Data Communications 2 Assignment

Marks: 30% of all marks for this subject. Check the full assessment details.

Due : At about the same time as the exam, by post to

Australian Computer Society
Locked Bag 36
South Melbourne Vic 3205
Australia

Authorship: Your submission must be in your own words. If you quote others, indicate the source.

Assessment: I may ask you questions regarding the content of your assignment. Marks are allocated for both writing style and content.

Requirements: The project may be a 3,000 word paper or a small program and a 1,500 word paper.

Presentation: Your submission must be word processed, submitted by both email and on paper (a version in HTML format would be very helpful). Include the following elements:-

• Title page (Student name, subject name, topic)
• Table of contents
• Page numbers on printed versions
• HTML links internally in HTML versions
• List all figures, tables and appendices
• List all sections to two levels
• Abstract of 100-200 words
• A summary of the main findings
• Body of the report
• Introduction
• Background to a problem or issue
• Identify and state the aspect in need of clarification
• A summary of the main findings
• Define the important terms, say what others think of these definitions, say what you think of the definitions
• Present your argument, base it on evidence such as data, the well reasoned opinions of authorities and logical deduction
• Summarise your argument in a conclusion
• Appendix of code, tables of data, other fine details
• References, in order according to your chosen style

Publication: Your projects will become the property of the ACS and may be published (with due credit to you) on the WWW or elsewhere. Please ensure that there are no liables, infringements of intellectual property or trade secrets in the report.

Libraries: Students are encouraged to make use of library facilities as well as the references provided.

Topics: You may make up your own topic or choose one from the list below. Email me to have your topic approved.

1. Privacy of email: choosing between Privacy enhanced mail (PEM), S/MIME and other systems.
2. Traffic hiding in a privacy enhanced mail system.
3. Identity hiding in a bulletin board system.
4. Ethical issues in confidential communications systems.
5. Legal issues in confidential communications systems.
6. Traffic analysis (the identification of who is communicating with whom, when and why), the state of the art in the commercial arena.
7. The OECD Information Security Guide-lines, Implications for global communications.
8. The methods used to secure WWW traffic.
9. Digital cash - trials under way, techniques being tied.
10. Visa and Mastercard - network and WWW plans.
11. X.509 Certificates and the web.
12. SNMP capabilities and shortcomings.
13. The growth of the WWW especially in the Asia Pacific area.
14. Which software is being used on the WWW:- which servers, which browsers.
15. How does ISDN fit into the networking options for your firm.
16. What is a "virtual private network", a "virtual subnet"? How do network switches play a role?
17. Analyse network throughput between a few sites in your firm and well known sites in Australia, Europe, Japan, Singapore and USA.
18. Choose your own advanced data communications topic, one with some overlap with the syllabus of this course.