Counterterrorism and Information Systems Your protection versus your rights - Research Paper Example

The war towards terrorism has never been a smooth path, hence a number of ethical issues had to be broken. A country is always torn by the dilemma of either protecting its citizens from terrorism by use of information technology to feed them with required data to help them fight terrorism and the constitutional rights of individuals to have their personal rights. It is evident that a sound decision in such a case is necessary as this is an ethical dilemma and one that can cause problems if messed around with.

Vital information regarding people’s lives is usually interfered with in the process of counterterrorism. For instance, the government usually uses personal databases to extract information about certain people hence breaching their constitutional personal rights. Faced with a tough decision on breaking its constitutional mandate to protect its citizens from terrorists and protecting their rights, somehow calls for a proper decision on whether counterterrorism use of information technology is ethical There usually so many ways which the government can combat terrorism without interfering with the personal rights of their individuals.

This can involve sending spies to terrorist zones, of which it has not been successful as they eventually get discovered and stringent punishment administered to them. Another alternative to the government combating terrorism will be through fighting together with other countries to ensure that the leaders and the culprits funding them are detained. In practical sense, these has been one impossible affair since most of the terrorist groups usually live in hiding and have spies all over when soldiers come to attack them.

Another alternative that can be used to combat terrorism may be through rigorous checks and racial profiling of individuals from countries prone to harbour terrorist,