Chapter LIV 2
SOCIAL ISSUES INVOLVING COMPUTERS
Computers have been around for half a century and have become a part of everyday life in our society today. So far
we’ve been looking at how computers work and what they can do. In this chapter, we look at areas of concerns and
problems with the use of computers.
Computers, Work, and Health
Some people say that computers are a threat to our health. There have been a lot of studies in this area but nothing
has been proven. But, we should still be knowledgeable about areas of concern.
Stress-Related Concerns
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Emotional Stress
– How do we react
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Triggers
– Layoff or Reassignment
– Fear of Falling Behind
– Burnout
There are many things that produce stress. Stress is an emotional condition that is caused by the way we react to
things that are happening in our lives. Moving, school, financial worries, work, and personal relationships can all
contribute to stress.
Stress gets to be a problem when it affects our health and performance. Often there is some event that increases our
stress to a problem level. This event could involve the use of a computer.
When computers, or any automation for that matter, are introduced into the workplace, workers, especially those at
lower levels, fear that they will be laid off or reassigned. They fear that they will end up without a job or be moved
to a job that they can’t do. One thing that management has to do is reassure people if this isn’t going to be the case.
Just learning that computers are going to be brought into an area can start all kinds of stories.
Executives, managers, programmers, and even computer teachers can fear that they aren’t going to be able to keep
pace with computer technology and that they will fall behind. One thing that a company must do is provide time for
proper training.
Burnout is caused by the over use or over dependence on computers. There are balances that we have to keep in our
lives and some people are not able to keep those balances. Computer use is just one thing that they might choose to
burn out on.
Ergonomics-Related Concerns
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Addresses comfort and safety of products and workarea
Important Ergonomic Concerns
– Display Devices
– Keyboards
– Workspace
Ergonomics is the study of comfort and safety of products and workspaces.
Long hours sitting relatively still in front of display devices can produce eye problems, fatigue, headaches, and
backaches. Good product and workspace design can help overcome these problems. It also helps to take breaks and
to make sure that you are fit to start with.
The use of keyboards can sometimes lead to repetitive motion disorders or repetitive stress injury, an example of
which is carpal tunnel syndrome. As I understand it, the carpal is a sheath that the tendons travel through like a
tunnel. A tendon connects a muscle to a bone, like the muscle in your arm to your finger bones. Overuse aggravates
the inside of this tunnel. Generally, resting will relieve the problem but sometimes surgery is necessary.
There are some keyboards that are suppose to help by reducing stress on the hands and wrists. Microsoft makes a
popular one. The ones in the book are more radical designs. There is also another keyboard layout called Dvorak
that they claim requires less finger movement. The problem is that the population is already trained in the current
layout.
Environment-Related Concerns
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Usage of Electricity
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– Concern for natural resources / nuclear safety
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Paperless Office - NOT
– More paper than ever
We have an abundance of electrical power generation in this area with the nuclear and hydroelectric system just
down the road. Many areas of the world rely on power generation that uses up resources. In either case, saving
electricity is a good idea. With so many computer systems, it is important that hay have features to use as little
power as possible. This is why we have monitors and hard disks that shut down after a period of not being used and
turn back on when needed.
We’ve mentioned the paperless office before. Although plants are renewable resources, we still need to be
concerned about paper usage. The process of creating paper from wood and cotton produces pollutants and
requires a lot of bleach.
Computer Crime
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Using a computer to commit a criminal act
Difficulty of Detection
Trial Issues
Computer crime is the use of a computer to commit a criminal act. While there are now many computer crime laws
on the books, there are also many problems with computer crimes.
First, a crime has to be detected. Say you work for a company in their order entry department. You enter an order
into the order entry system and have it shipped to your address. After you receive the goods, you go back and
change the name and address on the order. The company then isn’t able to collect for the goods. How do you detect
that this is happening?
Good order entry systems keep track of who entered and changed an order. They also keep a history of all the data
that was changed.
Suppose that you are running a home based business after work. You bring a diskette to work and use Excel to keep
track of your orders. You are stealing the value of the computer resources you use plus the value of the time that you
are being paid. But, suppose you do it after work when your work computer would normally be idle? And how do
you detect this misuse of company property?
Even when computer crime is understood by investigators and gets to court, it is sometimes hard to get a conviction.
The prosecutor, judge, and the jurors have to understand the technical issues involved as well as the law.
Types of Computer Crime
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Data Diddling
Trojan Horse
Salami Shaving
Trapdoors
Logic and Time Bombs
Computer Viruses
There are a lot of different types of computer crime: Data diddling is simply the unauthorized modifying of data on
a computer system for personal gain.
A Trojan horse is a computer program that appears normal but that conceals instructions that it shouldn’t have. If
you were doing the programming for the Tiger 1 office for example, you could hide some instructions that kept the
program from withdrawing money from your account. Suppose you sit down to a computer in Martin Lab. On the
screen is the Clemson login screen as normal. You sit down and type your id and password. The computer reboots
and you login again thinking that the system is acting crazy. What could have happened is that the last person left a
program running that put up a fake login screen a nd captured your id and password. You have just been bitten by a
Trojan horse called a spoof.
Salami shaving involves taking very small amounts so that it will not be noticed. Think of shaving very thin pieces
off a salami roll. One bank programmer modified a savings program to accumulate the parts of a cent that were left
over when interest was calculated for each account. That accumulation was deposited to his account each time
interest was calculated. Another programmer would periodically empty small accounts that had been dormant for a
long time into his account.
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Many programmers put trap doors in programs during development that enable them to bypass normal security
checking. If the trap door is left in the program, the programmer can gain unauthorized access to the functions of
the program.
If a programmer puts malicious instructions in a program to happen on some event it is a logic bomb. If it is to
happen at some date or time, it is a time bomb.
Viruses are often logic or time bombs. They have the additional capability to replicate themselves infecting other
programs.
Types of Computer Crime
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Eavesdropping, Sniffing
Cellular Phone Fraud
Software Piracy
Hacking
Counterfeiting
Internet-Related Crimes
Everyone knows what eavesdropping is but computers allow it to be done in different ways. One way is to watch
what is being transmitted on networks to find information like passwords called sniffing.
I’m not sure I would call cellular phone fraud a computer crime. It is capturing the identification number of a phone
and putting it into another phone.
We’ve talked about the unauthorized use of software or software piracy.
Hackers remotely try to break through the security of a computer system or network. It may be that they just want to
show that they can do it or it might be to do some harm.
One reason that the US is issuing new money is that computer printers can now do a decent job of counterfeiting.
Checks are another item that is now easily counterfeited and many companies are going to more sophisticated
designs that make it hard or impossible to copy.
Even though the Internet is young, it is being used by criminals. Petafiles have lured children in chat rooms.
Children have easier access to pornography. Chain letters are circulated with greater speed. Illegal multi-level or
pyramid marketing schemes are always popping up and then disappearing.
Preventing Computer Crime 1/2
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Assess Risks
Have a Recovery Plan
Hire Trustworthy People
Beware of Malcontents
Separate Employee Functions
Restrict System Use
Password Protect Programs and Data
– Biometric devices
How do organizations go about trying to prevent computer crime. Although much computer crime is discovered by
accident, there is a lot that can be done.
By looking a vulnerable areas and assessing their risk, they can decide which areas have the best cost-benefit.
If disruptions do occur, a recovery plan should be in place. Many companies spend hundreds of thousands of a
disaster-recovery plan which addresses: What would you do if your computer system became unavailable because
of a natural disaster or through someone’s actions?
You should always try to hire trustworthy people who are less likely to commit crimes.
Access to employees who might be a malcontent or terminated should be controlled.
Divide the functions necessary to perform jobs so that one person doesn’t have all the responsibilities and
authorizations in one area. Only grant access to those functions that an employee really needs.
Protect access with passwords and perhaps a biometric security device which is a device that measures and
validates some unique bio-characteristic of a person.
Preventing Computer Crime 2/2
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Build Firewalls
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Secure Transmissions with Encryption
Use Crime Prevention Software
Devise Staff Controls
Monitor Important System Transactions
Conduct Regular Audits
Educate Employees
Install a hardware and software firewall to protect your internal from attack.
Encrypt transmissions, files, and data. Encrypted data is coded or garbled so that it can’t be read. It requires a key
before it can be decoded.
Crime prevention software such as an antivirus program should be used to stop damage to a system. Keep the
software up-to-date, new virus forms are found every day.
Devise controls that limit access to the system.
Monitor how users use the system, especially for important transactions.
Audit your system periodically to look for suspicious activity. Again much computer crime is discovered by accident.
Educate employees so that they are better informed about computer crime and what impact it might have on them.
Computers and Privacy
We all have information about ourselves that we don’t want other people to know and would like to be kept private.
If could be medical information, financial data, or many things about our lives. Computer privacy is concerned with
how and by whom information about individuals is used. Information can be disseminated by other means but
computers just make it easier and faster in some cases.
Privacy and Electronic Mail
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Whose Property Is It?
What is the University’s policy on e-mail privacy?
To whom does your e-mail belong? What rights to privacy do you have for your e-mail?
You might be surprised to know that if you work for someone, they can eavesdrop on your e-mail and they don’t
even have to tell you. Its their computer system and they own it. Other companies have internal policies against
eavesdropping unless it appears that a company policy is being broken or a crime being committed.
Use the Internet to find out what Clemson’s policy is concerning the privacy of your e-mail?
Privacy and Marketing Databases
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Marketing Database: Individual consumer information for niche or target marketing
Many times when you make purchases, information is collected for marketing databases. This information can be
sold to others who wish to market products to individuals that match a target market or have certain buying
preferences. You many wonder how some of that junk mail you get originates.
Perhaps this information is only used locally within a company to try to sell you something else. If you have a BiLo
card and you haven’t been in one of their stores in a while, they might send you some coupons for items that you
have been purchasing in the past. Hopefully, this will bring you back to BiLo.
Caller Identification
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Identifies incoming call
Invasion of Privacy?
I’m not sure that caller-id is a general computer privacy issue but specialized computers do run the phone network.
How do you feel about someone knowing where you are calling from? Many people don’t know that they can block
transmission of caller-id.
I had a friend who worked at a pizza place. At the end of the day, they always had pizza left over from people who
called in bogus orders. When I call Jerry’s in Central, they don’t even ask who is calling. They know. And if I don’t
get my pizza, they know where to start looking for me.
In Atlanta, when I called Pizza Hut, they knew who was calling, where I lived, what I generally ordered, and what
Pizza Hut delivery restaurant was closest to my home.
Privacy Legislation 1970’s
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Freedom of Information Act
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Fair Credit Reporting Act
Education Privacy Act
Privacy Act
Right to Financial Privacy Act
All of the following are federal legislation concerning privacy and in some cases computer crime. There are also
many state laws. With technology moving so fast, these laws are under constant change.
Not responsible for all this legislation.
Privacy Legislation 1980’s
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Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1984
Cable Communications Policy Act
Electronic Communications Privacy Act
Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986
Video Privacy Protection Act
Computer Matching and Privacy Act
Privacy Legislation 1990’s
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Telephone Consumer Protection Act
Cable Act
Computer Abuse Amendments Act
Ethical Issues Regarding Computers
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Standard of Moral Conduct
– Comes from individual values
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A Fine Line
Ethics is a standard of moral conduct. Your individual ethics come from your individual values.
There is sometimes a fine line between what is ethical and unethical. There is also sometimes a fine line between
what is unethical and unlawful. Sometimes unethical behavior is not against the law and sometimes it crosses the
line.
Ethical Guidelines
The book lists a set of questions that you might ask yourself about an action that you are going to take that doesn’t
seem quite right. They center on what are your real reasons for taking the action and what might be the
consequences, to yourself and others.
Its easy to rationalize an action when you stand to benefit greatly.
Ethical Examples
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Software Use
Company Secrets
Promising too much
Vaporware
Some examples of unethical behavior include:
Unlicensed use of proprietary software.
Divulging company secrets after changing jobs.
Promising more than you know you can deliver.
Producing vaporware. Vaporware is promising a product way in advance that may not ever happen. In 1963
Control Data Corporation came out with the fastest computer by far. IBM promised their customers a machine that
would outperform it. The IBM machine never existed and was never built but for a year and a half CDC did not get
a single order for the system. They later sued IBM.
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The Ten Commandments of Computer Ethics
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Thou shalt not use a computer to harm other people.
Thou shalt not interfere with other people’s computer work.
Thou shalt not snoop around in other people’s computer files.
Thou shalt not use a computer to steal.
Thou shalt not use a computer to bear false witness.
The Computer Ethics Institute of Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility has these ten commandments of
computer ethics.
The Ten Commandments of Computer Ethics
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Thou shalt not copy or use proprietary software for which you have not paid.
Thou shalt not use other people’s computer resources without authorization or proper compensation.
Thou shalt not appropriate other people’s intellectual output.
The Ten Commandments of Computer Ethics
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Thou shalt think about the social consequences of the program you are writing or the system you are designing.
Thou shalt always use a computer in ways that insure consideration and respect for your fellow humans.
End of Chapter LIV2
Key Terms
Antivirus software. Software used to detect and eliminate computer viruses.
Audit. An inspection used to determine if a system or procedure is working as it should or if claimed amounts are
correct.
Biometric security device. A device that, upon recognition of some physiological or learned characteristic that is
unique to a person, allows a person to have access to a system.
Call identification. Refers to the use of telephone or answering device that displays the origin of incoming calls.
Computer crime. The use of computers to commit criminal acts.
Computer virus. A small block of unauthorized code, concealed and transmitted form computer to computer, that
performs destructive acts when executed.
Disaster-recovery plan. A plan that maps out what an organization does to prepare for and react to disruptive events.
Encryption. A method of protecting data or programs by coding or scrambling so that they are unrecognizable to
unauthorized users.
Ergonomics. The field that studies the effects of things such as computer hardware, software, and workspaces on
people’s comfort and health.
Ethics. A term that refers to standards of moral conduct.
Firewall. A collection of hardware and software intended to protect a company’s internal computer networks from
attack.
Hacking. Using a computer system or terminal to penetrate the security of a remote computer system.
Marketing database. An electronic repository containing information useful for marketing products to customers or
planning marketing directions.
Password. A word or number used to permit selected individuals access to a system.
Privacy. In a computer processing context, refers to how information about individuals is used and by whom.
Spoof. Type of Trojan Horse.
Software piracy. The unauthorized copying or use of computer programs.
Trojan Horse. Concealed instructions to a computer program so that it appears normal but will also perform
prohibited duties.
Vaporware. Software that is announced long before it is ready for market.
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