Transcript Intro to Information Systems I Ethical and Career Issues ISYS 101 Glenn Booker ISYS 101 Lecture #5

Intro to Information Systems I
Ethical and Career Issues
ISYS 101
Glenn Booker
ISYS 101
Lecture #5
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Privacy and the Internet
• Few laws exist on sharing of personal
information obtained over the Internet
• Some have found key identity information
(social security numbers, credit card
numbers) and sold them to anyone
• This can cause “identity theft”
– While legal liability is low, recovering from
such a theft can take years
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Stalking
• Privacy and anonymity are harder and
harder to protect, given the amount of
information available publicly
• It is also possible to stalk people using
information from the Internet
• Many fear that unraveling DNA will result
in more extensive discrimination
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Credit Tracking
• Vast amounts of information on personal
credit history are maintained for everyone,
yet you have no right to prevent it
from happening
• Many buy and sell personal information for
marketing purposes, but private
investigators could use it for other purposes
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Anonymity
• Others, like the European Union, have
better protection of privacy than the USA
• The right to express opinions without fear
of reprisal is crucial in a democracy
• Statements which harm someone else could
be defamation or slander
• In writing, it becomes libel
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Computers and Privacy
• Computers can keep information about you
in many ways
• “Cookies” store a small amount of
information in a text file on your computer
– E.g. preferences when you go to a shopping
web site
– But cookies can also keep track of where you
go on a web site, and what you buy
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Computers and Privacy
• Some cookies report back what kind of
places you visit on the web, which is used
to select which kinds of banner ads will
most likely appeal to you
• Some programs like Ad-aware (from
Lavasoft, http://www.lavasoft.de/) will
scan your computer and remove
offensive cookies
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Computer Identifiers
• Some hardware (e.g. early Pentium III’s)
and software have a built-in unique
identifier, so that crimes committed from
those computers can be uniquely traced to it
• Only public pressure keeps companies from
wider-spread use of such technology, such
as for enforcing software registration
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Self-regulation?
• Many insist that major Internet-based
companies do not do enough to ensure
people’s privacy
– Amazon.com got in a lot of trouble recently for
selling its customer list, though that is legal
• Many proclaim their privacy policies, but
only 10% allow customer control over what
data is collected or used
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Privacy at Work
• Many companies put restrictions on how
and where employees can use the Internet
• In theory this is to keep productivity high
• They have all legal rights to do so
• Hence employees can only assume that their
email and Internet use are constantly
monitored
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Protecting Privacy
• Some web sites will let you
browse anonymously
• Disable cookies on your web browser
• Don’t buy anything or order anything online
• Use free email accounts for anything which
might attract spam (junk email)
• Make sure your kids don’t give out info
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Encryption
• One way to help secure your information is
to use encryption software
• Encryption codes the information you send
on the Internet and allows only the recipient
to decode it – kind of like spies use
• Most kinds of publicly available encryption
can be decoded by law enforcement
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Public Key Encryption
• One common encryption method is called
public key encryption
• You have a private “key” which no one
else knows
• Anyone can use a separate public “key” to
send you a coded message; but it can be
decoded only using your private key
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Public Key Encryption
• Commercially, RSA is a leader in Public
Key Encryption
• For private use, Pretty Good Privacy
(pgp.com) is useful for encrypting personal
email and files
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Hardware Encryption
• More sophisticated encryption methods use
actual hardware (chips) to uniquely identify
the sender and recipient
• The Clipper chip was going to do this, but
has fallen out of favor
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Exporting Encryption
• Software and hardware encryption have
very strict export regulations, too
• Software encryption is limited by the length
of the key – longer keys are harder to break
• The current export limit is 128-bit
encryption (40 and 56-bit are passé)
• In the USA, keys can go to 4096 bits
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Computer Crimes
• Some people use the Internet to break into
other’s computers
• Motives can be boredom, need to show
off their skills, and theft of
corporate knowledge
• Also known as “crackers”
– “Hackers” are skilled computer programmers
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Computer Crimes
• Computer crimes are often never detected
• If someone gets into your computer and
copies the data, you might never be able to
tell it happened
• Many tricks can be used to obtain
passwords to gain entry into computers
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Computer Crimes
• Some programs, like “Satan”, can help
detect weaknesses in computer security
• Other common security issues include
computer viruses, which can be playful
and/or destructive
• Recently macro viruses have run rampant in
email, sending tons of garbage messages
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Computer Crimes
• The biggest source of computer attacks
is disgruntled employees (remember
Jurassic Park?)
• Other troublemakers can include
genuine spies, various kinds of thieves,
and predators
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The Price of Computer Crime
• Computer crimes cost in many ways:
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Time for people to defend from them
Downtime to recover from attacks
Fraud and theft of information or services
Cost of preventing attacks
Loss of privacy
Loss of public safety, and many more ways
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Protection from Computer
Crimes
• Many forms of protection are available
– Control access using SmartCards or
biometric devices
– Use firewalls to help keep out intruders
– Have a reputable firm test your system to make
sure it’s reasonably secure
– Make sure your system is safe from current and
former employees
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Protection from Computer
Crimes
• More ways include:
– Use encryption for information passing over
public lines
– Use antivirus programs (e.g. eTrust)
– Back up your data, so it can be restored easily
– Avoid scams to rip you off
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Ethics
• Computer technology creates new
ethical issues
• Plagiarism is a major one on campus
• It’s tempting to “borrow” some material for
a paper
• Two problems with this – one, your prof is
probably smart enough to catch it, …
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Ethics
• And two, you can fail the course on the spot
if you get caught
– http://www.drexel.edu/studentlife/studenthandb
ook/
• Plagiarism can also result in copyright
infringement, which can get you sued
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Software Piracy
• Software piracy is a major
worldwide problem
• Whether it applies depends on the type of
license your software uses
• The Software Publisher’s Association is
now the Software & Information Industry
Association, at www.spa.org
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Napster
• A major copyright battle is waging over
Napster and other programs which allow the
exchange of music in MP3 format
– Industry maintains it’s blatant
copyright infringement
– Users pretend it’s “fair use”, like quoting a
book in a research paper
– Battle is not fully resolved
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Computer Ethics
• Key ethical guidelines for computer
use include:
– Don’t do anything using a computer you
wouldn’t do in person or with another tool
– Respect yourself and others
• Follow basic guidelines, such as that
by the ACM, IEEE, or Internet
etiquette (netiquette)
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Choosing a Computer
• Need to choose between desktop
and notebook
– Desktop is cheaper and more expandable
– Laptops are portable, but easy to steal
• Need to decide Macintosh versus PC
• What level of performance are you willing
to pay for? What is your budget?
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Choosing a Computer
• Your hardware choices may be driven by
your software needs
– Heavy analysis, programming, CAD, or
scientific program usage will push you to
higher performance levels
– Basic word processing and Internet uses will
need a minimal system – unless you’re a
gaming fanatic
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Choosing a Computer
• Plan for the future, ignore the textbook, and
be reasonable
– Allow for expanding to 2 or 3 times as much
RAM as you start with (and start with at least
256 MB of RAM)
– Allow for more or bigger hard drives – storage
is cheap, and gets used up a lot faster than you
expect! (hard drives might range 20 - 60 GB)
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Choosing a Computer
• Video is cheap important since you look at
it all the time!
• A minimum video card has 32 MB of RAM
and probably uses an AGP slot
• Don’t think of using a monitor under 17”
(for desktop systems); and 19” is still cheap
($300 for a decent one)
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Choosing a Computer
• Modems, if you use one, should be V.90
compatible, and avoid Windows-only
modems (Win modems use the operating
system to do their job for them)
• Network cards should only be from 3Com
(my opinion, take it or leave it)
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Choosing a Computer
• Sound options depend a lot on how much
you use sound – can range from 16-bit
Sound Blaster to full THX certified sound
• Keyboard and mouse probably use PS/2
ports (except Macs), or maybe USB
– Consider getting an optical mouse if you do a
lot of graphics
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Choosing a Computer
• Protect your computer with a good power
strip (e.g. Isobar)
• Consider using a UPS (Uninterruptible
Power Supply)
– UPS is a battery-powered backup to protect
your computer from sudden power loss
– Gives you a few minutes to shut down your
computer after power goes out
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Choosing a Computer
• Printer choices depend a lot on the type of
output you need
– Inkjets are cheap initially, but very expensive
per page
– Laser printers are cheap per page, but more
expensive initially
– If your home will have a network, get a printer
with built-in networking
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Computer Ailments
• Computer usage has caused some
health problems
• Staring at a computer screen a lot can hurt
your eyes – to avoid this, take frequent
breaks and deliberately focus on things
which are far away
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Computer Ailments
• Some repetitive strain problems (e.g. carpal
tunnel syndrome) are blamed on computer
use, but recent studies have disproven that
• Main way to prevent problems is to use
good keyboard and mouse hand position,
and use supports for your wrists
• Some really spiffy computer chairs also
exist to help avoid problems
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Computers and Disabilities
• Some tools also exist to help people with
disabilities use computers effectively
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Screen readers
Unusual screen resolutions
Voice activated commands
Braille printers
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Career Tracks
• Many career tracks exist in corporate
information technology, from programmer
to chief information officer (CIO)
• The corresponding qualifications needed
also vary widely
• Similar titles also exist in software
development organizations
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Educational Needs
• Distinguish between education (degrees)
and training (certification)
• Education is to ensure you understand the
foundation of how technology works, and
can build various skills on top of that
– Educational degrees might include information
technology, computer science, or electrical
engineering
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Educational Needs
• Training is to teach a specific set of skills,
such as programming, networking, etc.
• General business skills are still needed, such
as teamwork, communication, industry
knowledge, etc.
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Key Skills
• Key skills for the current marketplace
include:
– C/C++/Java programming
– Web-related skills (Perl, ASP, JBC, etc.)
– Major operating system knowledge (Windows
NT/2000/XP, Unix, Linux)
– Networking (TCP/IP, maybe Novell NetWare)
– Visual Basic and Visual C++
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Key Skills
– Database skills (Oracle, SQL Server)
• Other skills needed tend to be applicationspecific
– CASE tools
– Graphics programs (Adobe Photoshop)
– And any other specific software already used
by that company (AutoCAD, etc.)
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Major Certification Tracks
• Microsoft
– Software development (MCSD)
– Networking (MCSE)
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Oracle (database)
Cisco (networking)
CIW (Internet)
Novell (networking)
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Major Certification Tracks
• Sun
– Solaris (operating system)
– Java (programming)
• And probably others…
• Certification can help demonstrate skills in
spite of missing educational background
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Emerging Technology
• Computer technology keeps advancing in
spite of claims to the contrary
• Moore’s Law indicates circuits double in
power every 18-24 months
– True ever since the 1960’s
• Metcalfe’s Law states that a network’s value
is proportional to the square of the number
of people connected to it
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Emerging Technology
• Net result is that more and more
information is being stored, and able to
communicate with other information
• The textbook predicts a personal computer
in 2005 with 1 GB of RAM (already easily
possible – cost me $250 for the upgrade)
and a 135 GB hard drive (a 181 GB drive
exists)
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Emerging Technology
• Ubiquitous computing is a predicted
trend and fear – that computers will
be everywhere
• One of the greatest challenges is artificial
intelligence (also a great movie, BTW!)
– Can we teach a computer to think?
– If so, will it do so responsibly?
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Emerging Technology
• Judging intelligence isn’t easy
• Computers have long been able to pass the
Turing test – can you fail to tell the
difference between a conversation with a
computer versus one with a person?
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Emerging Technology
• Some computer feats are based on brute
force – like calculating all remaining chess
moves – but that can seem like intelligence
• Working with computers using our natural
language is a common goal – like Scotty in
Star Trek telling the computer what to do
– But only predefined commands can be given so
far
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Emerging Technology
• Speech recognition and machine translation
into other human languages are still fairly
primitive – errors are very frequent
– A classic example is to translate the idiom “out
of sight, out of mind” into another language and
then back into English … the most common
result is “invisible, insane”
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Emerging Technology
• Expert systems try to understand a limited
field in depth, using sophisticated logic
– Best known example is to provide medical
diagnoses by prompting for answers to many
questions (such as symptoms, test results, etc.)
– These systems use rules to describe how to
proceed from any given point
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Emerging Technology
• Fuzzy logic is being used to control systems
(e.g. trains) more smoothly than normal
logic allows
• Robots are becoming more common,
but are still very limited in scope
• “Strong AI” seeks to develop truly
intelligent computers, but is not very close
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Emerging Technology
• Neural networks once promised to answer
all of our computer logic needs
– Based on human nervous system design, neural
nets learn by trial and error to reinforce the best
patterns of behavior
• So computers remain our humble servants –
thank goodness!
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Where Do We Go From Here?
• Computer technology is the foundation of
our society; it pervades every aspect of
daily life, whether we see it or not
• Computers follow programs to take in
inputs, process them, provide output,
and store the results – in spite of their
immense speed, they are clueless idiots
at our disposal
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