JANE DIAZ

MR. PAJO

BS-IM

ITETHICS

BOOKREVIEW #10

ETHICAL AND SOCIAL ISSUES IN THE INFORMATION AGE

by: Joseph Migga Kizza

Chapter XI – CYBERSPACE AND CYBERETHICS

The Internet has been compared to a vast copying machine. Infused from its start

with the sense that it is some sort of frontier, it combines blistering speed with awesome

content availability. It is a place where can get access anyplace, anytime to whatever is

out there. And, in these early years of cyberspace, there seems to be no limit on what is

or will be out there. The world’s largest music company recently put it: A few clicks of

your mouse will make it possible for you to summon every book ever written in any

language, every movie ever made, every television show ever produced, and every

piece of music ever recorded.

Copyright law protects the tangible expression of an idea from being reproduced

without the permission of the copyright holder. To qualify for a copyright, a work of art

must be original, created independently by the artist. The law curbs this right, making it

last only for a set time period. It also carves out the important exception of fair use,

permitting reproduction of portions of copyrighted work for limited purposes, such as

criticism or classroom instruction. We also believe that the entertainment industry as a

whole and I mean all the companies with a stake in the e-future should take meaningful

technological measures. To an extent, piracy is a technical problem and must be

addressed with technical solutions. The studios, broadcasters and record companies

working in cooperation with the technology companies need to develop innovative and

flexible watermarking or encryption systems that can stay one step ahead of the

hackers.

Chapter XII – COMPUTER NETWORKS AND ONLINE CRIMES

Another form of computer crime is spam mail. Spam mail is the distribution of

bulk e-mail that offers recipients deals on products or services. The purpose of spam

mail is to make customers think they are going to receive the real product or service at a

reduced price. However, before the deal can occur, the sender of the spam asks for

money, the recipients’ credit card number or other personal information.

The customer will send that information and never receive the product nor hear

from the spammer. In addition to traditional crimes occurring on the electronic resources,

there are crimes that exist explicitly due to the availability of technology. These crimes,

which include denial of service attacks, malicious programs, viruses, and instances of

cyber terrorism, are designed to disrupt and negatively impact entities in both the digital

and real world. There exists a number of professional law enforcement organizations

designed to provide training and investigative resources for computer crime and

computer fraud. These agencies work independently, as well as with regional law

enforcement. Many of these organizations are elements of federal law enforcement

agencies.

Chapter XIII – COMPUTER CRIME INVESTIGATION COMPUTER FORENSICS

“Thus, it is more than the technological, systematic inspection of the computer

system and its contents for evidence or supportive evidence of a civil wrong or a criminal

act. Computer forensics requires specialized expertise and tools that goes above and

beyond the normal data collection and preservation techniques available to end-users or

system support personnel. One definition is analogous to "Electronic Evidentiary

Recovery, known also as e-discovery, requires the proper tools and knowledge to meet

the Court's criteria, whereas Computer Forensics is simply the application of computer

investigation and analysis techniques in the interests of determining potential legal

evidence.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_forensics) Law enforcement and the

legal establishment are facing a new challenge. Criminal acts are being committed and

the evidence of these activities is recorded in electronic form. Additionally, crimes are

being committed in cyberspace.

Evidence in these crimes is almost always recorded in digital fashion. It is

important that computer security professionals be aware of some of the requirements of

the legal system and understands the developing field of computer forensics. In law, if

information is not admitted into evidence, then, for legal purposes, it does not exist.

Testimony by both the forensic specialist who developed the evidence and someone

who can explain its significance to the case is often required. Only then does the

information become evidence.