There are many different ethical things that arise when storing electronic information about individuals. Just like anything else, there are challenges set at any corner. Some of the ethical issues that come to the surface when discussing this situation could be confidentiality. Confidentiality is a very important aspect when it comes to storing information. Confidentiality is being able to keep things private and restrict other’s access. Another issue that may arise from the result of your information being compromised would be liability. This can prove to be a very troublesome situation when you look at different factors like how the account was hacked, whether was it the fault of the system in failing to protect the information; or were the customer to blame for being careless with their own login credentials. Many factors can play a role in the breach of an account, but deducting who is responsible can be a whole other task at hand. Another ethical issue that may occur is harmful actions that can lead to different consequences that may compromise companies and have them face many repercussions. The change or even destruction of programs and information are things that may take ample time and dedication of resources that may not be available. Lastly, I would have to mention security breaches. Security breaches are huge problems that directly affect a customer’s privacy. Depending on the actual information obtained during the breach can also heavily affect people in a variety number of ways. In my personal experience, I had my credit card information stolen when I was getting gas at a gas station. Luckily, my bank was able to notice and flag the unauthorized purchase to my account before they were able to charge large amounts of money. Things like confidentiality, liability, harmful actions, and security breaches are only a few of the ethical issues that occur when storing information about individuals.
