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Legal implications

Computer data and information is a valuable asset. We have said that companies and individuals have to look after their data, in order to protect their investment in it. There is the potential data theft and malicious damage.

There are three important sets of laws that relate to these potential threats. They are the Data Protection Act 1984, and 1998, the Computer Misuse Act 1990 and the copyright act 1988. Because computers are used in commerce and industry, forming an essential tool in the work-place other laws and regulations dealing with health and safety, liability and contractual obligations will also affect the way that IT systems are used.

Data Protection Acts 1984 and 1998

People have always been concerned about organizations storing personal data about them. There is a basic feeling that it is not quite right for strangers to know the details of your personal life. We feel that there is a basic human right - the right to privacy. In addition there are concerns as to whether the data stored is accurate and worries as to the uses that the data might be put.

The use of computers to store and process personal data increases these concerns because computers:

  • Can find individual data very quickly - thus making it possible to process personal data in ways that would not be viable with manual methods - e.g. personalized mail shots, immediate credit references.
  • Can be used to combine data from a variety of sources e.g. building up a profile of a persons likes and dislikes so that the mail shot can be targeted to those likely to respond.
  • Make it possible to store and process a large amount of data - far beyond the capabilities of manual systems. There is therefore a tendency for organizations to keep personal data just because it is possible to do so.
  • Have a built in credibility factor. People tend to believe the output of a computer system. If the computer says that you are a bad credit risk or that you have a criminal record the information is more difficult to challenge.
  • May appear secure than manual storage methods where physical entry must be gained to copy or steal the data. With a computer system remote hacking is possible.

These concerns led to demands for a data protection act. The real motivation for the act however was an EC directive that personal data could only be exchanged between states that had a data protection act. It was therefore necessary for the UK government to pass a data protection act to allow data exchange with our European partners.

Computer Misuse

There are a group of individuals who for various reasons wish to damage computer data. Their motives vary. Broadly there are two groups those who write malware such as viruses, and the hackers who try to gain illegitimate access to systems. The computer misuse act is a law framed to make such activities illegal.

Copyright Act.

Theft of peoples intellectual rights is far from a new issue. There are scholars who claim that Shakespeare "borrowed" the plot of a number of his plays. Several of the beatles early hits have "borrowed" tunes, music and word themes. Had Shakespeare been alive now he would probably have been sued! The copy right act is designed to protect the owners of materials of all sorts from music to books - you may have noticed that I copyright these pages! In 1990 the act was modified to include material found on computers.

   

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