Question Description
I’m working on a computer science discussion question and need a reference to help me learn.
Leslie is a cybersecurity consultant approached by a new startup, BioHack, which plans to
develop a revolutionary but controversial new consumer product: a subdermal implant that will
broadcast customers personally identifying information within a 10–foot range, using strong
encryption that can only be read and decrypted by intended receivers using special BioHack–
designed mobile scanning devices. Users will be able to choose what kind of information they
broadcast, but two primary applications will be developed and marketed initially: the first will
broadcast credit card data enabling the user to make purchases with the wave of a hand. The
second will broadcast medical data that can notify emergency first responders of the users
allergies, medical conditions, and current medications. The proprietary techniques that
BioHack has developed for this device are highly advanced and must be tightly secured in order
for the companys future to be viable. However, BioHacks founders tell Leslie that they cannot
presently afford to hire a dedicated in–house cybersecurity team, though they fully intend to put
one in place before the product goes to market. They also tell Leslie that their security budget
is limited due to the immense costs of product design and prototype testing, so they ask her to
recommend FOSS (free open–source software) solutions for their security apparatus and seek
other cost–saving measures for getting the most out of their security budget. They also tell her
that they cannot afford her full consulting fee, so they offer instead to pay her a more modest
fee, plus a considerable number of shares of their company stock.
