WEEK 5: PRIVACY, SECURITY AND ETHICS Flashcards
What is privacy?
Privacy - referred to as data privacy.
- The right of individuals and companies to preserve and protect their data especially electronic data from access of third parties.
- The ability to control when, how, and whom our personal information is being used by.
What are some privacy concerns?
i) Accuracy, property, access.
1) How accurate and correct is the recorded information?
2) Who owns the data?
3) Who has the right to access the data?
ii) Data collection.
1) Large databases are constantly collecting information about us.
2) Data is being collected from:
a) Government agencies
b) Internet service providers
c) Banking industries
d) Social networking sites.
iii) The size of databases are exploding - ever-growing volume of data is often referred to as big data.
What do information brokers do?
Information brokers collect and analyses our personal data. They use the data available from large databases or data available publicly and create electronic profiles.
-> These profiles are then sold to advertising and marketing companies - this exposes our privacy.
Google Street View
- GCV collects information in the public; although it is personally-identifying information.
- Allows us to explore and view panoramas at different angles anywhere in this world.
- GSV car is moving mainy for taking pictures by using a camera Rosette which can capture pictures from different angles.
How does your online identity become a privacy concern?
Online identity.
1) Refers to the information people voluntarily post about themselves in social networking, blogging, media sharing, and so forth.
2) Social media is so easy to use and popular, people like to update their status without thinking of the consequences.
3) The objective is to share info between friends and relatives - once posted on the web, it will be available in the search features for everyone who cares to look.
Threats from the web are a privacy threat. What are these threats?
Cookies
- Created when a user visits a website and that website uses cookies to keep track the movements of the user.
- Plain text / data files that the web browser saves into the user’s computer in order to track user site preferences and login status.
First party cookies - created by the website that the user is currently visiting.
Third party cookies - usually generated by an advertising company that is affiliated with the website you are currently visiting.
There are also threats from the network. What are some examples?
Spyware
- Classified as malicious software designed to enter your computer device, gather data about you, and forward it to a third party.
- Violates your privacy.
- Can also refer to legitimate software that monitors your data for administrative purposes.
- Eg. employee monitoring software - ethical if the employee was notified in writing by the employer about the activity since day 1, otherwise no.
Web bugs - a graphical image hidden on a web page or email message.
- Designed to monitor who is viewing the web page or the e-mail message.
- Used by a third party or web business for statistics or advertisement purposes.
- Notify the servers which created it every time the page is accessed.
- Server will blast advertisements to the IP Address.
Key Stroke Logger
- Generating records of everything you type on a computer or mobile keyboard.
- Used to silently observe your computer activity while you use your devices as normal.
- Can be misused by criminals to steal your data.
How is security defined?
- Known as cyber security or IT security.
- Refers to protection of hardware, software, and files from being accessed by other people without any knowledge and permission that may cause any theft and/or damages.
What are some of the computer criminals?
Hackers - people who gain unauthorised access to our computer system, either for fun or vulnerable checking.
Crackers - similar to hackers except they have bad intentions such as to gain profit.
Employees - people who work in a company and have access to customers’ and the company’s information.
There is a list of computer crimes. What are they?
Threats
- Malicious Software (Malware) - designed to damage or control a computer system.
- > Viruses
- > Worms
- > Trojans
- > Zombies
Denial of Service (DoS) Attacks
- Targets to shut down a machine, network or system, making it inaccessible to its intended users.
- This is achieved by flooding the target with a lot of traffic until the system is congested or stops.
- Victims of these attacks can be high-profile organizations such as ISP, banking or commerce.
Internet Scam
- Someone uses the internet to cheat or take advantage of a victim, typically for financial gain.
The most common method is Phishing -> a cybercrime in which a target is contacted via email, telephone,, or text message by someone posing as a legitimate institution.
-> traps an individual to providing confidential data such as bank account no, credit card details or password.
What are the factors that can make it unsafe for you to be surfing without caution on the internet?
1) Social networking risks.
- Information posted to a social networking site is no longer private - more info you post, the more vulnerable you become.
2) Rogue WiFi
3) Hotspots.
4) Theft, Identity Theft.
5) Data manipulation
- Criminals alter our data.
- Fraudulent cyber activity.
6) Cyberbullying.
What are physical hazards that can become a threat to your security online?
Natural hazards.
- Tsunami, hurricane, landslide.
Technological failures.
- Air-cond of server room faulty.
- Power outage.
Human errors.
- Carelessness
- Water spill on laptop
- Accidentally deletes data.
- Hard disk formatting.
What are some security measures that can be taken?
Taken as precautions against computer threats:
- Access restrictions
- > Password.
- > Biometric scanning.
- Data loss preventions.
- > As a company’s data and software may be irreplaceable - several methods are used to protect their data and software.
i) Careful screening of job applicants.
ii) Guarding of passwords.
iii) Auditing of data and program periodically.
iv) Making frequent data backups - stored at an offsite location to prevent other disasters. - Encryptions in files, email addresses, webs.
- Disaster recovery plan.
- > Documented and structure approach that describes how an organization can quickly resume work after an unplanned incident.
- > An essential part of a business continuity plan.
- > Applied to the aspects of an organization that depends on a functioning IT infrastructure.
What is computer ethics?
Refers to standard moral conduct; guides a computer user in their communication that may affect their and other people’s lives.
What are the three types of unethical actions?
Plagiarism - the act of presenting another’s work or ideas as your own; not giving credit to the source.
Software Piracy - the action of illegally copying, distributing, and selling computer software.
Digital Piracy - the action of illegally copying, distributing, and selling digital video, music, films, ebooks, computer software, and so forth.
What is a copyright and what is the significance?
Copyright - legally protects an author’s work.
- A legal exclusive right is given to the creator of digital products to make copies, publish, record, and so forth for a fixed number of years.
- The length of the copyright may vary from country to country.
- Usually lasts the lifetime of an author.
