Topic 6: Legal, social, ethical and environmental issues when using ICT Flashcards
What are the rights of the data subject and the data holder?
The person about whom the personal details are held is called the data subject by the act. The person in the organisation who is responsible for the personal data held is called the date holder.
The data protection act 1998 protects individuals by placing obligations on the organisations who collect and process the data (i.e. the data holders) in the following ways:
Registration (also called notification)
It requires anyone who uses personal data to register with the information commissioner, who is the person who is in charge of the act/law. They must say what data they intend to hold and what they intend to do with it.
Individuals can see their own personal data: anyone can apply to see the personal data held about them. Organisations have to show it and if there is any wrong information, it must be corrected.
Data must be kept secure and up-to-date: data subjects (the people here data is about) can sue an organisation that does not keep their personal data secure.
The right for a person to claim compensation: if data is processed unlawfully by an organisation then the person could take them to court and claim conversation.
What is the data protection act?
The data protection act concerns personal data, which means data:
What are the data protection principles?
The holder of the information has eight obligations (called principles) placed on them by the data protection act and these are summarised below.
The data protection principles state that personal data should be:
1.processed fairly and lawfully.
2.obtained only for specified purposes.
3.adequate, relevant and not excessive.
4.accurate and kept up-to-date.
5.not kept any longer than is necessary.
6.processed in accordance with the rights of the data subject.
7.kept secure.
8.not transferred to a country outside the EU unless they have a comparable data protection law.
What are some exemptions from the data protection act?
What are the physical methods to prevent unauthorised access to computer systems?
What is hacking?
Hacking is the process of deliberately attempting to or actually gaining access to an ICT system without permission. Most hackers use the internet to gain illegal access to other computers connected to the Internet. Hacking could also be where an employee gains access to their managers computer without their permission, for example to see a confidential job reference written about them. Once a hacker has gained access to the system, they may:
What are the issues concerning copyright issues?
Many people spend a lot of time and money creating original work such as a piece of music, a picture, a piece of software, a photograph, a newspaper article, etc. Many of these people do it for living so it is only fair that their work should not be copied without permission.
The Copyright, designs and patents act 1988 protects intellectual property from being copied such as:
How would you avoid plagiarism?
Plagiarism is passing of someone else’s work as your own. For example, cutting and pasting an article of the Internet and handing it in as an essay would be plagiarism.
In order to avoid plagiarism:
What are the moral and ethical implications of illegal downloading and filesharing?
You may think that any downloading filesharing do not really hurt anyone as it is only the record companies, software companies and famous stars that have lots of money that are affected. The truth
is it affects everyone and here is how:
Why would your Internet service provider deny you access to the Internet?
If you are caught illegally downloading music, video and other files than your Internet service provider could deny you the facility of connecting to the Internet. The aim of this is to prevent persistent offenders from gaining Internet access.
What is the Freedom of information act 2000?
Gives the right of access to information held by the public authorities. Using this act individual can access information such as emails, meeting minutes, research reports, etc., held by local authorities. Usually this information would be about how public authorities carry out their duties, how they make their decisions and how they spend public money.
What is the electronic Communications act 2000?
Deals with two things: it regulates the use of cryptographic services (i.e. services that allow data to be collected, such as services for sending credit/debit card details to make online purchases.) It also makes digital signatures legally binding in the same way that handwritten signatures are legally binding. Both of these are important when conducting business electronically.
What is the regulation of investigatory powers act 2000?
Concerned with the regulation of public bodies such as the police, MI5, etc., to carry out surveillance and investigation in order to detect and prevent terrorism and crime. It allows police, MI5, councils and other government departments to read your emails, listen to your private phone calls, your text messages and monitor all your searches made on the Internet.
What is RSI? What causes it? How can it be prevented?
Repetitive strain injury, this is caused by typing at high-speed or using a mouse over a long period of time. RSI is a painful illness that causes swelling of the joints and is similar to arthritis. It can get so bad that sufferers are unable to use their hands.
The following can cause RSI:
What is eyestrain? What causes it and how can it be prevented?
Looking at the screen all day can give you eyestrain. Many of the people who use computer screens for long periods of time have to wear glasses or contact lenses. The symptoms of eyestrain include blurred vision and headaches.
The following can cause eyestrain:
