Ethical Issues in Information Systems Introduction Currently, a good number of people are charged with the responsibility of acquiring, managing and distribution of information. Several technology are connected using varied media; fibre optics. The society today is an information age. However, there are a number of issues that we face in this industry. They arise from the nature of information. It is through information that that the mind grows and elevates its capacity to meet set objectives. Hence, information creates the intellectual basis through which people model their lives and get dignity. There are however several points of vulnerability. For instance when one loses information due intellectual impairment of faulty media (Litzky, 2008). The misuse of information in the technology industry and lack of ethics has led to major losses to the industry. It goes on to be among the main issues in the modern time. Ethics is an aspect that deals with the manner professionals ought to come up with choices on the basis of professional and social conduct. Data Privacy A person’s information should be kept closed from other people. The level of access should be confidential in varied conditions. Information privacy varies with regard to the type of data. There are two aspects in the information technology industry that affect the privacy of data.one of them is the advancement in information technology. This is attributed to improved capacity for surveillance, communication, storage and access (Nnorom, 2007). The other aspect and of great risk, is the improved value of information when coming up with vital decisions. Information is of great significance to policy makers, they use it to make huge changes in the industry and are vital for future operations. Data privacy as an ethical issue is quite necessary, however, there are certain instances where privacy have been breached. A good case in point is where the state of Florida was of the belief that the building codes could have been too tight and due to this, the tax payers suffered through paying for structures that were not made use of by people. In a study that was undertaken at a community college, monitors were used in all of the bathrooms. The monitors were used to assess the use of the toilets, sinks and other amenities and recorded this in documents. The results were recorded and stored in databases for future analysis. The students and staff were outraged by the act of invading their privacy. However, the state responded by stating that this formed a basis for policy making. This invasion of privacy was stopped later, though after the state got what it wanted. In the current age, the information technology industry is growing fast, making it possible to track using trackers and smart phones acquire improved features (Craig, and Ludloff, 2011). Hence, efforts are being put in place to ensure that protection of private data and privacy is met. Additionally, these effort ought to make sure that they are able to handle and safeguard data. The analysis trend and information technology’s influence, comprising of security of data, growth of the internet and unease of information and IT, is based on several efforts and therefore need grows for in depth analysis of privacy issues. Data privacy comprises of a number of concepts that ought to be taken into consideration; there is the probable area that need consideration in relation to personal information arising from new technologies as well as the threats that arise due to connection to non-technology; assessment of social and technological changes that are concerned with other information, communication and varied issues of new methodologies and tools storing the data as well as the varying trends connected to sharing data; an assessment of the risks that arise due to the current personal and private data which arise due to application of information technology’s past and the private and government sector steps to handle with the issues; lastly is the focusing on the tradeoffs in acquisition trends of an individual between monitoring and personalized marketing connected to the benefits and costs related to use of data (Reynolds, 2011). Data Privacy Solution Hence, there are a number of ways to deal with privacy issues of data in the information technology industry. This calls for a number of corrective steps to be followed by the clients, government bodies and the private firms in their interactions so as to handle false bank accounts, illegal credit card charges, false loans and incorrect arrests among others. There are similarly several concerns that ought to be handled by the authorities that are connected to stealing of another person’s identity skillfully. A person can similarly take steps to hinder against privacy and stealing of an identity. Hence to safeguard data privacy, there should be a central repository that one can acquire the correct information. A good example is the Federal Trade Commission using its web page as a base for getting the correct information and hinder against theft of identity (Mahmoud, G. and El-Etter, 2006). Additionally, public institution should limit the use of serial numbers on forms or other numbers in public lists. This is since the information of a student can be accessed easily over the internet through the schools’ sites. This could lead to a huge loss in data and identity through application of preapproved and unsolicited credit cards. Additionally, the application of serial numbers or social security numbers ought to be relooked at by every company to safeguard data theft. Every institution or firm have to be aware of their role in data privacy and have to assert with due diligence the credit-market information quality, offered identity, adaptations and operations undertaken by companies or institutions with regard to speed and IT range. The government has to safeguard private data from access by other people or sharing (Moerel, 2011; Svantesson, 2013). This can be done through passing legislations that prohibit illegal access of data. The principles of sharing data have to be recognized by the person and it has to balance with the steps of anonymity and accountability. A number of laws related to privacy like cyber harassment, cyber bullying have to tracked and formulate policies to safeguard caller data. With the growth of identity theft, there are a number of laws that have been passed to make personal data be encrypted to create data privacy. Identity is the source of data and infrastructure for most organizations in the industry and hence data privacy is duty of these companies as well as a vital component of security. Considering that information stored can get into the wrong hands, the private and public set ups have to give keen focus to data privacy as it grows to become of major concern in most countries. Hence, data privacy should not be taken into consideration only with new technologies coming into the market but has to be applied to a culture where data privacy is applied in the product and spreads as it develops. References Craig, T. and Ludloff (2011). Privacy and Big Data. Sebastopol: O’Reilly Media, Inc. Litzky, B. (2008). Ethical Issues in Information Technology: Does Education Make a Difference. International Journal of Information and Communication Technology Education (IJICTE) 4(2), pp. 2-20. Mahmoud, M., G.E. El-Refae and S.F. El-Etter, (2006). A rubber band ethics model for computing and information technology practices. Am. J. Applied Sci., 3: 1910-1915. DOI:10.3844/ajassp.2006.1910.1915. Moerel, L. (2011). Back to basics: when does EU data protection law apply? International Data Privacy law, 1(2), pp. 92-110. Nnorom, O. (2007). Nigeria and Ethical Concerns in Information Technology. Journal of Research in National Development, 5(2), p. 8. Reynolds, G. (2011). Ethics in Information Technology, 4th ed. London: Cengage Learning. Svantesson, D. (2013). A œlayered approach to the extraterritoriality of data privacy laws. International Data Privacy Law 3(4), pp. 278-286.