Personal, Legal, Ethical, and Organizational Issues of Information Systems

PERSONAL, LEGAL, ETHICAL, AND
ORGANIZATIONAL ISSUES OF
INFORMATION SYSTEMS
Risks Associated with Information
Technologies
 Misuses of information technology
 Invade users’ privacy
 Commit computer crimes
 Minimize or prevent by:
 Installing operating system updates regularly
 Using antivirus software
 Using e-mail security features
Cookies
 Cookies
 Small text files with a unique ID tag
 Embedded in a Web browser
 Saved on the user’s hard drive
 Can be useful or intrusive
 Many users disable cookies
 By installing a cookie manager
 Or using Web browser options
Spyware and Adware
 Spyware
 Software that secretly gathers information about users while they browse the
Web
 Can be used maliciously
 Install antivirus or antispyware software
 Adware
 Form of spyware
 Collects information about the user to display advertisements in the Web browser
Phishing
 Phishing
 Sending fraudulent e-mails that seem to come from legitimate sources
 Direct e-mail recipients to false Web sites
 To capture private information
Keyloggers
 Keyloggers
 Monitor and record keystrokes
 Can be software or hardware devices
 Sometimes used by companies to track employees’ use of e-mail and the
Internet
 Can be used for malicious purposes
 Some antivirus and antispyware programs protect against software
keyloggers
Sniffing and Spoofing
 Sniffing
 Capturing and recording network traffic
 Often used by hackers to intercept information
 Spoofing
 Attempt to gain access to a network by posing as an authorized user to find
sensitive information
Computer Crime and Fraud
 Computer fraud
 Unauthorized use of computer data for personal gain
 Social networking sites
 Used for committing computer crime
 Examples
 Denial-of-service attacks
 Identity theft
 Software piracy
 Distributing child pornography
 E-mail spamming
Computer Crime and Fraud (cont’d.)
 Writing or spreading viruses, worms, Trojan programs, and other malicious code
 Stealing file
 Changing computer records
 Virus hoaxes
 Sabotage
 Company insiders commit most computer crimes
Internet Fraud Cost $559 Million in 2009
 Losses from cybercrime more than doubled in 2009
 They jumped from $265 million in 2008 to $559.7 million
 Most of the complaints were about e-mail scams and the non-delivery of
merchandise or payments
Privacy Issues
 Concerns about privacy in the workplace

 Employers search social networking sites
 Employee monitoring systems
 Misuse and abuse of information gathered by:
 Healthcare organizations
 Financial institutions
 Legal firms
 Defining privacy is difficult
 Information technologies have increased ease of access to information
Social Networking Sites and Privacy
Issues
 Stacy Snyder
 Former student at Millersville University of Pennsylvania
 Posted a photo of herself on MySpace, wearing a pirate’s hat and drinking
 Millersville administrators
 Considered the image unprofessional
 Refused to grant her an education degree and teaching certificate
Privacy Issues (cont’d.)
 Number of databases is increasing rapidly

 Enforcement of federal laws has been lax
 Index and link databases using Social Security numbers
 Direct marketing companies are major users of this information
 U.S. government began linking large databases to find information
Privacy Issues (cont’d.)
 Federal laws now regulate collecting and using information on people and
corporations
 1970 Fair Credit Reporting Act
 Acceptable use policies
 Accountability
 Nonrepudiation
 Hardware or software controls
 Determine what personal information is provided on the Web
E-mail
 Presents some serious privacy issues

 Spamming
 Unsolicited e-mail sent for advertising purpose
 Sent in bulk by using automated mailing software
 Ease of access
 People should assume that others could have access to their messages
 Any e-mails sent on company-owned computers are the property of the
organization
Statistics for E-mail and Spam in 2009
 90 trillion – number of e-mails sent on the Internet

 247 billion – average number of e-mail messages per
day
 1.4 billion – number of e-mail users worldwide
 100 million – new e-mail users from the year before
 81% – percentage of e-mails that were spam
 92% – peak spam levels late in the year
 24% – increase in spam over previous year
Data Collection on the Internet
 Number of people shopping online is increasing

 Some customers are reluctant to make online purchases
 Concerns about hackers getting access to their credit card numbers
 Many credit card companies reimburse fraudulent charges
 Other electronic payment systems are being developed
Data Collection on the Internet
(cont’d.)
 Concerned about computers’ contents being searched while they’re
connected to the Internet
 Information users provide on the Web
 Combined with other information and technologies to produce new information
 Log files
 Generated by Web server software
 Record a user’s actions on a Web site
 Data collected on the Internet must be used and interpreted with caution
Ethical Issues of Information
Technologies
 Ethics and ethical decision making
 Moral guidelines people or organizations follow in dealing with others
 More difficult to determine than legal versus illegal
Ethical Issues of Information
Technologies (cont’d.)
 Information technology offers many opportunities for unethical behavior
 Cybercrime, cyberfraud, identity theft, and intellectual property theft
 Many associations promote ethically responsible use of information systems
and technologies
 Codes of ethics
 Quick ethics test
Censorship
 Who decides what should be on the Internet?

 Types of information
 Public
 Private
 Whether or not something can be censored depends in part on who is
doing the censoring
 Restricted access to the Internet
 Burma, China, Singapore
 U.S. citizens don’t want the government controlling Internet access
Censorship (cont’d.)
 Parents are concerned about what their children are exposed to

 Pornography, violence, and adult language
 Mistaken or mistyped URLs
 Search terms
 Guidelines to teach their children to use good judgment while on the
Internet
 Programs such as CyberPatrol, CyberSitter, Net Nanny, and SafeSurf
Intellectual Property
 Intellectual property
 Protections that involve copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, and patents for
“creations of the mind” developed by people or businesses
 Industrial property
 Inventions, trademarks, logos, industrial designs
 Copyrighted material
 Literary and artistic works
 May apply to online materials
 Exceptions under Fair Use Doctrine
Intellectual Property (cont’d.)
 Trademark
 Protects product names and identifying marks
 Patent
 Protects new processes
 Advantages of patents
 Software piracy
 Laws
 Telecommunications Act of 1996
 Communications Decency Act (CDA)
 Laws against spamming
Intellectual Property (cont’d.)
 Internet use policy

 Guard against legal issues and avoid the risks
 Cybersquatting
 Registering, selling, or using a domain name to profit from someone else’s
trademark
Verizon’s Cybersquatting Suit
 Verizon sued OnlineNic

 OnlineNic registered domain names containing Verizon trademarks
 myverizonwireless.com
 iphoneverizonplans.com
 verizon-cellular. com
 Verizon won this suit
Social Divisions and the Digital Divide
 Digital divide
 Computers still aren’t affordable for many people
 Haves and have-nots
 Companies installing cables for Internet connections might subject their
communities to a type of economic “red-lining”
 Children are often victims of this divide
 Funding for computers at schools and libraries
 Loaner programs
The Impact of Information Technology
in the Workplace
 New jobs for:
 Programmers
 Systems analysts
 Database and network administrators
 Network engineers
 Webmasters
 Web page developers
 e-commerce specialists
 Chief information officers (CIOs)
 Technicians
in the Workplace (cont’d.)
 Web designers
 Java programmers
 Web troubleshooters
 Telecommuting and virtual work
 Job deskilling
 Skilled labor eliminated by introducing high technology
 Job downgraded from a skilled to a semiskilled or unskilled position
Advantages and Disadvantages
of Telecommuting
in the Workplace (cont’d.)
 Job upgrading
 Clerical workers who now use computers
 One skilled worker might be capable of doing the job of several
workers
 Virtual organizations
 Networks of independent companies, suppliers, customers, and
manufacturers
 Connected via information technologies
 Share skills and costs
 Have access to each other’s market
Information Technology and Health
Issues
 Reports of health-related issues caused by video display terminals (VDTs)
 No conclusive study
 Health problems associated with the environment in which computers are used
Information Technology and Health
Issues (cont’d.)
 Other reports of health problems
 Vision
 Musculoskeletal
 Skin
 Reproductive
 Stress-related
 Amount of time some people spend on the Web
Green Computing
 Green computing is computing that promotes a sustainable environment

and consumes the least amount of energy
 Green computing involves the design, manufacture, utilization, and
disposal of computers, servers, and computing devices (such as monitors,
printers, storage devices, and networking and communications equipment)
in such a way that there is minimal impact on the environment
Ways to Pursue a Green Computing
Strategy
 Designing products that last longer and are modular in design so that
certain parts can be upgraded without replacing the entire system
 Designing search engines and other computing routines that are faster and
consume less energy
 Replacing several underutilized smaller servers with one large server using a
virtualization technique
Strategy (cont’d.)
 Using computing devices that consume less energy and are

biodegradable
 Allowing certain employees to work from their homes, resulting in fewer cars
on the roads
 Replacing actual face-to-face meetings with meetings over computer
networks
 Using video conferencing, electronic meeting systems, and groupware
Strategy (cont’d.)
 Using a virtual world
 Using cloud computing
 Turning off idle PCs, recycling computer-related materials, and

encouraging car-pool and non-motorized transportation for employees
Summary
 Information technologies
 Affect privacy
 Can be used for computer crimes
 Privacy issues
 E-mail
 Censorship
 Organizational issues
 Digital divide
 Workplace impacts
 Health impact
 Green computing

Personal, Legal, Ethical, and Organizational Issues of Information Systems

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Personal, Legal, Ethical, and Organizational Issues of Information Systems

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Personal, Legal, Ethical, and Organizational Issues of Information Systems

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

PERSONAL, LEGAL, ETHICAL, AND

 Losses from cybercrime more than doubled in 2009

 They jumped from $265 million in 2008 to $559.7 million

 Concerns about privacy in the workplace

 Number of databases is increasing rapidly

 Presents some serious privacy issues

 90 trillion – number of e-mails sent on the Internet

 Number of people shopping online is increasing

 Who decides what should be on the Internet?

 Parents are concerned about what their children are exposed to

 Internet use policy

 Verizon sued OnlineNic

 Green computing is computing that promotes a sustainable environment

 Using computing devices that consume less energy and are

 Using a virtual world

 Using cloud computing

 Turning off idle PCs, recycling computer-related materials, and

You might also like