Describe four ethical issues that arise when storing electronic information about individuals.

The four ethical issues that arise when storing electronic information about individuals are privacy, security, accuracy and access.

Keeping electronic records of people can lead to the following four ethical problems:

1) Privacy: Privacy is one of the most important moral dilemmas that arise from storing technological data about people. Sensitive information including medical records, financial information, and personally identifiable information that can be used to identify people may be included in personal data that is maintained electronically. Such data must be stored with the proper safeguards in place to protect the individual’s privacy; otherwise, privacy rights may be violated.

2) Security: Keeping electronic data may leave it open to security lapses. Personal data theft or illegal access to sensitive data are potential outcomes of cyberattacks, data breaches, and hacking incidents. When businesses don’t offer sufficient security measures to stop such accidents, which exposes personal data, an ethical problem occurs.

3) Accuracy: While storing electronic data about people, accuracy presents another ethical dilemma. Errors or inaccuracies that affect personal data might have serious repercussions. Inaccurate information may result in the improper denial of benefits, legal action, or even a misdiagnosis of a medical condition. Thus it’s crucial to guarantee the accuracy of any electronic storage of personal information.

4) Access: Because electronic data may be accessed from anywhere in the globe, ethical questions about who should have access to the data are raised. Personal information should only be accessible to those who have a need to know, such as medical professionals, employers, or law enforcement officers. Privacy violations and other ethical problems may arise from unauthorized access to personal data. Access control is therefore essential for ensuring ethical standards in electronic data storage.

Compare cybersecurity risks in the U.S. and another country.

The United States is a large target for attacks on the infrastructure and business. With much of the world at odds with the United States, we become an attractive target. Many of the companies in the United States have their systems online and keep growing. Most of the attacks in this country are phishing attacks. This accounts for 60 percent of the attacks worldwide. This is a constant battle to keep up with new attacks and methods. There are more systems being online and now with COVID requiring more remote access required, many of these systems are not configured properly and are open to attacks. Most of the attacks in our country, originate in this country.  These risks are sped throughout the world and many other countries are experiencing the same problems. Many people here in the United States believe that most of the hacks we get are foreign based from Russia or China. Actually, most of the attacks we get are based here, with China coming in second and Russia coming in in seventh. In a recent study the United States come in fifth for being secure in cyber security. Though it’s not the best, it is far from the worst. Of the 60 nations in study, Algeria came in at the bottom. Other countries have organizations of hackers, like Russia. The have a large cybercrime black market that is values at 2 billion dollars a year. With that they have 30 capable cybercrime that are possibly state sponsored. China also has groups of hackers that receive state sponsorship. They also have them serve within the military. These attacks have been going on for years, but the Chinese government continues to do them. It’s not just the just the United States thatbgets attack, but many other countries.