Use of Information technology in education - Essay Example

The paper presents that there are several benefits that can be obtained from the use of Information technology in education presently. Generally, when we talk about IT we simply mean computers together with their networks; however, in this instance, we also mean some other technologies that help in moving information around from one region or place to another. While most academic institutions have their own systems and databases, there is a huge lake of linking these institutions which make it as islands of automation.

This is because most of academic institutions often purchase systems to address its internal needs. Consequently, the academic institutions provide physical evidence of our achievements that everyone needs for further study or employment. Many academic institutions have always been in need of economical options for storing and maintaining information that might be essential or critical from a service viewpoint. Virtual vaults and even some other systems of security do not only store essential information but also enable control over the accessibility to such data.

Adoption of IT security systems has appeared as the best and safest way as it helps in protecting virtual data from things such as wiping out or even hacking in the case of a technical hitch. However, even though IT has appeared as the best solution to problems that are related to the storage of information, we find that there are some instances that some illegal activities could emerge from these paper-based certificates; the paper is going to conceptualize these problems.. Now, we are going to focus on two illegal activities, which are forgery and identity fraud. 2.1.

1 Forgery Forgery is a crime in which someone falsifies something with the intent to deceive. Unfortunately, the technology revolution makes creation of fake paper-based documents easier. In the present world, there are number of sites available on the Internet to issue fake degree certificates. It is a growing trade worldwide in counterfeit university degree certificates and academic transcripts, which in turn creates a potential damage to the universities and employment systems. In May 2004, an audit showed that around 463 employees in the federal government in the US had the fake academic degrees (Murthy, 2011).

Forgery is defined in State v. Lutes,38 Wn.2d 475, 479, 230 P.2d 786 (1951), as ". the false making of an instrument, which purports on the face of it to be good and valid for the purposes for which it was created, with a design to defraud any person or persons..".( State v. Goranson,1965) 2.1.2 Identity fraud In some cases, while the paper-based certification is real, there is a potential illegal activity by using the right certification with the fake person. Identity fraud is described as: ‘That someone with malicious intent consciously creates the semblance of an identity that does not belong to him or her, using the identity of someone else or of a non-existing person’ (Koops and Leenes, 2006).

Identity fraud could be described functionally: ‘Identity fraud arises when someone takes over a totally fictitious name or adopts the name of another person with or without their consent.’ (Koops and Leenes, 2006). The fraud triangle theory (How fraud is likely to occur) The fraud triangle theory was developed by Cressey (1973), a