Chapter 9: Privacy, Security, and Ethics

computer technology concerns

privacy

security

ethics

privacy

concerns the collection and use of data about individuals

3 primary privacy issues

accuracy - data collected must be correct

property - relates to who owns data

access - responsibility of those who have data to control who is able to use that data

big data 

ever-growing volume of data currently being collected 

digital footprint

collection of data that can be searched to reveal a highly detailed account of an individual’s life

information resellers/information brokers

gathers personal data on people and sells it to direct marketers, fund-raisers, and others, usually for a fee 

mistaken identity

occurs when electronic profile of one person is switched with another

Freedom of Information Act

law giving citizens right to examine data about them in federal government files, except for information restricted for national security reasons

employee-monitoring software 

programs that record virtually every activity on a computer system 

illusion of anonymity 

misconception that being selective about disclosing personal information on internet can prevent an invasion of personal privacy 

deep web 

comprised of websites designed to be hidden from standard search engines to allow communication in a secure and anonymous manner 

dark web

part of deep web consisting of sites that use special software to hide a user’s IP address and makes it nearly impossible to identify who is using the site

history files 

include locations/addresses of sites you have recently visited 

temporary internet files/browser cache

contain web page content and instructions for displaying this content

cookies

small data files that are deposited on your hard disk from websites you have visited

first-party cookie 

generated only by website you are currently visiting 

third-party cookie

generated by ad company affiliated with website you are currently visiting

privacy mode

ensures browsing activity is not recorded on your computer

web bugs 

invisible images or HTML code hidden within a web page or email message

transmit info without your knowledge 

spyware

wide range of programs designed to secretly record and report an individual’s activities on internet

computer monitoring software

record every activity made on ur computer

keylogger

records every activity and keystroke made on your computer system 

antispyware/spyware removal programs

designed to detect and remove various types of privacy threats

online identity

information people voluntarily post about themselves online

General Data Protection Regulation GDPR

regulates processing of personal data for all organizations that collect or process data about EU citizens 

Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act

protects personal financial information

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act HIPAA

protects medical records

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act FERPA

restricts disclosure of educational records 

California Consumer Privacy Act CCPA

allows consumers to see all data a company has collected on them and any third parties that data has been shared with

security 

protection of information, hardware, and software 

cybercrime/computer crime

any criminal offense that involves a computer and a network

cyberterrorism- politically motivated

identity theft 

illegal assumption of someone’s identity for purposes of economic gain 

internet scams

phishing

advanced-fee scam

greeting card scam

bank loan/credit card scam

lottery scam

data manipulation

unauthorized access of a computer network and copying files to or from server

ransomware 

malicious software that encrypts your computer’s data and ransoms password to user 

denial of service DoS attacks

attempt to slow down or stop a computer system or network by flooding a computer or network with requests for info and data

distributed denial of service DDoS

social engineering

practice of manipulating people to divulge private data

cracker 

computer criminal who creates and distributes malicious programs/malware 

viruses

programs that migrate through networks and operating systems and attach to other programs and databases

worms

programs that replicate themselves over and over again

Trojan horse

programs that appear to be harmless but have malware 

zombies

computers infected by a virus, worm, or trojan horse

collection is a botnet

rogue wifi hotspots

imitate free wifi networks

capture user information

infected USB flash drives 

have viruses and other malware 

computer fraud and abuse act

makes it a crime for unauthorized persons even to view data using any computer across state lines

password

secret words or phrases that must be keyed into a computer system to gain access

dictionary attack 

uses software to try thousands of common words sequentially to gain unauthorized access to a user’s account 

security suites

provide a collection of utility programs designed to protect your privacy and security while you are on the web

firewalls

act as a security buffer between a corporation’s private network and all external networks, including internet

password managers 

help create strong passwords 

authentication

process of ensuring identity of a user

encryption

process of coding information to make it unreadable except to those who have a special piece of info known as encryption key/key

physical security 

concerned with protecting hardware from possible human and natural disasters 

data security

concerned with protecting software and data from unauthorized tampering or damage

disaster recovery plans

describe ways to continue operating until normal computer operations can be restored

ethics

standards of moral conduct 

computer ethics

guidelines for morally acceptable use of computers in our society

cyberbullying

use of internet to send or post content intended to hurt or embarrass another person

harrassment

doxing

false statements or images

outing

copyright 

legal concept that gives content creators right to control the use and distribution of their work 

software piracy

unauthorized copying and/or distribution of software

digital rights management DRM

encompasses various technologies that control access to electronic media and files

Digital Millenium Copyright Act 

makes it illegal to deactivate or otherwise disable any antipiracy technologies including DRM 

plagiarism

representing some other person’s work and ideas as your own without giving credit to the original source