Alex Munoz

OF THE THESIS COUNTERING MAN-IN-THE-MIDDLE ATTACKS IN POINT OF SALE CREDIT CARD TERMINALS by Alex Munoz American Public University System, November 15, 2014 Charles Town, West Virginia Dr. Beverly JN Bowen, PhD, Thesis Professor Credit and debit cards have become the preferred method of payment for many, thanks to their low cost, convenience, and limited liability. As acceptance of these payment methods has become commonplace, criminals likewise increasingly target these accounts to commit fraud. Although various initiatives over the years have aimed at reducing credit card theft by hardening, or implementing additional security features, the overall system of processing these transactions is based on outdated technology. This study examines current technologies, their vulnerabilities, known exploits, and alternatives to existing processes, for the purpose of securing credit card information and transaction processing. Various countermeasures are evaluated in a three level probabili...

Exploring Strategies for Adapting Traditional Vehicle Design Frameworks to Autonomous Vehicle Design by Alex Munoz MS, American Public University, 2015 BA, American Public University, 2012 Doctoral Study Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Information Technology Walden University August 2019 Abstract Fully autonomous vehicles are expected to revolutionize transportation, reduce the cost of ownership, contribute to a cleaner environment, and prevent the majority of traffic accidents and related fatalities. Even though promising approaches for achieving full autonomy exist, developers and manufacturers have to overcome a multitude of challenged before these systems could find widespread adoption. This multiple case study explored the strategies some IT hardware and software developers of self-driving cars use to adapt traditional vehicle design frameworks to address consumer and regulatory requirements in autonomous vehicle designs. The pop...