Search the internet and locate a list of social issues and a list of ethical iss

Question

Search the internet and locate a list of social issues and a list of ethical issues related to information systems. Put those bullet lists under Findings in your report. See template below. Pick one social issue and one ethical issue from your bullet list then search through several business magazines (Business Week, Computerworld, PC Week, etc.) or an Internet search engine for recent articles that describe your potential social or ethical issues related to the use of an information system. Use word-processing software to write a one-page report summarizing what you discovered. Use the following short report format:

Title of your Report Centered
Introduction (bold and centered) level 1 title

Restate the problem

Approach (bold and centered) level 1 title

   How you plan to solve the problem

Findings (bold and centered) level 1 title

   Bullet list of what you found

Social Issues (bold and left margin) level 2 title

*

Ethical Issues (bold and left margin) level 2 title

*

Discussion (bold and centered) level 1 title

   Discuss only what is interesting to you in your findings (At least one Social Issue and one Ethical Issue)

Ethical Issue

*

Social Issue

*

Recommendation/Summary/Conclusion (bold and centered) level 1 title

   Your recommendation, summary, or conclusion should only contain information about what your discussion not other findings that you did not discuss

Explanation / Answer

Introduction

An information system (IS) is an organized system for the collection, organization, storage and communication of information.

"An information system (IS) is a group of components that interact to produce information."

Information systems have made many businesses successful today. Some companies such as Google, Facebook, EBay, etc. would not exist without information technology. However, improper use of information technology can create problems for the organization and employees.

There are many social and ethical issues related to the information system which are discussed in this report.

Approach

To solve the issues we follow the steps below:

Findings

Ethical issues:

Social issues

Discussion

Social Issue:

Cyber-crime

Cyber-crime refers to the use of information technology to commit crimes. Cyber-crimes can range from simply annoying computer users to huge financial losses and even the loss of human life. The growth of smartphones and other high-end Mobile devices that have access to the internet have also contributed to the growth of cyber-crime.

Types of cyber-crime

Identity theft

Identity theft occurs when a cyber-criminal impersonates someone else identity to practice malfunction. This is usually done by accessing personal details of someone else. The details used in such crimes include social security numbers, date of birth, credit and debit card numbers, passport numbers, etc.

Once the information has been acquired by the cyber-criminal, it can be used to make purchases online while impersonating himself to be someone else. One of the ways that cyber-criminals use to obtain such personal details is phishing. Phishing involves creating fake websites that look like legitimate business websites or emails.

For example, an email that appears to come from YAHOO may ask the user to confirm their personal details including contact numbers and email password. If the user falls for the trick and updates the details and provides the password, the attacker will have access to personal details and the email of the victim.

If the victim uses services such as PayPal, then the attacker can use the account to make purchases online or transfer funds.

Other phishing techniques involve the use of fake Wi-Fi hotspots that look like legitimate ones. This is common in public places such as restaurants and airports. If an unsuspecting user logons into the network, then cyber-crimes may try to gain access to sensitive information such as usernames, passwords, credit card numbers, etc.

According to the US Department of Justice, a former state department employee used email phishing to gain access to email and social media accounts of hundreds of women and accessed explicit photos. He was able to use the photos to extort the women and threatened to make the photos public if they did not give in to his demands.

Copyright infringement

Piracy is one of the biggest problems with digital products. Websites such as the pirate bay are used to distribute copyrighted materials such as audio, video, software, etc. Copyright infringement refers to the unauthorized use of copyrighted materials.

Fast internet access and reducing costs of storage have also contributed to the growth of copyright infringement crimes.

Click fraud

Advertising companies such as Google AdSense offer pay per click advertising services. Click fraud occurs when a person clicks such a link with no intention of knowing more about the click but to make more money. This can also be accomplished by using automated software that makes the clicks.

Advance Fee Fraud

An email is sent to the target victim that promises them a lot of money in favor of helping them to claim their inheritance money.

In such cases, the criminal usually pretends to be a close relative of a very rich well-known person who died. He/she claims to have inherited the wealth of the late rich person and needs help to claim the inheritance. He/she will ask for financial assistance and promise to reward later. If the victim sends the money to the scammer, the scammer vanishes and the victim loses the money.

Hacking

Hacking is used to by-pass security controls to gain unauthorized access to a system. Once the attacker has gained access to the system, they can do whatever they want. Some of the common activities done when system is hacked are;

Computer virus

Viruses are unauthorized programs that can annoy users, steal sensitive data or be used to control equipment that is controlled by computers.

Ethical Issue

Ethics refers to rules of right and wrong that people use to make choices to guide their behaviors. Ethics in MIS seek to protect and safeguard individuals and society by using information systems responsibly. Most professions usually have defined a code of ethics or code of conduct guidelines that all professionals affiliated with the profession must adhere to.

In a nutshell, a code of ethics makes individuals acting on their free will responsible and accountable for their actions. An example of a Code of Ethics for MIS professionals can be found on the British Computer Society (BCS) website.

Property Rights: Intellectual Property

Intellectual property: Intangible property of any kind created by individuals or corporations. It refers to creation of the mind, such as inventions,designs,etc used in commerce

Three ways that intellectual property is protected :-

Challenges to Intellectual Property Rights

Summary

With great power comes great responsibility. Information systems bring new opportunities and advantages to how we do business but they also introduce issues that can negatively affect society (cybercrime). An organization needs to address these issues and come up with a framework (MIS security, ICT policy, etc.) that addresses them.

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