Intro to Mgt Syst - Assignment Example

Ethical Issues in Information Systems YourFirst YourLast Information or data privacy is an ethical issue in information systems that refer to the aspect of protecting an individual’s personal information. Lucey (2005) notes that there is need to protect personal information such as financial data, medical records, political record, criminal records, website data, and business related information from access by unauthorized persons who may be ill-motivated. I believe that it is important to protect personal information of a person because vulnerabilities of personal information have significantly increased with the advancement of the digital age.

By instituting privacy policies in information systems, organizations can safeguard personal information of their employees and customers from access and manipulation by ill-motivated individuals. There are several human and technological protective measures that can be used to safeguard and enforce privacy in information systems. Some of the most operative and widely used mechanisms include encryption, data masking, and authentication. Kim and Solomon (2012) define encryption as the process of encoding information and/or messages in such a manner that only the authorized parties can access or read it.

The process involves encrypting plaintext with an encryption algorithm to generate the cipher text that is only readable if decrypted. Therefore, any interceptor of the message cannot access it unless they provide the encryption key which is provided by the originator of the information (Kim & Solomon, 2012). Data masking, on the other hand, refer to the process of hiding the original data with random characters to prevent classified personal data from access by unauthorized persons (Rainer & Cegielski, 2012).

Data masking aims at protecting the actual data by having a functional substitute when the real data is not required. Authentication is another measure that can be taken by determining whether something or someone is what he or she declares to be. Authentication in information systems is attained through the use of logon passwords and pin numbers (Kim & Solomon, 2012).There are several problems related to management information systems that arise from privacy of information. One of the most common problems is security breaches, which emanate as a result of hackers and viruses.

Today, most organizations store their data on remote cloud servers accessible with a username and the appropriate password (Kim & Solomon, 2012). However, there is a higher risk of losing the data through viruses, hijackers, and wrong-minded knowledge workers. Another problem is the difficulty in ensuring internet security. Primarily, when customers are shopping online, they are required to provide their financial details (Rainer & Cegielski, 2012). However, hackers can use these loopholes to their advantage and channel this information for their own needs.

There is also the problem of data mining and use of personal information by unauthorized persons. Organizations can take several measures prevent these problems caused by information privacy. First, backing up data or information which involves copying, and archiving data can be used to store data for retrieval in the event of data loss through hackers or attack by viruses. Second, installing an anti-virus in an information system will protect data from attack by viruses (Lucey, 2005). Third, using Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) authentication in online transactions ensure that there is secure communication between a merchant, customer, and the server.

The use of firewalls is also an excellent way to solve the problem of data hacking and loss (Kim & Solomon, 2012).ReferencesKim, D., & Solomon, M. (2012). Fundamentals of information systems security. Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.Lucey, T. (2005). Management information systems. London: Thomson Learning.Rainer, R. K., & Cegielski, C. G. (2012). Introduction to information systems: Supporting and transforming business. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.