Consequences and Uses of Computing Flashcards
Define Code of Conduct
A set of rules that individuals of an organisation voluntarily follow in their day to day work and behaviour
Define Cultural issues
The issues conflicting with the principles, customs or social behaviour of people belonging to a particular segment of society
What are Moral Issues
Moral issues are those that concern an individual’s sense of right and wrong. For example, some people happily download and use paid software without purchasing a licence while others don’t feel that the practice is morally correct. A person’s morals can be influenced by the people around them. For example: friends, family or teachers.
What are Ethical Issues
Ethical issues relate to society and its sense of what is right or wrong. Ethical issues include the use and misuse of personal data. In general, society believes that personal data should be stored securely and not used for anything other than the purpose for which
it was collected.
What are Cultural issues
Cultural issues arise from the differences in moral values between people in different
geographical areas. In the UK, people are generally happy for photographs containing
them to be taken in public and shared online. In other countries, this would not be seen as acceptable. When creating a new computer system, computer scientists must consider where their system is going to be used and what people’s attitudes towards it would be.
What are Legal issues
Legal issues are those that relate to the law. There are a number of laws in the UK that
specifically relate to the use of computers and computer systems. Examples of these
include: The Computer Misuse Act 1990, The Data Protection Act 1998, The Freedom of
Information Act 2000 and The General Data Protection Regulation 2016. Lawmakers face great challenges in the digital age. Enforcing copyright has been made increasingly difficult with the growth of the Internet, individuals are difficult to trace online and international online services have to be made to comply with laws from all of the
countries in which they operate
What was WannaCry?
WannaCry, a piece of ransomware, targeted computers running Microsoft Windows in
2017. The ransomware had a significant global impact and affected NHS computer
systems in England and Scotland.
What was the 2016 US presidential election data issue?
In 2017, Channel 4 News started an investigation into Cambridge Analytica’s actions
relating to the 2016 US Presidential Election. Ethical and privacy issues were raised when
personal data was collected from sources including Facebook users without their consent.
What is the Data Protection Act?
Prevent the misuse of personal data by companies
The organisation has obligations to:
- Data is fairly and lawfully processed
- Data is processed for limited purposes
- Data must be adequate, relevant and not excessive
- Data must be accurate and up to date
Personal data stored for no longer than necessary
- Processed in line with your rights (check/amend data)
- Held securely
- Data can only be transferred outside EEA/EC/EU to countries with adequate DPA
What is the Computer Misuse Act?
Aimed specifically at hackers;
- Unauthorised access to computer material or altering computer data without permission.
e.g. writing a virus to destroy someone else’s data, or actually changing the money in an account.
- Unauthorised access to computer material
- Unauthorised access with intent to commit or facilitate commission of further offences
- Unauthorised access with intent to impair the operation of a computer
Also: Making, supplying or obtaining articles for use in offence under section 1 or 3
What is the Freedom of Information Act?
Allows the public a right to information held by public organisations
E.g. Where public money is being spent
What is the Communications Act?
- Made it illegal for people to access and use Wi-Fi that they did not pay for, unless the network has been made available to the public, such as those provided by coffee shops
- The act dictates how people in the UK can access and use telecommunications, including television, phone calls, and, most importantly, the internet
- It also pertains to malicious communications and has been the subject of a number of cases involving messages across social media
What is Copyright, Design and Patents Act?
Covers a wide range of intellectual property such as music, literature and software.
It is illegal to:
- Copy materials/buy copied materials
- Run pirated materials
- Transmit materials over a communications line, making a copy
What is The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act?
Allows certain public bodies to monitor people’s internet activities
Aka ‘Snoopers Charter’
What can this law allow?
- Demands that ISPs provide access to customer communications
- Prevents the existence of interception activities being revealed in court
- Allows mass surveillance of communications
- Allows monitoring of an individual’s internet activities
- Demands that access be granted to protected information
- Demands that ISPs install equipment that facilitates surveillance
