1.6 - Ethical, legal, cultural and environmental impacts of digital technology

Completed flashcard set

Name the legislation relevant to computer science

• Data protection act (2018)

• Computer misuse act (1990)

• Copyright designs and patents act (1988)

• Software licenses (open source and proprietary)

Describe

• The purpose of the data protection act (2018)

• The specific actions that it allows or prohibits

• Purpose of the data protection act (2018):

  • Designed to protect people’s personal data from being misused or accessed without permission

  • and to give individuals rights over their data (eg. accessing it or asking for it to be deleted)

Six principles of the data protection act (2018)

• 1) Data must be collected lawfully and processed fairly and transparently with the individual’s consent

• 2) Only used for the reasons specified

• 3) Data must be relevant and not excessive

• 4) Data must be accurate and up to date

• 5) Data must not be stored for longer than necessary

• 6) Data must be stored and processed securely

Describe

• The computer misuse act (1990)

• The specific actions that it allows or prohibits

• Purpose of the computer misuse act (1990):

  • Used to stop and punish those who use computers inappropriately (eg. hacking systems or networks, unauthorised changes and access to data)

Three principles of computer misuse act (1990):

• No unauthorised access to data

• No unauthorised access to data with the intent to commit or facilitate a crime

• No unauthorised modification of data

Describe

• The copyright designs and patents act (1988)

• The specific actions that it allows or prohibits

• Purpose of the copyright designs and patents act (1988):

  • Makes it a criminal offence to copy work that is not your own without the permission of the creator or copyright holder

Prohibits:

• Importing and downloading copyrighted material (except for personal use)

• Distributing or selling copyrighted material without permission

• Possessing equipment used to copy copyrighted material, as part of a business

What are software licenses?

Software licenses are legal agreements that specify how users can use, share or distribute software

• They protect the software developer from illegal copying or misuse

Name the two types of software licenses

• Open source

• Proprietary

• Describe the features of open source software licenses

• Give its benefits and drawbacks

Features of open source software:

• Software is free to use

• Users have access to source code, and anybody can modify it

• Users can distribute the software their modified versions to others

Advantages:

• Because the source code is available to edit, users can customise it to their individual needs

• All users have access to source code, so users can collaborate together to continuously improve the software

• Free, so everybody has access

• People can learn from the source code and produce their own modified software

Disadvantages:

• Security risks as some editors may add malicious code to the program

• Code may be prone to errors as modifications may not have been tested fully

• May be difficult to receive official support as because there is not profit, there is no budget to pay for customer help

• Requires technical skills to adapt source code efficiently and maintain the code

• Describe the features of proprietary software licenses

• Give its benefits and drawbacks

Features of proprietary software

• Users have to pay to use the software

• Users cannot copy, share or distribute the software

• Users cannot access or modify source code

• Official support provided

• Copyright protected - the developer retains full control over the software

Advantages:

• Code has been well-tested and is professionally developed so is less likely to have bugs

• Most developers will provide a form of official support

• Better security

• Legal copyright protection

Disadvantages:

• Users must rely on the company for updates and to fix issues - this may become infrequent or stop

• Often not free and may be expensive, so not all people can afford to access it

• Users cannot modify or debug the code for individual needs

• People cannot learn from the code

What steps must a facility follow when storing individual’s data?

• Identify data protection officer

• Keep data secure/ safe

  • Eg. firewalls, username and passwords, access rights, physical security

• Do not share/sell (without consent)

• Don’t store without consent

• Only keep relevant data

  • Do not collect data that is not required

• Do not store data for longer than needed

• Make sure data remains accurate and up to date

• Only use for purpose collected

  • State purpose for collection

• Change/ delete data when requested

  • Permanently, securely

• Provide data for users when they request to see it

• Notify individuals of data breaches

• Must use and collect data lawfully, fairly and transparently with individual’s consent

• Staff need to be trained in principles