Information Technology and Privacy - Term Paper Example

Running Head: INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Information Technology and Privacy Insert name Tutor Date Information Technology and Privacy Privacy and confidentiality relate to the ability of information to be kept away from third persons (Garson, 2003). This is more so where it is likely to embarrass the subject or cause him or her some emotional discomfort. This paper seeks to address various issues relating to the right to privacy namely the evolution of relevant national policies and the challenges posed to the enjoyment of such rights by the adoption of Information technology. Evolution of National Privacy Policy Compared to most other national policy issues, the right to privacy is fairly. The earliest identifiable efforts towards it date back to the 1890’s. Initially, issues relating to privacy could be handled as eavesdropping or assault. Explanations forwarded as to why there was little emphasis on the issue include that it arose with the development of technologies in the recent past, whose intrusiveness was unmatched only a few decades ago. Initially, people could be confident that they were dealing in private as there were few gadgets that could invade their interactions (Solove & Schwartz, 2005). Modern Privacy Law The right to privacy is still evolving. The most common form of privacy litigation is where a person appropriates another person’s identity or similarity especially where the defendant uses that likeness for business purposes for instance advertising or any other form of selling. There has also been the rise in relation of such invasion of privacy with the right of publicity. There has been the differentiation of the two on the basis that privacy aims at protecting the individual from injury upon his or her feelings, while the other protects against commercial exploitation. Legal suits are typically oriented towards the right to privacy in case involving ordinary citizens and the right of publicity in the case of celebrities (Solove & Schwartz, 2005). With time, there has been the establishment of statutes towards the protection of the right. According to Rotenberg (2005), there has also been the incorporation of professional ethics especially to psychiatry, medicine and such fields which require a high degree of confidentiality. Another challenge is the capability of the state invading the personal privacy. Relating to this, there has been a lot of advocacy relating to for instance abortion and gay rights. Available laws have since the 1970’s indicated the lack of privacy on the part of businesses and outlined the cases where business could infringe on individual rights. Garbage is also open to searches by the police without warrant. Privacy Act of 1974 The privacy act of 1974 on its part came about so as to counter violations of privacy law witnessed during the tenure of President Richard Nixon. It provided for the nondisclosure of any information by any government agency to anybody at all unless with the direct written permission of the person about whom the records are. The has provision for putting into place a physical and administrative systems for security in order to curb lose of personal data. It outlines the specific exemptions under which such information may be acquired without the written permission (Solove & Schwartz, 2005). Matching and Privacy Protection Act (1988) Within this background, a number of important policies have been formulated in the past as relates to Information technology. Among these was the Computer Matching and Privacy Protection Act (1988). This acted as an amendment to the privacy act. This outlined how Federal Agency implemented computer matching could be done. It also added a number of protections for people seeking and getting federal benefits. The amended act provided that federal agencies in this case to seek written agreements when engaging in matching programs. It also required that they provide comprehensive reports on matching programs to Congress and inform all people involved that their private records could be matched in addition to confirming the findings before effecting any actions upon individual benefits and payments. The institution of this act provides detailed procedure. However, it may be criticized in that it institutionalizes the multiple access of information by various agencies. Although it managed to facilitate fairness, it completely erodes privacy (Garson, 2003). The Electronic Communications Privacy Act (1986) Another similar milestone was the passing of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (1986). This sought to extend the government’s ability to tap conversations from only telephone as was the case then to electronic information transmitted by computers. To avoid conflict with other relevant legislation, it defines the requirements for acquisition of a search warrant for interception. This has however been noted as being indeed strict. Once again, although this act helps to ensure the non-accessing of private records without adequate authorization, there are still possibilities of cases where there will be more infringement for instance communication done using an employer’s machines (Rotenberg, 2005). Children's Online Privacy Protection Act The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of (1998) aimed at governing the manner in which children under the age of thirteen do collect personal information online. It provides regulations as to what the site operator has to include o the website, and this includes a privacy policy. It also outlines situations where there has to be parental consent. It also points out the obligations laid by law upon a website operator who markets products to the children (O'Brien & Maracas, 2007). The Electronic Government Act of 2002 This set up an agency in the Office of Management and Budget, to be called the Office of Electronic Government. This is mandated to manage information and coordination between government agencies. It also establishes the chief information council to develop relevant information policy hence improved service delivery to citizens (Rotenberg, 2005). Hacking Information Technology can infringe on individual privacy. This is because the equipment used is not really private and can always be monitored or interfered with. This may either be done legally, as illustrated by the ability of some authorities to access private information more easily than before. There is also illegal access for instance through hacking. This at all times involves some level of privacy infringement on others. There is also the damage of software and files, which also constitutes an invasion of privacy. Hacking has varied effects upon the person whose computer is accessed, ranging from intrusion into the person’s life to even more serious illegal activity. Stealing may be enabled through hacking. For instance, it is possible for a hacker to crack codes and be able to access personal details or even bank accounts. Another approach is the use of social engineering. This works through the recognition that human beings are the weakest link in the organizational setup. Social engineering utilizes psychological methods to convince people to reveal sensitive information for instance corporate secrets and passwords. There may be impersonation where the hacker could make a phone call and act like a distressed executive within the company and seek for security information. There are also cases where social engineering hackers win the confidence of their victims through involvement in social networking sites and later acquire sensitive information which they can use to invade an individual’s or company’s privacy (O'Brien & Maracas, 2007). The Patriot Act The implementation of the USA patriot act is also an illustration of how Information technology may be a basis for intrusion into individual lives. The act authorizes the authority concerned to intercept wire and other communication believed to be used for terrorist activities. It enables dissemination of information acquired with other organs and agencies. “The patriot act was put in place as a response to the growing terrorist threat” (Solove & Schwartz, 2005). The idea behind the act is to enable federal authorities protect the confidentiality of the various forms of communication while at the same time enabling the identification and interception of suspected criminal communication. There is the authorization of law enforcers to trace communications. There is therefore generally the granting of permission to intercept communications which involves getting into individual private lives. The ideal situation if privacy were to be upheld is where everyone is free to communicate without conditions. The provision for screening of communications means that there are at times innocent persons whose communication is monitored before it is noted to be so. Even the suspects are entitled to their rights by virtue of being human beings (Solove & Schwartz, 2005). As the study illustrates safety is of essence especially with public places which hold a large number of individuals at a particular time. This would require a responsive system which allows people a chance to escape these situations. The following part illustrates such a system which is specially designed for hospitals to e specific the emergency room. For construction of the emergency exit system the following materials are required: A soldering bit Bimetallic strip which will require a steel metal component and brass. A 20 meter copper wire. Leather or any other sensitive material A wooden piece to act as a door forming the exit. Two steel metal pieces Dry cells Uses The soldering bit will be used to join together any two metal pieces of metal such as the bimetallic pieces and the steel pieces forming the lock. The twenty or so copper wire will be used as the current supply medium; this will be connected to the dry cells which will supply the direct current. Leather or the sensitive material will be used to construct the sensory membrane which will be used to sense loud noise or increased vibrations inside the room. The wooden piece will act as the emergency exit door forming a major component of the emergency system. The metal pieces will act as the lock thus will be fitted to the wooden piece. The dry cells will supply the direct current required for the emergency system as will be described later in the subsequent parts. The above figure illustrates a door way of what we will assume as the emergency room in a hospital. The right part of the figure which is represented by the space enclosed by numbers 75 and 14.This represents the main walls of the room as put up by the structural engineers. The emergency system which is the subject of this paper now is inbuilt in the left part of the walls with the figure only showing one part of the system which is the positioning of the alarm system he bottom left corner. There are multiple of reasons for the placing the gadget at a specific point. One the left part is easily accessible by individuals inside the room this is because under normal circumstances an individual will push a door swinging to the left side. This is what is put into consideration with the emergency exit positioning. Obviously the assumption here is that those facing the threat of fire are in the inside of the building which in this figure is the hid part of the figure thus an individual constrained inside the building will push the door which is to open to the outside again swinging to the left. This allows for a second action with the most functional hand which is the right hand. This is basically the argument with situating this system on the bottom right hand corner of the wall. (Note the exit is marked with the word EXIT). On the top of the exit, that is the upper end of the left hand is the sensory system. The sensory system again is responsible for sensing the increase in temperatures inside the room, or increasing movement of persons inside the room. To achieve this the sensory system is fitted with two devices, one is the bimetallic strip and the other is a vibratory membrane. Bi Metallic Strip The bimetallic system is a form of a coil that is fitted with two metals Justas the name states these are brass and steel. At a time when fire breaks inside the room the bimetallic strip reacts by coiling towards the inside this is because brass will conduct heat faster than steel. This movement triggers the alarm system which in turn creates awareness throughout the building. The siren will probably alert people for rapid response with the aim of rescuing the people that may be trapped inside. The second function which is actually the reason for fitting it is that as it moves it triggers the direct current system. The direct current system is set to operate the emergency system as dependence on the Alternating current which is the normal energy source during normal operations would lender the system still. This is for the main reason that this would probably be switched off when an emergency concerning fire is raised. (Clyne, 1996; p334). After the bi metallic coils the direct current circuit is completed this opens the exit door allowing individuals to walk out. The door however having not be used for a while may necessities additional force from a person inside the room. This is also addressed by the system as there is no guarantee that the individuals inside will be aware of this. For this the direct system is connected to a neon light situated above the exit door this light contains the wording “Emergency exit push here”. As the neon light lights automatically and the siren breaks off immediately concentration is drawn to this point making the exit point visible. Vibratory membrane The working of this membrane is inspired by the biological setting of the ear when loud noise is produced the eardrum vibrates at a higher rate. From this the membrane which is made from a sensitive leather or any other sensitive type of clothing is attached to the emergency system this vibrates randomly when there is loud noise inside the room or there is increased movement inside the room. Movement of the membrane causes the same effect as the coiling of the bimetallic strip. It triggers the Direct current system setting off the siren, lighting the neon light and opening the emergency exit. Circuit Illustration. This figure two represents the circuit system. The figure also includes time and distance variations responsible for triggering the emergency system. The left side represents the height of the wall to the ceiling level, this case being around eight foot. The door and the emergency system are sketched on the right side. Numbers fifteen and sixteen show the flow of the current this time it should be noted is the direct current which is used incase of an emergency. Numbers thirty nine represents the fixation of the bimetallic strip and the sensory membrane which are the main sensory gadgets to be triggered incase of a fire. (Clyne, 1996; pp. 396).The numbers 18, 75, 13 and 10 represents the directions of heat waves which may trigger the system. The heat waves may be actual fire, heat fumes or hot smoke rising from the burning areas. These are enough to trigger the system into the actions earlier on described. The horizontal line represents the time span before the sensory systems are triggered which would take about four seconds assuming the fire is at point zero. This figure represents the vertical outlook of the actual circuit numbers 37, represents the Alternating current which under normal circumstances will supply the system with current to ensure functionality under all times. This is more for assurance purposes than any other reason. Numbers 40 represents the setting of the bimetallic strip and the sensory membrane. The lines connecting the sensory membrane component and the component at the lower end is the direct current system which supplies current under emergency conditions. It is connected to the fire exit control panel. This panel has the lock which is illustrated by the numbers 35 and 36 which disengages from the cylinder marked number 34. The cylinder represents the emergency exit with the inverted T inside the cylinder representing the actual exit door. The cylinder has the actual Exit door and the neon light which together serves as the exit point and the exit notification (neon light). Figure four represents the whole circuit now of the proposed emergency room besides, the figure illustrates all the points earlier on highlighted such as the bimetallic strip, the sensory membrane and the exit. Numbers 52 represents the initial connection of the alternating current. Numbers 13, 38, 15, and 37 represents the Alternating current circulation which is not part of the emergency system but which is a major component of the rooms’ current flow. Number 30 represents the position of the bimetallic strip and the sensory membrane. Numbers 16 and 40 represents the direct current connection which is triggered by the heat or noise. In occurrence of fire or excessive noise the point noted by number 40 completes the circuit by linking point B. This triggers the whole system by lighting the neon light opening the exit point and activating the siren which announces danger for people outside the building to participate in the rescue activity. Conclusion The granting of citizen right to privacy has for long been on the country’s agenda. The right to privacy has considerably grown over time. There has been the passing of various legislations towards this effect. However, the implementation of such legislation in itself limits the upholding of that right. Various other characteristics aided by developments in Information Technology have also increased the invasion of individual privacy. Among such factors is the development of hacking, which enables people to access information systems without the owner’s knowledge. Security measures such as implementation of the USA patriot Act have also further increased interference with citizen privacy. References Clyne, TW. (1996) “Residual stresses in surface coatings and their effects on interfacial debonding.” Key Engineering Materials. Switzerland. Engineering Institute of Switzerland. Vol. 116-117. Garson, D. (2003).Public Information Technology: Policy and Management Issues. New Jersey: Macmillan. O'Brien, J. & Marakas, G. (2007). Introduction to Information Systems. New York: McGraw Hill. Solove, D., Rotenberg, M. & Schwartz, P. (2005). Information Privacy Law. New York: Irwin. Rotenberg, M. (2005). Privacy Law: USA Law, International Law, and Recent Developments. NY: Dover. Read More