Legal and Ethical Responsibilities Social Protocols Network professionals

Legal and Ethical Responsibilities

Social Protocols “Network professionals and users of networks have legal and ethical responsibilities with respect to social protocols and the ownership of data and information. ” Computing, VCE Units 1 & 2, Lawson, Keane, Kelly, Potts & Sullivan (Page 122) What does the word Protocol mean?

Social Protocol Is a set of rules or behaviours that are used and considered appropriate for online environments. Examples include: ØAppropriate behaviour when communicating ØOwnership of intellectual property ØHow information is stored and kept secure

Legal and Ethical Responsibilities What is the difference between Legal and Ethical?

Legal Responsibilities Is when a person is held accountable under LAW. Breaching a law or legal responsibility could result in legal consequences, such as fines, charges, jail time. Online Legal Concerns in terms of Communication and Storage of information are: ØCopyright ØPrivacy What are these relating to?

Case Study: The Children’s Singing and Dancing Academy is an organisation that runs singing, dancing and acting classes specifically aimed at school-aged children. The company offers classes after school on most weeknights and on weekends in various locations around Melbourne. Children from many suburbs participate in this extracurricular activity. The company is a not-for-profit organisation set up specifically to broaden children’s interest in the performing arts. The academy has a webpage and advertises its classes and locations through this medium. Pictures taken of students during their end-of-semester performances re used for advertising the company. The company relies on technology usage by creating brochures, updating their webpage and storing of clients’ data. Although the data stored is primarily about the children, data on the parents/guardians of the children is also stored. (a) What particular data on children/parents is stored at the Children's’ Singing and dancing Academy. (b) Why does the company need to store data on their clients? (c) What does the Children's’ Singing and dancing Academy need to do to ensure they are compliant with the Privacy Act 1988? (d) Given that the Children's’ Singing and dancing Academy. as a performance at the end of each semester, how do copyright laws affect the company? (e) What measure are needed to protect the integrity of data and information?

Consequences of and privacy violation Breaches of privacy Loss of intellectual property (Copyright) Plagiarism Loss of income due to unavailability of information and services Others?

Ethical Responsibilities Being morally correct or proper according to accepted standards of social or professional behaviour. Actions may be legal but not ethical. Online Ethical Concerns are (at least – there are many!) ØUse or storage of Inappropriate Material ØDefamatory Comments ØInappropriate Language or Communication

Sample Ethical Problem Black Mirror Episode “Nose Dive” Very similar to Facebook or Instagram, where people get “likes” or a rating. This rating though is very important as it determines: ØWhat type of job you can apply for ØWhere you live ØBeing able to take a flight requires you have a certain rating

Sample Ethical dilemma A programmer knows there is a bug in a piece of software they are working on. This will impact on the accuracy of the software’s data manipulation. Due to strict deadlines the manager tells the programmer to ignore the bug as it is more important to deliver the package on time. Does the programmer have a greater obligation to the employer or client?

Social Tensions can arise if ethical or legal responsibilities are not clearly outlined. This could be between stakeholders What are stakeholders?

Resolving Legal, Ethical and Social Tensions 6 Steps: 1) Identify the Problem. 2) Identify the Stakeholders. 3) Identify possible alternatives. What options are available? What are the consequences? 4) Identify Ethical Standards. Are there also any Laws to be followed? 5) Evaluate options. Identify strengths and weaknesses. Which decision will cause least harm and can it be reversed? 6) Make a Decision. Justify.

Lastly, Risks associated with using a network. Explain why each is a risk: v. Breaches of security v. User Dependence v. Social Networks

Breaches of Security We discussed the 3 different types of threats to data and information! Deliberate and Accidental What were they? …. And Event Based (all though this is more to do with loss of data than a security breach)

Viruses/Malware Hackers Valuable information being accessed, stolen, damaged or deliberately altered for fraudulent purposes Wireless networks without any suitable encryption

User Dependence A file server develops a fault, a user may not be able to access their work or shared programs. This impacts on productivity and the effectiveness of both a work and a business.

Social Networks Distractions! Too reliant on unverified information. Face to face communication reduced Language skills reduced Ownership of material and copyright issues Sensitive data revealed

Security Procedures

Communication For Communication: Well documented processes for communicating sensitive information Password protection Policies

Storage For Storage of data and information: File-name conventions (to avoid time wasting mainly!). Things such as (date stamp, version, name) Backups Backup timeline Location of backup files Archiving (copying to long term storage)

Disposal For disposal of data and information Destruction (deletion) Disposal (files and equipment) – companies must decide on the best method of disposal of sensitive information, when hardware upgraded and old hardware needs to be disposed of.