Private and Legal Issues in Database
Privacy and legal issues to consider for a database system
An essential component in the success of managing database is that management should be concerned with ethical and legal issues associated with both the creation and use of those data in the databases. The use of the database technology provides access to all kind of information about customers, employees, and subjects. However, it has often become easier for people to obtain data about a subject with the click of a mouse. As a result, most of the security measures that have been implemented to protect confidential data are worthless. In some companies, getting access to a database has become easier when employees who want or need to make changes to their own personal file, such as adding a dependent or listing a new phone number or address. Some other employees, however, argue that this type of information should not be readily available and feel their private lives are not being protected sufficiently (Adams, 1992). According to some employees one of the concerns remain about the kinds of data that are stored in the databases.
For example, should a company be able to access medical, alcoholic, and private information of its employees. There are several steps that IT department can take to protect the privacy of data from databases: It can instruct all users how to securely use and handle the data, and software, teach employees to the effectiveness of the passwords, ensure the importance of backup copies, data files, and printouts as it could contain private data, ensure that all software and mainframe applications include an audit trail to record the history of changes made in the data, and make use of edit controls (such as passwords) to limit employees' access to data files and data fields. It is a prime concern for IT department to decide who gets access to what kinds of data (Pasqualetto, 1994). The laws regarding access to personnel...
As Hartstein (1992) argues that about 18 states in the U.S. have passed legislation pertaining to access of personnel records. However, these data are accessed for the purposes of deciding employee's qualifications for promotion, termination, or disciplinary action. Also, there are several issues about the use of the incorrect information about an individual. Individuals should have access to information about themselves, and law allows an employee to challenge alleged incorrect information in the file. With the rise of the Internet, the security, privacy and ethical issues have become much more prominent. In complex cases, storage on a remote computer, accessible to all parties from anywhere, simplifies the use of accessing private data from a wireless modem. The increasing use of the Internet makes it easier for individuals to scan and tracks of credit cards data trail consisting of purchase amount, purchase type, date, and time. Data are collected when one pays through the checks. The use of supermarket discount cards creates a comprehensive database of everything one buys. One leaves a significant data trail when one surfs the Internet and visit websites. When one subscribes to a magazine, sign up for a book or music club, join a professional association, fill out a warranty card, give money to charities, donate to a political candidate, invest in mutual funds, when one makes and makes a telephone call, all of these transactions, one leaves a data trail that is stored in a computer. Although the contents all of these many databases are yet not combined, but we are rapidly heading that direction. Database developers are attempting to create a profiling system that detects traveler anomalies in order to prevent terrorists from boarding.
The ethical and privacy issues are stakes because…
