In cybersecurity, ethics is always a debate. There are four major ethical priorities for storing electronic information: privacy and confidentiality, security breaches, system implementation, and data inaccuracies. Justice Samuel Dennis Warren and Justice Louis Brandeis define privacy as the right “to be let alone.” Another way I would describe it is an individual’s right to not give out information about themselves. If someone has their personal information stored online, then it should not be encroached upon by cyber specialists without proper authorization.

Security breaches into shared databases threaten everyone’s privacy on the internet. Someone’s personal information may be made available to others without their consent which is a huge issue. It could be medical records, bank statements, or any type of federal document that isn’t supposed to be public information. One example in particular has to do with hospitals. There have been many cases in which employees at a hospital use their position to illegally obtain and sell patients’ private information. One incident at Howard University Hospital compromised over 34,000 patients’ medical data.

Many organizations face challenges in the course of system implementation. These challenges result in wasted resources, angry providers, and a loss of trust from current and potential clients. If it’s clear that a company has difficulty setting up a network, who’s to say they won’t have difficulty maintaining it.

Lastly, data inaccuracies are a huge ethical problem when it comes to information security. When storing information online, companies have to be especially careful because one mishap could tarnish their whole reputation. The loss or destruction of data happens frequently during data transfers. This can easily result in the misinput of data or even identity theft.