Ethical issues and the use of Personally Identifiable Information in computer systems, applications, and the internet
Ethical issues and the use of Personally Identifiable Information in computer systems, applications, and the internet.
Professor
Strayer University - CIS 324
This paper will look at the ethical issues and use of Personally Identifiable Information, commonly known as PII, in computer systems, applications, and the internet. We will discuss what PII is and how it is used. There will be information on why Personally Identifiable Information is used and what can happen if it is misused. We will also discuss and look at some sample polices from the government and other large companies that address the use and safeguarding of Personally Identifiable Information. The next section will discuss what you can do to protect your Personally Identifiable Information. Finally we will look at how everything discussed can affect you and who is ultimately responsible for protecting Personally Identifiable Information.
What does Personally Identifiable Information consist of and what is its definition? The U.S. Department of Labor states (2012), “Any representation of information that permits the identity of an individual to whom the information applies to be reasonably inferred by either direct or indirect means. Further, Personally Identifiable Information is defined as information: that directly identifies an individual such as name, address, social security number or other identifying number or code, telephone number, email address or by which an agency intends to identify specific individuals in conjunction with other data elements. The data elements may include a combination of gender, race, birth date, geographic indicator, and other descriptors. Additionally, information permitting the physical or online contacting of a specific individual is the same as personally identifiable information. This information can be maintained in either paper, electronic or other media. Rouse (2008) explains this in a more simplistic way, “Personally identifiable
Professor
Strayer University - CIS 324
This paper will look at the ethical issues and use of Personally Identifiable Information, commonly known as PII, in computer systems, applications, and the internet. We will discuss what PII is and how it is used. There will be information on why Personally Identifiable Information is used and what can happen if it is misused. We will also discuss and look at some sample polices from the government and other large companies that address the use and safeguarding of Personally Identifiable Information. The next section will discuss what you can do to protect your Personally Identifiable Information. Finally we will look at how everything discussed can affect you and who is ultimately responsible for protecting Personally Identifiable Information.
What does Personally Identifiable Information consist of and what is its definition? The U.S. Department of Labor states (2012), “Any representation of information that permits the identity of an individual to whom the information applies to be reasonably inferred by either direct or indirect means. Further, Personally Identifiable Information is defined as information: that directly identifies an individual such as name, address, social security number or other identifying number or code, telephone number, email address or by which an agency intends to identify specific individuals in conjunction with other data elements. The data elements may include a combination of gender, race, birth date, geographic indicator, and other descriptors. Additionally, information permitting the physical or online contacting of a specific individual is the same as personally identifiable information. This information can be maintained in either paper, electronic or other media. Rouse (2008) explains this in a more simplistic way, “Personally identifiable
References: Baase, S. (2008). A gift of fire: social, legal, and ethical issues for computing and the internet (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson McCallister, E, Grance, T, and Scarfone, K. (2010). Guide to Protecting the Confidentiality of Personally Identifiable Information (PII). Retrieved from http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/nistpubs/800-122/sp800-122.pdf Narayanan, A and Shmatikov, V. (2010). Privacy and Security Myths and Fallacies of Personally Identifiable Information. Retrieved from http://www.cs.utexas.edu/~shmat/shmat_cacm10.pdf Ries, D. (2010). Safeguarding Confidential Data: Your Ethical and Legal Obligations. Retrieved from http://www.americanbar.org/publications/law_practice_home/law_practice_archive/lpm_magazine_articles_v36_is4_pg49.html Rouse, M. (2008). Personally Identifiable Information (PII). Retrieved from http://searchfinancialsecurity.techtarget.com/definition/personally-identifiable-information U.S. Department of Homeland Security. (2011). Handbook for Safeguarding Sensitive Personally Identifiable Information. Retrieved from http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/privacy/privacy_guide_spii_handbook.pdf U.S. Department of Labor. (2012). Guidance on the Protection of Personal Identifiable Information. Retrieved from http://www.dol.gov/dol/ppii.htm