ethical, legal, cultural and environmental concerns

Question 1

give two examples of ethical issues in computing

Answer 1

• ensuring public safety

- security of data

Question 2

what is ransomware

Answer 2

a type of malware which extorts money from unsuspecting users

• once ransomware infects a computer it encrypts data on it which denys the user access unless a ransom is paid

Question 3

give two examples of cultural issues in computing

Answer 3

• the digital divide

- the changing nature of employment

Question 4

what is the digital divide

Answer 4

the division that exists between people who can use technology snd those who are cannot

• young people will use technology more than older people
• some people won’t be able to afford technology and therefore can’t use it

Question 5

how is modern day technology impacted the environment

Answer 5

• resources are needed to produce computers like metals and plastics
• many computers need to be left running continuously which requires a lot of energy
• many computer components are either hard to recycle or contain toxic materials, such as lead

Question 6

how often do users discard ICT equipment

Answer 6

• people have new smartphones ever couple of years
• many organisations replace computers after three or four years
• many people replace older technology before it fails simply because they perceive it to be old-fashioned or out of date

Question 7

give examples of unlawful use of computers

Answer 7

• allowing someone to illegally share personal data
• helping to steal financial information, such as credit card numbers or bank account details
• helping to illegally copy and distribute films, television programmes and music
• extorting information or blackmailing someone

Question 8

what is the Data Protection Act and when was it passed

Answer 8

a legislation passed by parliament that governs the protection of personal data in the UK
- passed in 1998/2018

Question 9

what is the Computer Misuse Act and when was it passed

Answer 9

defines and criminalises a number of offences involving the use of a computer, eg. unauthorised access to computer systems
- passed in 1990

Question 10

what is the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act and when was it passed

Answer 10

gives the creator of published material the control over the way it is used
- passed in 1988

Question 11

what is the Creative Commons (CC) licence

Answer 11

one of several copyright licenses that allows free sharing and distribution of a product

Question 12

what is the Freedom of Information Act and when was it passed

Answer 12

a legislation introduced to give the public the right to access information recorded by the public sector organisations
- passed in 2000

Question 13

what is the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and when did it come into effect

Answer 13

a european wide law that tightens data privacy and has now been implemented in the UK law through the introduction of the DPA
- came into effect in may 2018

Question 14

what are the three parts of the computer misuse act

Answer 14

• illegal to access data stored on a computer unless you have permission to do so
• illegal to access data on a computer when that material will be used to commit further illegal activity such as blackmail
• illegal to make changes to any data stored on a computer when the user does not have permission to do so

Question 15

what is the maximum punishment for breaking the laws in the computer misuse act

Answer 15

£5000 fine or several years’ imprisonment

Question 16

when it come to copyrighted material, give examples of things that are illegal to do to it

Answer 16

• make copies of it
• publish it and sell it without permission
• distribute it to other people
• sell copies to other people

Question 17

what is an attribution CC licence

Answer 17

the work can be copied, modified, distributed, displayed and performed but the copyright owner must be given credit

Question 18

what is a non-commercial CC licence

Answer 18

the work can be copied, modified, distributed and displayed but no profit can be made from it

Question 19

what is a no derivative works CC licence

Answer 19

the work can be copied, distributed, displayed and performed but cannot be modifide

Question 20

what is a share-alike CC licence

Answer 20

the work can be modified and distributed but must be covered by an identical licence

Question 21

what is open source software

Answer 21

can be free of copyright and is usually available to anyone

Question 22

what are the advantages of open source software

Answer 22

• costs nothing and provides the source code so that anyone can modify the software
• it can have any authors
• a modified version, known as a derivative, must also be made freely available for anyone else to use or adapt

Question 23

what are the disadvantages of open source software

Answer 23

• there is no guarantee that it works properly as there is no requirement for anyone to ensure it is bug free
• support might not be readily available, especially if the program is not in widespread use

Question 24

what is proprietary software

Answer 24

software that is copyrighted

Question 25

what are the advantages of proprietary software

Answer 25

• the product should be free of bugs
• help can be sought from the organisation who supplied the software if problems occur
• feature updates which extend the software’s facilities are often available

Question 26

what are the disadvantages of proprietary software

Answer 26

• there is an initial or ongoing subscription cost
• software cannot be adapted to meed the needs of the user
• it can be limited to a single computer or network