Civil Rights

In today’s society the advanced technology has come at a cost. The technology that has been developed has resulted in major issues however on the other hand it could be said that with so much technology being created if these problems do occur they can be stopped or prevented. The main problems that arise nowadays is hacking mainly computer hacking. However firewalls and other software has been designed to prevent hackers invading our pc’s.

The computer misuse act was enforced in 1990, the law states that in the UK that makes illegal certain activities, such as hacking into other people’s systems, misusing software, or helping a person to gain access to protected files of someone else's computer.

The Computer Misuse Act is split into three sections and makes the following acts illegal:

Unauthorized Access to Computer Material

Unauthorized Access to Computer systems with intent to commit another offense

Unauthorized Modification of Computer Material

The first section in the Computer Misuse Act forbids a person to use someone else’s identification to access a computer, run a program or obtain any data, even if no personal gain is involved in such access. The second provision in the Computer Misuse Act is gaining access to a computer system in order to commit or facilitate a crime. Whereas the third provision in the Computer Misuse Act states that Unauthorized Modification in the Computer Misuse Act means you can’t delete, change or corrupt data. Therefore, this shows that nowadays the laws have become a lot stricter with hacking becoming more common the cost for being caught breaking these acts can result in up to 30 years in jail or a heavy fine. I believe that with modern technology it could be hard to find these hackers therefore the law enforced are probably broken regularly however the culprits are not caught.  Taking all these factors into account the computer misuse act is vital to prevent instances like hacking being stopped however more needs to be done to catch these hackers. In addition, software needs to be used to prevent computer systems being hacked.

With Advanced IT some factors have had some affects hacking has increased by 12% in the last 2 years this statement may not seem like a lot however the result is phenomenal. The development of technology has resulted in hacking becoming easier to do. Computer hacking always involves some degree of infringement on the privacy of others or damage to computer-based property such as files, web pages or software. The impact of computer hacking varies from simply being simply invasive and annoying to illegal. I believe that hacking is wrong, my perception of going into my friends email address I view that as okay however even that is considered as hacking and can have severe penalties. However, hacking can be prevented using a number of technologies are available to companies to prevent hacking attacks. The most popular tools are Internet firewalls, anti-virus software, intrusion detection systems, and vulnerability assessment tools. Firewalls are used to set up a virtual wall between the Internet and the company's internal network to repel attackers. Anti-virus software detects and removes computer viruses, worms, and Trojan horses. Intrusion detection systems watch over critical networks and computers looking for suspicious activities, and can alert administrators in the event of an attack. Therefore this shows that with modern technology hacking can be prevented. Although there is no specific software designed to prevent hacking.

Another law that was designed to protect personal data stored on computers or in an organised paper filing system was the data protection act. There has been a Data Protection Act since 1984. It was introduced largely because of concern at the growth of computerised record keeping. The 1998 Act has been extended to cover all types of records which contain information about individuals.This law was forced in early 1999 and covers how information about living identifiable persons is used. It is much broader in scope than the earlier 1984 act, but does contain some provision for a transitional period for compliance with the new requirements. It works it two basic ways:

·         Setting up rules that people have to follow

·         Having an Information Commissioner to enforce the rules

Although, it does not stop companies storing information about people the data is stored in the company’s database however the rules comply with the companies. The Data Protection Act ensures that personal data relating to individuals is only used according to certain guidelines and that individuals have the right to see data that relates to them. Names held in the database are classified as being 'for research, historical or statistical purposes'. Therefore I believe that the data protection act is a act that needed to be enforced because the general public don’t want personal information being traded between different companies however, I can see why the companies what to collect the information as it can be used in ways to improve their sales and identify a target audience from what customers are using the shop.