- Describe four ethical issues that arise when storing electronic information about individuals.
- Compare cybersecurity risks in the U.S. and another country.
- The cyberworld has not only brought with it an abundance of benefits for society but has drug in a slew of potential ethical issues. Personal information was once a more difficult thing for criminals to access when it was all on paper and filed away in physical cabinets. Nowadays, almost everyone has some, if not all, of their personal data scattered over electronic files. With an increasing reliance on technology for data storage, it is hard for individuals to even know where their information is or who has access. Some ethical issues that arise are privacy/confidentially, inappropriate collection and storage, data breaches, and sharing/selling of information. Privacy and confidentiality are crucial to gaining and retaining trust. Personal data must be protected and private. Secondly, personal data must not be over-collected. Businesses who require personal data must collect the bare minimum to conduct business and should not keep for longer than necessary. Personal data that is kept on file indefinitely presents many issues. This leads to a 3rd ethical issue which are data breaches. These are an ethical issue from the hacker’s point of view but can easily be an ethical issue from the hacked business if they fail to properly notify/compensate those who were violated. Lastly, and one of the worse ethical issues are companies who sell or share personal data with other companies for personal gain. As the world becomes more dependent on technology, the ethical issues will continue to rise and must be appropriately addressed by society and the government.
- Cybersecurity is not an American problem, but a global problem. Cyber criminals are posted all over the world and can attack anywhere in the globe. The United States has been at the forefront of the cyber battle but has recently (2020) taken the backburner to other countries. The United States did not regress but was rather surpassed by other counties. China and the United States have long competed and continue to compete for the world stage to include the cyber realm. The United States puts a strong emphasis on privacy and confidentiality and uses the CIA triad to guide information security. This ensures information systems are confidential, have integrity, and are readily available. The CIA triad helps to minimize cybersecurity risks. In 2016/2017, China passed a new cybersecurity law which critics say provides more government oversight and less focus on privacy of data. The law requires data to be stored in China and enables the government access to information for “spot-checks.” Unlike the U.S.’ outlook on cyber risks, this fosters significant problems and violates the privacy of China’s citizens.
Kigerl, A. (2016). Cyber Crime Nation Typologies. International Journal of Cyber Criminology.
Maranto, L. (2020). Who benefits from China’s Cybersecurity Laws. Center for Strategic & International Studies.
Winder, D. (2020). U.S. is Only the 17th Most Cyber-Secure Country, Study Shows. Forbes.