Computer Technology Causes Concern among Regulators and Executives
Feb 1st, 2010 • Posted in: NewsSuicide raises concerns about cyberbullying; IT professionals say they increasingly are concerned about hacking attacks and the damage to their employers’ bottom lines and reputations; EU sets sights on producing laws that catch up to privacy concerns
VARIOUS DATELINES
The pace of evolving technology raised a variety of ethical issues last week. Among the stories:
- Lawmakers in Massachusetts say they are facing a new urgency to produce an anti-bullying law following the suicide of a student who reportedly was being harassed by bullies tormenting her through text messages and Facebook, UPI reports. Fifteen-year-old Phoebe Prince, who attended school in near Boston, recently had moved with her family from Ireland. She hanged herself in mid-January. Her family reported that the harassment continued even after her death, with taunting comments posted to a Facebook memorial page. “It’s very clear we need to address cyberbullying,” state Rep. Martha Walz, a Boston Democrat, said, according to UPI. “It’s part of school culture, even if it doesn’t happen within the four walls of a school building.”
- Attacks on the cyber infrastructure are escalating, raising issues related to the obligations of information technology (IT) professionals and users to keep systems secure. PC Magazine reports that only one-fifth of IT executives who responded to a recent survey say their systems are secure, and a third say the situation at their workplace is worse than a year ago due to budget cuts. The survey also indicates that while loss of money from a coordinated hacker attack is the number one concern, the second-biggest fear of IT executives is damage to the company’s reputation. The third concern cited is loss of customers’ trust.
- EU regulators may be set to impose tough new rules on a variety of technologies, including the social-networking site Facebook, radio frequency identification trackers, personalized advertising, databanks of personal and financial information, and airport body scanners, according to a report from BusinessWeek. European commissioner for Information Society and Media Viviane Reding says she will start a revision of existing privacy law this year, with the goal of not falling behind the galloping pace of technology. “Whether we want it or not, almost every day we share personal data about ourselves,” she said, according to BusinessWeek. “These data are collected, processed, and then stored out of our sight. By booking a flight ticket, transferring money, applying for a job, or just using the Internet we are exposing our private lives to others…. We need a change of approach: Businesses must use their power of innovation to improve the protection of privacy and personal data from the very beginning of the development cycle.”
Sources: BusinessWeek, Jan. 29 — PC World, Jan. 29 — UPI, Jan. 26.
For more information, see: Related Newsline story, Aug. 24, 2009 — Related Newsline story, Dec. 15, 2008 — Related Newsline story, May 19, 2008 — Related Newsline commentary, Dec. 3, 2007 — Related Newsline story, Dec. 3, 2007.
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