Transcript Computers: Tools for an Information Age

Module 13:
Ethics and Security in computing
Some social issues in computing
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Division issues, workplace issues, legal issues
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protecting children on the Internet
Ethics in computing
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Significance of the ethics
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intellectual property rights
Security issues in computing
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Security problems
Protection
Viruses and worms
Workplace Issues
Healthy computing
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Harmful emissions from monitor, Eyestrain from monitor, Back
pain from position of chair and desk, Repetitive strain injury
Ergonomic equipment, Ergonomic behavior
Ergonomics refers to human factors related to the use of
computers
Employee monitoring
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An employer monitors an employee’s performance
Many companies have policies that notify employees about
monitoring practices
Environmental concerns
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Power consumption. Computer supplies. PC disposal
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Many other issues
Jurisdictional issues
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International issues
Applying national laws to a world-wide medium is a difficult process
Issues exist over which country’s court has jurisdiction
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National issues
Issues exist over which locality’s court has jurisdiction
Imposition of sales taxes on Internet transactions
Protecting Children on the Internet
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The Internet offers many opportunities for children
There are also unsavory elements on the Internet
Ways to protect children
Blocking software. Child monitoring. Laws to protect children
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Ethics in Computing
Ethics – standards of moral conduct
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Used to help determine the proper course of
action in difficult situations
Ethics Issues
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Computer ethics
Professional ethics
Programmer responsibility
Ethical use of computers
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Intellectual Property Rights
Refers to results of intellectual activity in
the industrial, scientific, literary, or artistic
fields
U.S. Copyright Act provides protection in
three areas
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Copyrights
Patents
Trademarks
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Security and Privacy
Security – data stored on computer must
be kept safe
Privacy – private data must be kept from
prying eyes
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Computer Crime
Hacker – someone who attempts to gain
access to computer systems illegally
Cracker – someone who uses the
computer to engage in illegal activity
Most commonly reported categories
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Credit card fraud
Data communications fraud
Unauthorized access to computer files
Unlawful copying of copyrighted software
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Methods Computer Criminals Use
Bomb
Denial of service
Piggybacking
Trapdoor
Trojan horse
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White-Hat Hackers
Hackers that are paid by a company to
break into that company’s computer
systems
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Expose security holes and flaws before
criminals find them
Once exposed, flaws can be fixed
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Discovery and Prosecution
Crimes are often undetected
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When they are detected, they are often not reported
Prosecution is difficult
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Law enforcement agencies and prosecutors are illequipped to handle computer crime
Judges and juries often don’t understand computer
crime
Congress passed the Computer Fraud and
Abuse Act to increase awareness of computer
crime
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Security: Playing It Safe
Security – a system of safeguards
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Protects system and data from deliberate or
accidental damage
Protects system and data from unauthorized
access
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Controlling Access
Four means of controlling who has access
to the computer
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What you have
What you know
What you do
What you are
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A Disaster Recovery Plan
A method of restoring computer processing
operations and data files in the event of major
destruction
Several approaches
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Manual services
Buying time at a service bureau
Consortium
Plan should include priorities for restoring
programs, plans for notifying employees, and
procedures for handling data in a different
environment
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Data Security
Several techniques can be taken to
prevent theft or alteration of data
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Internal controls
Auditor checks
Applicant screening
Passwords
Built-in software protection
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Personal Computer Security
Physical security of hardware
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Secure hardware in place with
locks and cables
Avoid eating, drinking, and
smoking around computers
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Backing Up Files
Back up to tape drive, CD-RW, or DVD-RAM
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You can use software that automatically backs up at a certain
type of day
Disk mirroring
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Makes second copy of everything you put on disk to another
hard disk
Three types of backup
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Full backup – copies everything from the hard drive
Differential backup – copies all files that have been changed
since the last full backup
Incremental backup – copies only those files that have been
changed since either the last full backup or the last incremental
backup
Comprehensive backup plan
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Security Problems on the Internet
With so many people on the Internet, how
do you keep data secure?
Several approaches
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Using a firewall
Encryption
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