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

Storing information electronically has made day-to-day tasks more accessible by allowing organizations quick and easy access to their data. However, doing so has also created new challenges for the cybersecurity community. For example, sensitive and confidential data stored electronically could be mishandled or stolen, which could be detrimental to not only the organization storing it and its reputation but also life-changing to those whom the data represents. Thus, organizations have an ethical obligation to safeguard stored data and work towards addressing ethical issues that arise.

Examples of ethical issues that arise when storing data include data privacy and confidentiality, security, availability, and accuracy. Privacy in the context of data security is the idea that certain information is kept private and secure from others who do not have the appropriate access to view it. Organizations must restrict access to stored information and prevent the use of it by inappropriate third parties. Users rely on organizations to maintain their privacy and control the confidentiality of the information being stored so that others will not have access to it unless agreed upon so that their data is not used without consent. Organizations are expected to keep reasonable security measures in place to adhere to specific information-security policies and to mitigate the risk of inappropriate access being obtained by illegal means. The stored information is expected to be available for viewing by users with access at any time and within a reasonable timeframe (Bourgeosis, 2019). Regarding ethics, when information is available to those with specific roles, organizations have a responsibility to maintain that the users are given the correct access and that the data stored can be read at any time. For example, organizations such as hospitals rely on the availability of their stored data for healthcare purposes. They have an ethical obligation to ensure that access to that data is given to the correct users and that those individuals have immediate access to make healthcare decisions. Stored information should be kept in its most accurate form and should not be altered unless by a user with assigned access. Organizations are responsible for ensuring that information is transparent and has not been changed for any malicious reason.

Bourgeosis, D. T., Smith, J. L., Wang, S., & Mortati, J. (2019). Information Systems Security. In Information Systems for Business and Beyond (pp. 64–74). essay, Saylor Academy.