iThought: Getting Rid of the Prominent Ethical Dilemmas in the Information Technology Era

    

      In this changing times, information technology has emerged to the various demands of our society. It had reached each and every aspect of our community including the commerce, government, economy, and etc. However,  considering that this technology was being accessed by a lot of people all around the globe, a number of ethical issues concerning information technology have arisen particularly piracy, data protection, ransom & ransomware, as well as the artificial intelligence. In that sense, it is very vital for all of us, especially the users of this technology, to know how we can get rid of this ethical dilemmas and to acquire such moral values to prevent and avoid the said issues.

Piracy and Changing Ethical Dilemmas in Technology

Software piracy is the illegal copying, distribution, or use of software. It is such a profitable “business” that has caught the attention of organized crime groups all over the world. It is the stealing of legally protected software. Under copyright law, software piracy occurs when copyright protected software is copied, distributed, modified or sold. Software piracy is considered direct copyright infringement when it denies copyright holders due compensation for use of their creative works.

  A lot of cases in this field is being present as of today.  According to the Forrester Group's 2018 BSA Global Software Survey. 37 percent of software on personal computers being unlicensed which means that 63 percent of software is legal. However there is a conflict if the companies using pirated software and this is the malware or the virus will harmful in your computer.

Here are some ways to avoid software piracy:

1. Legal protection - Companies must make sure that their software is protected legally by the user agreement. Educate people that unauthorized copies are against the law will help the people from unknowingly breaking piracy laws. 
2. Product key - It is the most popular anti-piracy system, a unique combination of letters and numbers used to differentiate copies of the software. A product key ensures that only one user can use the software per purchase.
3. Tamper-proofing - Some software programs have built-in protocols that cause the program to shut down and stop working if the source code is tampered with or modified. Tamperproofing prevents people from pirating the software through the manipulation of the program's code.
4. Watermarks - Watermarkings company logos, or names are often placed on software interfaces to indicate that products are legitimately obtained, and are not illegal copies.

In addition to this,  with proper software management, companies can increase profits by as much as 11 percent per year.

Retrieved from: https://www.computerhope.com

Data Protection and Privacy

Data protection is about securing data against unauthorized people. Data privacy is about authorized access who has it and who defines it. Another way to look at it is this: data protection is essentially a technical issue, whereas data privacy is a legal one. Data protection and privacy regulations can require you and your company to keep individuals’ personal data secure and private. 

There are some issues related to data protection and piracy. According to Forrester's 2018 report in Forbes on ethics and consumer action, 79 percent of U.S. adults use tools to protect their digital privacy and security online. Forrester also creates more regulations, like California's Consumer Privacy Act and the GDPR, but also continued consumer push-back against companies that do not protect data or use data responsibly. Which means government doesn’t stop in promoting the data protection and piracy in this world.

There are some things you can do to improve your data protection and data privacy:

1. Follow a password rules- Use strong passwords and avoid sharing your password with others, even your relatives and friends as your password may give others access to restricted information.
2. Only use secure networks to access or transfer your firm's data - Accessing your company’s network via a public Wifi outside will make you more vulnerable and prone form hackers.
3. Familiarize yourself with your company's IT, information security, privacy and confidentiality rules and related policies - You must know every detail about your company. You can't fully protect yourself and your firm if you don't know what to do.
4. Develop a data security plan/policy - It’s important to have a plan in place when hacks and breaches occur and a plan that determines which employees need and have access to data, as mentioned above. Thus, these sorts of policies can keep employees in line and organized.

Ransoms and Ransomware

Ransom malware, or ransomware, is a type of malware that prevents users from accessing their system or personal files and demands ransom payment in order to regain access (malwarebytes.com). Usually, ransomware authors order the payment be sent via cryptocurrency or credit card.

In a couple of years ago, Uber, a convenient, inexpensive and safe taxi service, were attacked by a ransomware wherein it had accessed personal information of 57 million people. The company paid $100,000 ransom to the hackers which had led to a $148,000,000 fine.

The following are DOs and DON’Ts when it comes to ransomware provided by us.norton.com:

1. Do not pay the ransom. It only encourages and funds these attackers. Even if the ransom is paid, there is no guarantee that you will be able to regain access to your files.
2. Restore any impacted files from a known good backup. Restoration of your files from a backup is the fastest way to regain access to your data.
3. Do not provide personal information when answering an email, unsolicited phone call, text message or instant message. Phishers will try to trick employees into installing malware, or gain intelligence for attacks by claiming to be from IT. Be sure to contact your IT department if you or your coworkers receive suspicious calls.
4. Use reputable antivirus software and a firewall. Maintaining a strong firewall and keeping your security software up to date are critical. It’s important to use antivirus software from a reputable company because of all the fake software out there.
5. Do employ content scanning and filtering on your mail servers. Inbound e-mails should be scanned for known threats and should block any attachment types that could pose a threat.
6. Do make sure that all systems and software are up-to-date with relevant patches. Exploit kits hosted on compromised websites are commonly used to spread malware. Regular patching of vulnerable software is necessary to help prevent infection.
7. If traveling, alert your IT department beforehand, especially if you’re going to be using public wireless Internet. Make sure you use a trustworthy Virtual Private Network (VPN) when accessing public Wi-Fi like Norton Secure VPN.

Ethics and Artificial Intelligence

Investopedia defined Artificial intelligence as the simulation of human intelligence in machines that are programmed to think like humans and mimic their actions. The term may also be applied to any machine that exhibits traits associated with a human mind such as learning and problem-solving. In 2016, Mercedes Benz faced this kind issue where one of their prototypes accelerates through a group of pedestrians, instead of steering toward an oncoming truck.

Ways to prevent issues in artificial intelligence:

1. Keeping super-smart weapons systems under human control - When most people think about killer AI taking over the planet, they usually think of a “Terminator”-like scenario populated by rogue cyborgs, Skynet and an epic battle between man and machine. While even the Future of Life Institute admits that a “Terminator” future for AI confuses fact and reality, there is a real need to make sure that super-smart autonomous weapons systems don’t start overriding their human masters in the future.
2. Making AI systems explain their decisions to humans in excruciating detail - At some point, computers are going to far surpass the intellectual capacity of their human operators. When that day happens, we’re going to need to know how they think and all the little assumptions, inferences and predictions that go into their final decisions. That’s especially true for complex AI autonomous systems that integrate sensors, computers and actuators – all of these systems will be able to process and make decisions about much more data than humans are capable of analyzing by themselves.
3. Aligning the interests of machines and humans - Once computers become superintelligent, they are going to have very specific interests in mind. They may not be afflicted by classic human failings – envy, lust, greed – but they may be driven by purely algorithmic factors, including a need for more resources. Just watch the Hollywood dystopian film “Transcendence” to get an idea of what happens when an AI machine demands more and more resources to fulfill its goals – it doesn’t end well for humanity.

Retrieved from: https://www.washingtonpost.com

STANLEY AQUINO | NEIL MARCELO