Describe four ethical issues that arise when storing electronic information about individual.
- Privacy – When someone chooses to store there information with a third-party it is more than likely that they are under the impression that their information is going to be kept private. When companies obtain this information it must be a priority to take the proper precautions in order to ensure this PI is kept confidential. This can be done by making sure that the data being stored is anonymized and that it is not also being shared.
- Consent – Every person has the right to know how their personal information is being utilized. When engaging in business with someone it becomes imperative to keep them informed on what is occurring. This applies to handling someone’s sensitive information. Making decisions regarding someones sensitive information without their consent can lead to legal issues if the person disagrees with how their PI was handled.
- Security – Personal information is priceless considering what you can do with it, that’s why data breaches have become increasingly popular in recent years. Companies have a duty to ensure that they are taking the property security measures needed in order to prevent a breach from happening. Checking for vulnerabilities and resolving them stops a potential exploitable problem, since it is better to be proactive rather than reactive. Also, as the internet continues to change so will the manner in which information will try to be illegally accessed, so constantly working on how to improve security measures is also important.
- Data misuse – When a client is guaranteed that their data is going to be used in a specific manner, that guarantee should be honored. Some people use this data in a malicious manner without a person knowing. For example, a politician obtained the personal information of thousands of people to state that they endorse his plan. This is only one of hundreds if not thousands of ways that sensitive data can be misused.