Abstract
I have decided to write a research paper on the importance of protecting personally identifiable information (PII) in Information Technology. PII is a critical, but often overlooked skill requirement for IT professionals. The subject of PII data is of vital importance to me since I work with PII data frequently and must be prepared to handle it correctly and ethically, less risk the violation of privacy law. In addition to satisfying the necessary requirements for a research paper, the intention of this paper are to provide:
• A thorough treatment regarding what PII data is and isn’t
• Define the best practices in handling PII data in the field
• Providing case studies and legal references that explore the issues of PII data and privacy rights.
What is PII?
PII, otherwise known as Personally Identifiable Information, is very broad concept with many different applications and meanings. In its more general sense, one could say that PII could be any piece of stored information that can be used to identify someone. However, it is more accurate to state in this context that PII is data that is:
“capable of being associated with a particular individual through one or more identifiers, including, but not limited to, a Social Security number, a driver's license number, a state identification card number, an account number, a credit or debit card number, a passport number, an alien registration number or a health insurance identification number, and does not include publicly available information that is lawfully made available to the general public from federal, state or local government records or widely distributed media. (Wright, 2009)”
This definition provides the largest context as to what PII is and its role i...
... middle of paper ...
...fhause, D. (2008). Student Information at Risk in SunGard Laptop Theft -- Campus Technology. Retrieved February 14, 2010, from http://campustechnology.com/articles/2008/04/student-information-at-risk-in-sungard-laptop-theft.aspx
SecureWorks. (n.d.). HIPAA Compliance Solutions. Retrieved February 14, 2010, from http://www.secureworks.com/compliance/comp/hipaa.html
Spinello, R. A. (2003). CyberEthics morality and law in cyberspace. Boston: Jones and Bartlett.
Sungard Higher Education. (2008, September 02). SunGard Higher Education Laptop Theft. SunGard Higher Education. Retrieved June 18, 2010, from http://www.sungardhe.com/custom.aspx?id=1554&LangType=1033
Wright, B. (n.d.). PII Security Legislation. Retrieved February 14, 2010, from http://legal-beagle.typepad.com/wrights_legal_beagle/2009/04/what-is-the-definition-of-personally-identifiable-information.html
With the advent of new computer technologies, the ease with which new information can be discovered from aggregating data sources is astounding. This technique is called computer matching. When it comes to doing research this can be an incredible source of new ideas and correlations between sets of data. However, this same technique can be applied to information about individual people. Suddenly, by pulling together disparate sources of data, private information can be learned about an individual without their knowledge or consent. If the organization that is capable of computer matching is a government, it places a lot of information in the hands of a powerful entity. A question of whether the government should have this new information is a significant one.
The Internet offers many benefits but it also creates many threats that undermines our personal privacy. Concerns about loss of privacy are not new. But the computer's ability to gather and sort vast amounts of data and the Internet's ability to distribute it globally magnify those concerns [1]. Privacy concerns on the Internet are centered on improper acquisition, improper use of personal information such as intrusions, manipulation, discrimination, identity theft, and stalking of personal information. Today the Internet stretches our geographic boundaries and force us to deal with global ethic based on moral principles held to be valid across the cultures. Due to the nature of the Internet, our personal information may be transmitted over the internet and that the transfer of personal information may be made to any country in the world, regardless of the extent of any data protection laws and regulations in any of those countries.
... license from every state.” Basically this states that a mugshot data base will be created by virtually all non-criminals. This is a violation of privacy. When the DMV issued the driver’s license there was never any intent to create a mugshot from the information on the card. In 1992 The DPPA(Federal Drivers Privacy Protection Act) was created to make a nation mugshot database. This act authorized the sale of driver’s names, addresses, birthdates, social security numbers, driver’s license numbers, digital signatures, and digital photographs to private companies for the purpose of making a registry of identifying information. Fortunatly, this act was ruled unconstitutional for it was in violation of the tenth amendment. However, before this act was ruled unconstitutional the state of South Carolina sold the complete contents of it driver’s license information for a mere five thousand dollars.
Securing Personally Identifiable Information is critical and important because of the fact that PII is used to distinguish one person from another. Each piece of information is uniquely given to a specific individual. Having one thing unsecured, could give someone access to that unsecured item and so much more. If I had my social security card out in the open and someone was able to somehow get ahold of my SSN, it would give them unlimited access to pretty much everything else about me. They would be able to figure out my full name, birthday, address, etc. Having this information available could lead to the person getting credit cards in my name, getting access to my already opened credit cards, and even worse, stealing my identity. To prevent Identity theft, I will make sure my PII is secured and locked away. I will use the
We are living in world that is growing in technology. Technology is evolving so rapidly, especially in ways that allow us to store personal information. For example, we can look up a purchase with no receipt at a retail store with a swipe of a credit card. Another example, we could go to the doctor and the nurse can print out a copy of all our health records that are stored in the computer by just typing in our full name. Although this may be a way to make things easier for us, it is also a way for people to take our information without permission and do what they please with it. People can hack into the database of retail stores and steal account numbers and people can just say your name and get your health history if the nurse does not ask for a form of identification. Information privacy is a growing concern for Internet and data users. In a report Protecting Privacy in an Information Age: The Problem of Privacy in Public, researched by Helen Nissenbaum of Princeton University, she states:
... potentially criminal. Similar to the collection of consumer data, the information gathered by the government is also subject to abuse by people who are granted access privilege. For example, in 2007, a federal agent was charged with using a government database to track the travel pattern of his ex-girlfriend (Lee).
...e same time, the time has come to raise consciousness, support research and standard-setting, and prepare model codes for those systems that do employ privacy-enhancing technologies. The opportunities for individuals to customize privacy preferences, research should be conducted to evaluate alternative arrangements should be generated. On top of that, the digital applications should provide transparent criteria, including ease of understanding, adequacy of notification, compliance with standards, contractual fairness and enforceability, appropriate choice of defaults, efficiency relative to the potential benefits, and integration with other means of privacy protection. Particular attention should be paid to uniformity of protocols across different industries and applications, so that consumers are not overwhelmed by a pointless diversity of interfaces and contracts.
LeRoux, Yves. "Privacy concerns in the digital world." 03 Oct 2013. Computer Weekly. 24 April 2014 .
Many people argue that by using laptops during lectures, students are able to actively participate in the class and they have better communication with the professors despite large class sizes (Fried, 2008, p.2). Through classroom resources such as university and course online platforms, students are able to access the information they are learning about in their lectures. However, students themselves also have a very particular view on this topic, as they are very protective over their belongings and do not want to have their laptops banned from the classroom: “more and more faculty are banning laptops from their classrooms because of perceptions that they distract students and detract from learning,” (Fried, 2008, p.1). Prohibiting the use of laptops in university classrooms is becoming a more common solution to multitasking and student distraction. Universities enforce this regulation in order to prevent distraction and multitasking from impacting a students and surrounding student’s academic
Stone, Lieutenant Colonel Evan M. "The Invasion of Privacy Act: The Disclosure of My Information in Your Government File." Widener Law Review 19.2 (2013): 345-385. Academic Search Complete. Web. 6 Apr. 2014.
This essay will start off by explaining the terms information, governance, and information governance. It will then take a look at the history of information privacy, role that technology has played in the changes of our conceptions of both the private and public sectors use of information. An in-depth look into privacy would take place,and the rights of privacy given to citizens will be discussed. The essay goes further to examine why people value their privacy and how privacy can be protected with different illustrations being used.
Staff, Proquest. At Issue: Technology and Privacy. N.p.: ProQuest LLC, 2013. Web. 5 Dec. 2013. .
Urban, Mike. "Personal Info on Stolen Laptops, Albright Says." Tribune Business News [Reading Eagle] 14 Apr. 2011: n. pag. eLibrary. Web. 6 July 2011.
Data privacy issues arise in wide range of areas such as healthcare records, financial information, regarding genetic material in biology, geographical records, criminal justice and investigations and also in the use of
Privacy and Security are very important aspects in regards to computer databases and keeping them safe. Data Privacy is a way to keep your information secure, and keeping your information secure means it’s going to be kept private (vice versa). Information and data privacy is the relationship between gathering and classifying data and technologies while at the same time keeping them private in the context of the organization. While Computer security and IT security are defined as the means of security and how they translate to computers, their network infrastructures, and the data encompassing the databases that store this data and making sure they are kept safe and classified.