Ethics and Professionalism

 The aim of this week is for us students to consider the ethical requirements of information technology. In particular we will be considering the issue of how items of emerging technology are designed and used with respect to society’s ethical requirements.

In the current digital era, the swift progress of technology has resulted in revolutionary shifts in numerous facets of human existence. Emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence and smart appliances, have the power to completely change the way we work, live, and interact with the world. To make sure that these technologies meet society's ethical standards and values, we must take into account the ethical implications of their design and use as we embrace these innovations.

Information technology (IT) ethics cover a broad spectrum of topics, such as privacy, security, justice, accountability, openness, and social effect. It is our duty as IT experts, designers, and users to critically assess the ethical implications of new technology and to make well-informed decisions that put people's welfare first.

I took the case of Smart homes for older people with disabilities, whereby, we were handed the task to picture a scenario to see how ethics can be implemented in technology.

1. You are the software engineer responsible for the integrity of Ferndale’s system. During a routine inspection you discover several indicators suggesting a data breach may have occurred via some of the smart appliances, many of which have cameras and are voice-activated. Through the IoT, these appliances are also connected to Amazon Ring home security products – these ultimately link to Amazon, including supplying financial information and details about purchases.

Here is my step-by-step assessment:

    Assessment of the Breach:
Compile comprehensive details regarding the signs that point to a data breach, the smart appliances that are impacted, and the type of breach that occurred.
Ascertain the magnitude of the breach, the kinds of data that were accessed, and the possible effects on Ferndale's users and system.

    Containment:
To stop more illegal access, remove the impacted smart equipment from the network right away.
Turn off any hacked features in the appliances to stop more data from leaking.

    Investigation:

To find the core cause of the breach, investigate thoroughly and look for any weaknesses in the IoT infrastructure, smart appliance firmware, or outside variables like hostile actors.

Examine audit trails and logs to find out where the breach originated and how unauthorized access was obtained.

    Notification
Notify Ferndale's pertinent parties about the data breach, including as management, the IT security teams, and the legal department.
Notify users who might be impacted by the hack and give them advice on how to minimize risks and safeguard their personal data.

    Working Together with Partners:
To report the hack and request help with the investigation, get in touch with Amazon, the company that sells Ring home security systems.
Work collaboratively with Amazon to find any weaknesses in their services or products that might have led to the hack and coordinate efforts to fix them.

    Correction:
Apply quick patches to resolve the vulnerabilities found and stop additional exploitation.
In order to improve security and resilience against future intrusions, smart appliances that are impacted should update their firmware and software fixes.
To reduce such dangers in the future, review and fortify security procedures throughout Ferndale's IoT infrastructure.

    Openness and Communication:
Keep lines of communication open throughout the remediation process with all relevant parties, such as staff, clients, and government agencies.
Frequently update the public on the investigation's progress, the efforts being made to address any issues, and any modifications to security policies or processes.

    Examine and Takeaways:
To determine opportunities for improvement and assess how well the reaction to the data breach worked, conduct a post-incident review.
To improve resilience against future threats, Ferndale's security policies, procedures, and training programmes should include the lessons learnt from the incident.

    Adherence to Regulations:
Ascertain adherence to pertinent data protection laws, including the CCPA or GDPR, by notifying regulatory bodies of the breach as soon as possible and adhering to their incident response and notification protocols.

    Constant Observation and Alertness:
Establish continuous monitoring of Ferndale's IoT infrastructure and system to quickly identify and address any security risks.
Keep up with the latest developments in cybersecurity threats and best practices to tackle growing threats to privacy and data security in a proactive manner.

By taking these precautions, Ferndale may efficiently handle the fallout from the data breach while preserving stakeholder trust, protecting user privacy, and securing its systems.

Another activity was: Technical analysis – Before the ethical questions can be considered, the students might consider a number of immediate technical questions that will help inform the discussion on ethical issues. A sample data set or similar technical problem could be used for this analysis.

Is it possible to ascertain whether a breach has actually happened and data has been accessed?

In order to determine the possibility of a data breach and evaluate the degree of possible compromise, companies might carry out an extensive technical investigation that involves a number of processes. This entails checking system logs for anomalies and suspicious activity, performing forensic analysis on compromised systems to find proof of illegal access or data exfiltration, keeping an eye on network traffic for strange communication patterns, using endpoint security tools to find evidence of compromise, deploying intrusion detection and prevention systems for continuous monitoring, keeping up with external threat intelligence sources, and working with outside cybersecurity experts for more knowledge and resources.

What data may have been compromised?

Sensitive information of many kinds could be exposed in a data breach, including financial information like credit card numbers and bank account details, healthcare records, and authentication credentials, as well as personally identifiable information (PII) like names, addresses, and Social Security numbers. Furthermore, there may be a risk to social media profiles, backup data, IoT device information, communication logs, and geolocation data. Organizations must perform a comprehensive evaluation in order to determine the scope of the breach and quickly notify those who have been impacted. To reduce risks and secure sensitive data, steps like setting up credit monitoring services, changing passwords, and making sure data protection laws are followed are crucial.