In Australia, there are Australian Privacy Principles contained in the Privacy Act 1988 which direct business, government and others how to use and store personal data.
Personal use and storage of data principles on the Australian Gov't website here
it must be used as part of the normal business function. eg Doctor's surgery keeps patient details secure and doesn't share them publicly
must keep the information secure; prevent interference, misuse and loss of the information
Ethics are moral principles that influence a users behaviour
They are what drive us as humans to act and respond in a specific way
Ethics is "doing the right thing even when no one else is looking"
Read The Computing Teacher's article on Ethics in development
We might take for granted the amount of work and ethics shown in the development of online databases
Without virtuous ethics, serious consequences could arise
Databases hold vast amounts of often sensitive information
If a developer or user with malicious intent was able to exploit the database, enormous privacy concerns would arise
Online databases, if not developed securely, could be susceptible to SQL injections
SQL injections occur when carefully structured malicious data is entered in to a database
This data has the potential to release other unprotected data, or even allow the user access to the database
SQL injections can occur via web browser address bars, or via the submission of web forms
Attempts at these types of attacks are due to a user's poor ethics
Information could be leaked for various reasons
Identity theft is a common goal - wherein a user steals the identity of an unsuspecting victim based off of the information in the online database
Targeted marketing is also common - wherein private contact information (and even data such as a user's interests) are taken and used to target advertisements at particular users
In today's world, these methods are particularly scary due to the growing amount of personal information stored in online databases
Privacy is the biggest issue.
Google and Facebook have 'mountains' of data - yes in data warehouses.
They are interested in buying trends in individuals, such as you.
Then they can provide the best ads to present to you.
Is there a cost for this?
Are you happy knowing that there is volumes of information about you, available on the web?
Is this data available to others? YES.
What can you do about it?
Use the internet in a secure way.
Change privacy and security settings
Privacy issues raised in this excellent article by Technology Review.
Privacy for individuals is a controversial topic and has caused more problems now as a result of social media.
Organisations are legally responsible for what they do with information about individuals.
Australian Privacy Principle 1 directs open and transparent management of personal information
They must comply with the Australian Privacy Principles.
This means they must...
have an up-to-date policy for how they deal with customer information
show how it collects and holds this information
show how it discloses this information to others
show this policy on their company website
if requested they must give their policy to individuals or government departments.
explain to individuals why they are collecting the information
individuals must consent to providing information to companies
When we sign up to join an online community we often agree to terms of use.
Many people agree to these, without actually reading the fine print.
The organisation may use your information in a way you are not happy with.
For example social media websites sometimes have the rights to use the photos individuals post within their websites.
If an organisation distributes your information, ie your email address to a marketing distribution website, you could receive hundreds of spam emails.
Identify theft could occur if your information gets into the wrong hands.
List some online organisations that have asked you to acknowledge a "Terms of use" when you signed up.
What could go wrong for individuals if an organisation does not look after your information correctly?