Social and Ethical Issues

Social & Ethical Issues Social and ethical issues arise from the processing of data into information. There are many issues that effect people as participants and as indirect users. These issues are broken down into the following categories:  Data Security  Data Accuracy  Copyright

Data Security The security of data and information is a major issue in any organisation. The cost of replacing data that is deliberately or accidentally damaged or lost can be an enormous issue. People who gain illegal access to information systems are referred to as hackers. Hackers are often involved in information theft or financial theft.

Data Security Information theft involves stealing data from one organisation and selling it to another organisation & financial theft involves illegally transferring money from one account to another. Computer crime is one of the most difficult issue in today’s society. One of the major issue is that computer crime is not viewed in the same lights by the community as other crimes, such as burglary or armed robbery.

Data Security Data security involves a series of safeguards to protect the data from deliberate or accidental damage. Some of these are listed below:  Passwords are secret words or number that are typed on the keyboard to gain access to a computer system  Objects such as a key, plastic card or badge can be required to gain access to the information system  Biometric devices are used to verify personal characteristics such as fingerprints, hand size, signature, eye and voice

Data Security  Data encryption is used to prevent data from being intercepted and read during transmission.  Firewalls are used on computer networks to check all data coming from outside sources (such as the Internet) for the purpose of verification and authentication  Backup procedures need to be secure and reliable  The weakest link is the security of any information system is the people in it

Data Accuracy In the past, publishing information was costly and there was less of it. Today, there is a huge amount of information and it is relatively easy to publish on the Internet. As a result, there is no guarantee that all information is accurate or reliable, and it is difficult to check it in a reasonable amount of time. In addition to the issue of responsibility, there are also concerns about the ethics of altering data.

Data Accuracy CONT... For example, photographs can be edited by adding, changing or removing parts of the images. A personal can be taken out of the photograph and another person added. Data Validation Data is collected to solve problems, meet needs or help decision-making. The accuracy of the data must be checked before it is processed into information

Data Validation Data validation also ensures that the data is up-to- date, current, complete and correctly entered. Data validation can be built into a software application such as:  Range checks – are used if the data is restricted to a small range of particular values. (e.g. 15/07/2010)  List checks – are used when the data can be compared to a set of accepted data (e.g. NSW in Australia and not WSN)  Type checks – are used to determine whether the data type is correct (e.g. Text input must be ABC not 123)  Check digit – is a number calculated from the digits of a code number and then added to that number as an extra digit

Copyright Copyright is the right to use, copy or control the work of authors and artists, including software developers, it is often indicated by the © symbol. Copyright ownership is automatic and applies whether or not the work is accompanied by the copyright symbol. Information published on the Internet is protected by copyright, just as it would be if it was in a book. Text and images obtained from a Web site should not be reproduced without acknowledgment.

Copyright CONT... Software developers are protected by copyright so that they receive money for the time, effort and investment spent in developing a program. When software is bought, it contains a licence agreement or registration card, which gives the user permission to make one backup copy. The user is not allowed to make other copies of the software without the permission of the copyright holder. When making illegal copies of software it can lead to software piracy or pirating.

Copyright CONT... Shareware software is provided free and can be copied and distributed, but the licence agreement requires users to pay for the shareware they use. Public domain software, or freeware, can be freely distributed and used. Shareware and public domain software are often distributed using the Internet.

Exercise 1.9 Who are hackers? What safeguards can be taken to protect data? What is data validation? List four different ways that data validation can be built into software What is copyright? Why are software copyright laws difficult to enforce?