← VCE Software Development U4O2

Medium and large organisations compared

Organisations with more staff, bigger budgets, more systems and users, formal policies and dedicated security teams, so they manage software development and its risks more formally.

Part of: VCE Software Development - U4O2 - Cyber Security: secure software development practices — Module 3

Understanding Medium and large organisations compared in VCE Software Development U4O2

What it does: The big numbers of systems and users show the larger scale that widens the area to protect and makes risk management more formal. A formal approved policy with a required review shows a structured process, which is common in medium and large organisations. Larger organisations have the staff and budget to employ people whose full-time job is security. More staff and systems means rules must be written down so everyone follows the same secure practices. The comment says large organisation but the value says small, so the code contradicts the idea that more money allows more security spending.

Common mistakes: A single = assigns a value. Using == compares instead, so staff is never set. It should be staff = 2500. An if statement must end with a colon. The line should be if sys > 20 and users > 5000:.

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This module's key terms are also in a printable crossword (Modules 1–22) and word search (Modules 1–47).

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Learning
Duo
Which is more likely to have a dedicated security team?
A large organisation with many systems and staffA small business with a handful of staff
Matches
budget = "small" # large organisation
↓
Large organisations usually have bigger budgets, so they can pay for security tools, training and specialist staff. A small budget is the wrong description.
Applying
Meanings
Term
Medium and large organisations
Meaning
Organisations with more staff, bigger budgets, more systems and users, formal policies and dedicated security teams, so they manage software development and its risks more formally.
Practice
organisation ← "large"
Testing
Gaps
IF staff > 500 budget > 1000000 THEN
Check Answer
Spots
1staff == 2500
2if staff >= 200:

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Quick Questions

1. Which is more likely to have a dedicated security team?
A. A large organisation with many systems and staff ✓
B. A small business with a handful of staff
Larger organisations have the staff and budget to employ people whose full-time job is security.
2. Which statement about formal policies is correct?
A. Medium and large organisations usually rely on informal habits instead of written policies
B. Medium and large organisations usually write formal policies and processes for software development ✓
More staff and systems means rules must be written down so everyone follows the same secure practices.
3. How does having more systems and users affect risk?
A. It reduces risk because attacks are spread out
B. It gives attackers more targets, so risk is harder to manage ✓
More systems and users means a bigger attack surface and more places where something can go wrong.
4. Why can a large organisation afford more security measures?
A. It generally has a bigger budget and more staff ✓
B. It has fewer systems to protect
Budget and staff size are key differences. Large organisations usually have more resources for security, but also more to protect.
5. Which describes how a large organisation manages software development risks?
A. Formally, using documented processes and assigned roles ✓
B. Informally, with each developer deciding what to do
Formal management with assigned responsibilities is typical of medium and large organisations.

Match the Pairs

staffCount > 250 → A large organisation has many staff, so it can split software development, testing and security into separate teams.
securityTeam = "dedicated" → A large organisation often has a dedicated security team whose full-time job is managing security risks.
Larger organisations run many systems and users, so more attack points need to be managed. → systems = 120 users = 50000
Larger organisations use formal written policies and processes that every developer must follow. → policy = "approved" reviewRequired = true
budget = "small" # large organisation → Large organisations usually have bigger budgets, so they can pay for security tools, training and specialist staff. A small budget is the wrong description.
if users == 5: needFormalPolicy = true → Formal policies are needed when there are many users and systems, not just 5 users. The condition should test a large number of users.

Key Term

Medium and large organisations
Organisations with more staff, bigger budgets, more systems and users, formal policies and dedicated security teams, so they manage software development and its risks more formally.

Fill in the Blanks

1. IF staff > 500 AND budget > 1000000 THEN size ← "large" END IF
Hint: Type the logical operator that needs both staff and budget conditions to be true.
2. systems ← 12 systems ← systems + 1 DISPLAY systems
Hint: Type the arithmetic operator that adds one more system to the running count.
3. hasTeam ← TRUE IF hasTeam THEN DISPLAY "Team manages risks"
Hint: Type the Boolean value showing the organisation has a dedicated security team.
4. FOR i ← 1 TO systems APPLY formalPolicy(i) NEXT i
Hint: Type the keyword that sets the end of the loop range so every system gets a formal policy.
5. users ← 50000 IF users > 1000 THEN risk ← "high"
Hint: Type the keyword that starts a condition checking the number of users.

Spot the Error

Question 1
A staff == 2500
B if staff >= 200:
C tier = "large"
D else:
E tier = "medium"
Line A — A single = assigns a value. Using == compares instead, so staff is never set. It should be staff = 2500.
Question 2
A sys = 35
B users = 12000
C if sys > 20 and users > 5000
D attack_surface = "large"
Line C — An if statement must end with a colon. The line should be if sys > 20 and users > 5000:
Question 3
A has_policy = True
B if has_policy = True:
C print("Follow process")
Line B — A condition needs the comparison operator == because a single = tries to assign. It should be if has_policy == True:
Question 4
A team_size = 12
B alerts = 40
C if team_size > 0:
D each = team_size / alerts
Line D — Alerts per security team member is alerts divided by team size. The division is the wrong way round. It should be each = alerts / team_size.
Question 5
A budget = 500000
B security_spend = budget + 0.1
C print(security_spend)
Line B — Spending 10% of the budget on security needs multiplication. Adding 0.1 only adds 10 cents. It should be budget * 0.1.

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