Comments on Rough Draft #13 “Database Security”

Being an IS student, I would definitely be interested in reading this topic, database security, in a journal especially if my occupation were to require me to insure the protection of company data. Judging by the content presented in this paper, a person wanting to know a little more about database security for the purpose of protecting information systems from potential threats should find more information on the topic in this paper.

This paper does have information that is probably common knowledge to all computer users but the author does a good job in providing additional information that might not be widely known, especially in the areas of protocols and packet encryption.

All in all, the paper is clear in its explanation of each subtopic pertaining to the subject of the paper and clear in defining the overall objective of this paper. I do want to point out that someone who is not up to speed on modern computer lingo might find some of the I.S. lingo in this paper to be a little confusing but, I also understand that the author’s main target audience are people who are familiar with information systems and already have a working knowledge of some aspects of database security. It is that target audience that will find this type of paper beneficial in gaining more knowledge on the subject because it builds upon or reinforces what the reader already knows.

The strength of this paper is in its coverage of the many aspects of information systems security that can potentially affect system databases. Some of the measures discussed in this paper I have never heard of or didn’t quite understand until after I read this paper.

The only weaknesses I saw was that a lot of the information presented should somehow specifically elaborate on how each security measure can directly affect system databases. In other words, the author should attempt to somehow tie the information provided to how these measures can actually affect databases. That would then provide greater value to the reader. In addition, certain areas still need a little more elaboration. I probably didn’t even need to mention that since this is a rough draft.

I believe that the paper already contains a wealth of information on the topic. As far as my recommendations to the associate editor, I recommend this paper to be revised in the areas I indicated as weaknesses and resubmitted. I believe that this paper can be a candidate for publication.