Ethical issues concerning storing electronic information about individuals are similar to cyber security concerns, particularly with databases.
- Risk of data breach – this is one of the most common concerns and ethical issues regarding electronic storage of data; there is always a risk of information being stolen, destroyed, or tampered with. It is for this reason a lot of places with sensitive information still have physical copies of information in folders stored in secure places.
2. Acquirement of information without explicit consent – this is also a growing concern today amongst regular people that browse the internet; typical data collection by companies often do so without permission, figuring out personal information of customers and tailoring ads to their interests, preferences, locations, etc. It is often highly frowned upon and more often than not that data is sold to other companies to also make a profit.
3. Switching from paper to digital storage – not everyone is up to date with technology, and this may impose an issue for those who handle extremely sensitive information, such as health care workers. Solving this issue would decrease productiveness, as additional training is needed for employees who are already used to a paper based system and newcomers who aren’t tech savvy. Utilizing both paper and digital storage also has certain issues exclusively tied to each other, such as transfer of data across platforms.
4. Inaccuracy with data – this one is usually going to be due to natural human error, but is still a valid concern. No matter how perfect a team can be, mistakes can and will be made with numbers, leading to more incorrect numbers in data, just like a domino effect. This problem is inevitable, so it is a valid concern for those looking into this matter, or for companies, government facilities, etc. looking to digitalize the storage of their information.