Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Unit 7 Organisational Systems SecurityP6

P6 Review the laws related to security and privacy of data. 

Computer Misuse Act (1990)
The computer misuse act covers 3 different aspects;
Unauthorised access to computer material, this is things like using another person’s password and username without their permission (or using a trap to find out their password) editing, deleting or moving any data without permission all fall under the unauthorised access to computer material.
It also covers unauthorised access to computer systems, which is when a computer system is used without permission for anything malicious, like creating a Trojan, creating a backdoor for hackers, or giving people administration rights when they’re not supposed to have them.
Finally it covers unauthorised modification of computer material, and this includes offences such as editing data for personal gain, for example bank account details or modifying when you were clocked into work to avoid getting disciplined for being late. It also includes the distribution of viruses. 

Copyright, Designs and Patents Act (1998)
This covers things such as media, music, videos, podcasts, pictures and images, written material, a design of a unique hardware product or software program.
When something has been copyrighted or patented, this means that no one can use the music, video, image etc, without the permission of the creator. If someone is found using the copyrighted material without consent, then the holder of the copyright has the right to sue them under the copyright, design and patents act. In order to avoid this is it always important to ask permission before using images.

Data Protection Acts (1984, 1998 and 2000)
The Data Protection Acts are, as the name suggests, acts which cover how personal information can be accessed and used. It doesn’t cover data from computers; it also covers paper based information. There are 8 basic principles to the act
1.       It must be collected and used fairly and inside the law.
2.       It must only be held and used for the reasons given to the Information Commissioner.
3.       It can only be used for those registered purposes and only be disclosed to those people mentioned in the register entry. You cannot give it away or sell it unless you said you would to begin with.
4.       The information held must be adequate, relevant and not excessive when compared with the purpose stated in the register. So you must have enough detail but not too much for the job that you are doing with the data.
5.       It must be accurate and be kept up to date. There is a duty to keep it up to date, for example to change an address when people move.
6.       It must not be kept longer than is necessary for the registered purpose. It is alright to keep information for certain lengths of time but not indefinitely. This rule means that it would be wrong to keep information about past customers longer than a few years at most.
7.       The information must be kept safe and secure. This includes keeping the information backed up and away from any unauthorised access. It would be wrong to leave personal data open to be viewed by just anyone.
8.       The files may not be transferred outside of the European Economic Area (that's the EU plus some small European countries) unless the country that the data is being sent to has a suitable data protection law. This part of the DPA has led to some countries passing similar laws to allow computer data centres to be located in their area.
(ref for 8 principals: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/ict/legal/0dataprotectionactrev5.shtml)


Freedom of Information Act (2000)

The freedom of information act means that anyone can request any official government information with regards to the government, public authorities, the NHS, schools and universities, public services such as the police etc. personal information may not be realised as this would breach the data protection act. There are a few different circumstances in which you wouldn’t be able to receive the information, some of these include, if the information applies to an organisation’s security, is related to a current ongoing investigation by police or other public authorities or if it is covered by the official secrets act. 

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