Describe four ethical issues that arise when storing electronic information about individuals.

“The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the federal agency responsible for developing information security guidelines, defines information security as the preservation of data confidentiality, integrity, availability.” As Technology is constantly advancing, there is a concern for the safety of individuals electronic information and how it can be stored properly. Data breaches and the comprising of sensitive information often distort one’s trust. Hacking sensitive information is often seen as violation of ethic principles. Violating these procedures have serious consequences but, you might ask why?

Key pieces of information, including customer details and transactions, are typically stored by businesses or organizations. This results in the possibility of multiple ethical issues can arising when discussing the storage of electronic information including: 1. Inappropriate use of data, 2. Keeping an individual’s personal data for longer than necessary, 3. Selling customers’ personal information to third-party companies for the purpose of business 4. Not announcing data breaches that deal with customers’ personal information. Security breaches even threaten things such as confidential health information. All of these ethical issues usually result in a negative impaction on a business or organization reputation.

Additionally, procedures such as ethical oversight should be implemented to ensure appropriate security measures are taking place. There should be no confusion in the storage of personal data. Security measures such as firewalls, antivirus software, and intrusion detection software must be included to protect data integrity. Leadership, teamwork, flexibility, and adaptability are keys to finding solutions to security intrusions.