Ethical, Legal and Environmental Impacts of Digital Technology on Wider Society

What are the impacts of cyber security?

**Legal**

* A government cyber security policy may actually weaken your own privacy if it grants the government access to personal data
* A company may be held liable if it does not protect data from unauthorised access, it can be sued for a data breach
* ==An organisation is likely to have a plan in place for what to do if a cyberattack should happen e.g. ensuring data backups are available to rebuild the system, or having technical advisers on hand to help==
* ==Additional network hardware such as firewalls to prevent unauthorised access from outside the network, and software such as an intrusion detection system are both examples of using technology to improve the security of a network==

**Ethical**

* ==Making sure that people understand how to protect their data is an important first step to protecting a network==
* ==Encouraging people to use strong passwords, not to open emails from unknown addresses, and to back up their data all helps==

What are the impacts of mobile technologies?

**Legal**

* Phishing text messages
* Trojan software
* Illegal downloads

**Ethical**

* New technologies and devices are often costly to purchase and require ongoing maintenance and upkeep
* The potential for them to disrupt productivity and workflow in the business increases
* Personal data vulnerabilities
* ==Increased ability to communicate with friends and family==
* ==Greater access to modern apps and services==
* ==Improved networking capabilities==

**Environmental**

* Constant replacement of mobile phones and their batteries have a negative impact on the environment

What are the impacts of wireless networking?

**Legal**

* Privacy can be breached as other users may be able to access personal data
* Organisations may have to legally hold themselves accountable if they allow people to anonymously access the wireless network and engage in criminal activity using it
* Organisation has a duty to encrypt data to store it safely and securely in order to prevent the stealing or misuse of user data
* Users should understand what it is there are signing up to when they hand over personal data (DPA)

**Ethical**

* Easier access for unauthorised users than in a wired network
* No physical connection is needed, which makes it more difficult to see who is connected to the network
* Many risks associated with a highly connected system, which include technical failures which could disrupt an entire network of urban technology

**Environmental**

* ==Better for the environment as far as the production of cables and network hardware are concerned==

What are the impacts of cloud storage?

**Legal**

* Cloud storage hosts could be targeted by hackers

**Ethical**

* People have less control over their data
* Access to data is only possible with an internet connection - no connection means no access to data
* ==Reduce the cost for computing devices as instead of having to buy more secondary storage, people can save data on to the cloud==

**Environmental**

* Server farms produce large amounts of carbon emissions
* ==Benefits the environment by saving paper by instead uploading and downloading data wirelessly rather than having to contribute to deforestation by producing more paper==

What are the impacts of hacking?

**Legal**

* Intellectual property theft
* The copyright of the source code can be used to protect that code from being copied, but will not prevent others from independently creating their own source code which does the same thing
* There is a possibility of patenting the technical effect of an algorithm e.g. the steps to control a piece of hardware to perform a particular function

**Ethical**

* Ruins the development of new products, which may take months if not years to develop
* Losing a significant amount of money from both the potential sales of the product and the time invested in development
* ==The program needed may be too expensive for some people, making it inaccessible, but all people deserve to have access to the program==

What are the impacts of wearable technologies?

**Legal**

* Security of data collected as data is not only collected onto the device but is also saved onto a cloud server
* People are likely to want encryption on the software the device uses to share data, in the interest of privacy
* Users should understand what it is there are signing up to when they hand over personal data (DPA)
* Personal data, which is collected for a specific, previously stated and understood purpose, must not then be used for other applications (DPA)
* Ensuring that the extent or amount of data collected/processed is adequate, relevant and limited to the intended purpose (DPA)
* Storage limitation restricts organisations from keeping hold of data for indefinite periods of time, or beyond that of its intended purpose (DPA)
* Integrity and confidentiality of personal data must be upheld with the appropriate security measures (DPA)

**Ethical**

* People may want the data collected on them to not be used against them e.g. targeting using medical data

What are the impacts of computer based implants?

**Legal**

* Security of data collected as data is not only collected onto the device but is also saved onto a cloud server
* People are likely to want encryption on the software the device uses to share data, in the interest of privacy
* Users should understand what it is there are signing up to when they hand over personal data (DPA)
* Personal data, which is collected for a specific, previously stated and understood purpose, must not then be used for other applications (DPA)
* Ensuring that the extent or amount of data collected/processed is adequate, relevant and limited to the intended purpose (DPA)
* Storage limitation restricts organisations from keeping hold of data for indefinite periods of time, or beyond that of its intended purpose (DPA)
* Integrity and confidentiality of personal data must be upheld with the appropriate security measures (DPA)

**Ethical**

* People may want the data collected on them to not be used against them e.g. targeting using medical data
* Risks of implants inducing malignant tumors

What are the impacts of autonomous vehicles?

**Legal**

* While they open the possibility for more people to use them, who one does deny the right to use them
* Ensure privacy and data security and if one is breaking the law, whether the police should be allowed to hack it or not
* The massive amounts of data required to operate them have raised issues about whether individuals are identifiable, who has access to this data, and what can be done with it and how long it can be stored
* Cyber security concerns
* Liability in accidents

**Ethical**

* When they become used so prevalently and can safely and easily replace non-autonomous driving, should non-autonomous vehicles be banned for safety reasons
* The vehicle’s decision-making in unavoidable crash situations may make them crash into children or light vehicles, instead of other cars, walls, or lampposts to save the driver’s life
* If algorithms target those less at risk, then people may start to take unsafe activities in order to become safe
* Moral algorithms don’t work because questionnaires meant to identify driving behaviour have been shown to be inaccurate because people feel pressured to give more altruistic answers, rather than honest responses
* We lose the choice and ability to make our own decisions in the car’s navigation
* They are threatening our free will and moral responsibility, because of an overreliance on algorithms and AI
* Now that cars can retrieve a wide array of driving habits, patterns, and behaviours, if insurance companies gain access to this information, insurance could be tailored to meet individuals’ driving performance