2) Their need to always be accessible: Stephanie

With N&Q Investments becoming an international company, it is important for Hector and Betty to participate and assist with the growth of the company. The most efficient way for them to communicate with each other and also with other employees is through the Internet. For this reason, Hector and Betty should always have access to the Internet. This way they would always have the ability to access databases or websites at a moment's notice through their home PC's, laptops, PDAs, cell phones, etc. Instead of being connected to just any wireless network, Hector and Betty could be connected to the company's VPN that would allow them to access the company's databases with an added level of security. This decreases the chances of hackers stealing any information. However since Hector and Betty would be constantly on the company's network, even if they were on vacations with their family, they would not be able to take a break from work. This would reduce their personal time with their families and would not let them live a life away from work.
N&Q Investments is an investment company in which the stock market plays a crucial part in their company. The stock market has the ability to change dramatically in mere minutes, which supports the need for Hector and Betty to always be accessible to watch the status of their investments.
The need to always be accessible is very important for Hector and Betty, but they should not have to sacrifice their personal lives and their time with their families for it.

3) Social Networking-Privacy Issues when consolidating data: Paul The issue is referring to how user information may be compromised due to the collectivization of data on social networking sites. That is to say, that not only is information on a user’s page available for others to see, but most networking sites claim all content that may be put onto the pages as well. In the case of N&Q investments, it is in the best interest of Hector and Betty (as well as any other employee) to carefully monitor what content they put on their pages. Questionable photos or other types of inappropriate material may not only harm the reputation of the employee, but that of N&Q Investments as well. One simple and relatively easy solution would be to inform current and prospective employees about this concern and perhaps check-in with any of these pages. It is to my knowledge that several colleges and employers are doing this as well, what is there to stop N&Q investments from doing the same? There are relatively few drawbacks besides perhaps the “restriction of freedom of speech/expression”, but I believe what you put on your page is comparable to the clothes you wear or the way you present yourself. If you would not want customers to see you in a bikini, there’s not really a good reason to put that bikini picture up on your website either (especially if you’re a guy). Although each employee is entitled to their private lives, the fact they put it on the web makes it public.

4) Loss of Data: Ryan

This is definitely an important problem that has to be taken care of by N&Q Investments. As shown by the link from teachit.com (shown below), there have been instances where a company has lost private client information. The video in the link is about a HSBC bank whose Southampton offices have lost the personal details of over 370,000 of thier clients. Now whether the details were lost or stolen is still under a pending investigation, but that doesn't matter at the moment because the details didn't have information that could potentially harm their clients' security. However, N&Q Investments should realize that this could be a huge problem if this ever happens to them. They need to start taking precaucions to make sure that their personal client information is never lost or stolen.
When talking about the loss of private information, either one of two things could have happened: it was lost or stolen. Unfortunately, N&Q Investments has to prepare for both of them if they want their data to be completely safe. Several things can be done to make sure that private information is not lost. First of all, all client information should only be held on company-owned technology. This way, the information stays within company hands. This is also a good way to regulate the equipment and make sure that it is never lost. By requiring companies to check-in company technology, the management can feel safe knowing that their clients' information has not been lost as of recently. This may be a stretch, but companies may even want to consider putting a long-range RFID chip into all of the technology. That way, once an employee admits that he has lost the technology, the company can track it down and recover the missing information. But in case worst comes to worse and the technology is ever damaged or manipulated, N&Q has to make sure that they have a backup of all information stored on external hard drives.
The next problem is if the information is stolen. In this scenario, it would also be a good idea to have an RFID chip in the technology so that they might be able to track it down. But if this is unavailable, the company needs to make sure that thier information is protected as best as it can. This means anything from using passwords, biometrics, or encryption before being able to access the information. This way, stolen information is still very hard to access if not impossible. If using a website, management needs to also make sure that this website is very secure under a https. The clients are the first priority of N&Q, and this means that they have to keep a constant care of the clients' information. If the information is ever lost or stolen, N&Q could risk losing clients and getting sued. Even though security of private information can turn into a real hassle, it is always better to be safe than sorry.

5) Wireless Network Crime: Mary
The term “wireless network crime” refers to crimes that take place using or over wireless networks that are available. For example, a passerby who happens to use the LAN available in a location relatively near to N&Q Investments would be considered a network crime (wireless hijacking) because he is using a network he does not necessarily have permission to access. The gravity of a wireless network crime, though, is usually more serious in that it can involve hackers using access to wireless networks to steal information that is being transferred to and from a person or people that access the specific wireless network. This could result in identity theft, loss of a large amount of money, and an overall collapse of N&Q Investments.

As a result, wireless network crime is something that should be taken very seriously and into consideration when N&Q Investments looks at the security options that are available for the networks that are used within company sites and locations (hotspots) used by their employees to ensure that the client’s sensitive information is not stolen or spread. The easiest solution available to N&Q is the use of encryption for the wireless networks – WEP WPA WPA2. WPA2 would be recommended because it is the most advanced type of encryption, enabling pass phrases to be used, and secure type of encryption for the data that is transferred.

A solution to the possibility of a wireless network crime could also be the surveillance of areas where N&Q’s networks are specifically available as the Dallas Police monitors the City Hall. This would enable authorities to ensure that the wireless network is not accessed by anyone out of the company in the case that the security measures already available (WEP WPA WPA2) are broken.

Sources:

http://www.networkcomputing.com/channels/collaboration/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=198100318
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/the_web/article2872726.ece


6) Compatibility of hardware and software: Lisa
Hector and Betty have a challenge in how to make all their equipment compatible. They use a PDA, laptop, and cellphone. These devices must be able to access the company's WAN whenever needed. For example, Hector's PDA should be able to access the company's WAN and all wireless networks that may be used.
They must also be able to access any other networks, wireless or wired, as needed. Any software on their computer must be compatible with other employees. For example, the software and hardware Hector uses should be the same, or at a minimum compatible with, the software Betty is using. This is important because Hector and Betty may have to communicate with each other and if they have to spend valuable work time trying to open a file they will be less productive and possibly lose money for their clients.
In addition, all their software and hardware should be able to meet the security standards set up by the network. If the company was using a WEP2 network security standard for example, then their laptop, cellphone, and PDA should be able to access the network. This is important because the company must keep the data secure in order to ensure clients the best service possible, yet they must also allow their employees to work efficiently as needed.
Hector and Betty should have a policy with all their clients as to what file version they use and make sure it is backward compatible so that their clients can read it. For example, if they create a document in Word 2007, they should save it as a backward compatible file so that if their clients have Word 2000 they can read it. This should simply be a policy for them as International Fund Managers.
Having compatible equipment is important for Hector and Betty because if they must lose time fighting the compatibility issues, then the clients may loose money because their information may not be handled as it should. If this happens, N&Q Investments could lose clients and hence money. Therefore, software compatibility is important.
One solution for this is to make sure all employees have uniform equipment. Though this may be expensive, if N&Q Investments does it now, then they might be able to catch the problem early before they expand and then buy all new employees the same equipment everyone else has. This will not cost them as much. Along with compatible hardware then, the IT department could make sure all the software on all the computers is uniform. By buying new equipment, they could make sure all the equipment is compatible and allow the employees to be more efficient and take all necessary precautions. It would also mean that the IT department only had to be trained on how to fix one specific kind of laptop and one specific kind of PDA, allowing them to be more skilled and hence be more efficient in their work.
Another solution is for the company is to make sure all the equipment for each person is compatible, and all the software for the company is compatible. For example, if Hector uses Word 2003 and Betty uses Word 2007, Hector could just open a patch to allow him to open Word 2007 documents and/or Betty could be sure she saves all documents as backward compatible. This would probably cost the company less initially and still allow Hector and Betty to be efficient. However, this means that the IT department would need to be able to fix a multitude of different kind of hardware and software which is almost impossible and would decrease the efficiency they would have in their work.

sources:
Constantly Plugged in: http://www.teach-ict.com/news/news_features/work_employment/going_online_on_holiday.html
Social Networking: http://www.teach-ict.com/news/news_features/work_employment/future_without_rushour.html
Loss of Data: http://www.teach-ict.com/news/news_features/banks/bank_loses_data.html
Network Crime: http://www.teach-ict.com/news/news_features/networks/tackling_britains_wifi_crime.html