correct usage of punctuation. 12. If you use non-textual material (eg. tables, figures, etc.), you MUST refer to these in the assignment. The reader needs to understand why this material was built into the piece of work. 13. References should be made in the form of either numbered footnotes on each page or numbered notes at the end of the text. They should be numbered consecutively through the entire essay; numbering of footnotes should not start again from 1 on each page. References should appear in an accepted style (refer to earlier sections of this booklet). 14. Provide a bibliography in alphabetical order by author. SITACS Style Guide Page 41, http://www.sitacs.uow.edu.au/info/current/styleguide.pdf * The above notes were adapted from those used in the Department of Science and Technology Studies, University of Wollongong. Submission of the research report The soft copy of the report is to be submitted to Moodle by the due date. Marked assignments Marked assignments will be handed-out in tutorial sessions. Referencing Style The Harvard system of referencing is used. Plagiarism Plagiarism will not be tolerated and may result in the imposition of severe penalties. At the least, you will receive a zero grade for the piece of work concerned. Plagiarism is the use of another person’s work as if it is your own. The other person may be an author, a lecturer or another student. The work may previously have been published in print form or on the Web. The University of Wollongong’s policy on plagiarism is available on the University Online Calendar. http://www.uow.edu.au/handbook/courserules/plagiarism.html To avoid plagiarism when using other people’s work, take care to reference appropriately. See the Referencing guidelines in the School website http://www.sitacs.uow.edu.au/info/current/styleguide.pdf