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

Privacy – Privacy I would have to say is the biggest ethical issue I see. With all the all the smart devices, microphones, cameras, and GPS trackers, that we carry with us on a daily basis, there is no telling what information is being recorded and stored away on a distant server. Every account that is made is subject to a terms of service agreement that is dense and packed with legal jargon. Nobody reads them because they are too long and people just want to find the closest McDonald’s or listen to the new BTS album, so we click yes and agree to whatever was in the agreement. Big tech companies and social media giants hide behind their terms of service agreements as opposed to being upfront and honest about the information they are storing on us. If a machine know to listen for key words to activate, then does it ever really stop listening?

Access – Access is another big ethical issue, for the obvious reason, who will be able to access my stuff. When a information is stored on a server, you can’t see who has access to that server and it’s not like you will ever meet them face to face, but employees who work for the corporation have access to your data and if they get “let go”, they might decide to damage, steal, or erase your information, along with millions of others.

Personal Property – Once you sign or agree to the terms of service of that new cloud account, any information you upload no longer belongs to just you. Your data belongs to the cloud and the owners of the cloud. If their stocks start doing bad and they new to see a bigger profit, they could simply update their terms of service to include a new paragraph that briefly describes and explains that they will be selling your information and information about you to a third party. What’s even better is that they already have tons of gigs of your stored and they know you won’t want to go through the hassle of moving it over to a more secure server, so you just agree to the terms, without even knowing your information is being sold to the highest bidder. Also, who is to say they don’t have a backup, once you decide to delete all your information?

Misuse – Misuse also ties into personal property. There really is no telling what all happens with your information once it’s uploaded, and there is no telling what could happen in the future if the company gets bought out. Misuse is complicated because you don’t know what someone is willing to do for some extra money.

-Compare cybersecurity risks in the U.S. and another country.

The U.S. is high risk when it comes to cybersecurity attacks and vulnerabilities. The world knows that Americans have a high internet presence and that we are constantly connected to our devices and applications. This makes us a great target because the amount of time we spend on our devices is significantly higher than other countries. For instance countries like India have a very low cyber risk score because they have very little interaction with the internet and the threats that come with it.