Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
5. Would any of your answers change if it turns out Alexis did not win a college
scholarship after all and is now working at the Burger Barn?
6. Are there better ways Alexis could have accomplished her objective?
7. What additional information, if any, would help you answer the previous
questions?
SCENARIO 2
An organization dedicated to reducing spam tries to get Internet service
providers (ISPs) in an East Asian country to stop the spammers by protecting
their mail servers. When this effort is unsuccessful, the antispam organization
puts the addresses of these ISPs on its blacklist. Many ISPs in the United States
consult the blacklist and refuse to accept email from the blacklisted ISPs. This
action has two results. First, the amount of spam received by the typical email
user in the United States drops by 25 percent. Second, tens of thousands of
innocent computer users in the East Asian country are unable to send email to
friends and business associates in the United States.
Questions
1. Did the antispam organization do anything wrong?
2. Did the ISPs that refused to accept email from the blacklisted ISPs do anything
wrong?
3. Who benefited from the organization's action?
4. Who was hurt by the organization's action?
5. Could the organization have achieved its goals through a better course of
action?
6. What additional information, if any, would help you answer the previous
questions?
SCENARIO 3
In an attempt to deter speeders, the East Dakota State Police (EDSP) installs
video cameras on all of its freeway overpasses. The cameras are connected to
computers that can reliably detect cars traveling more than five miles per hour
above the speed limit. These computers have sophisticated image recognition
software that enables them to read license plate numbers and capture high-
resolution pictures of vehicle drivers. If the picture of the driver matches the
driver's license photo of one of the registered owners of the car, the system issues
a speeding ticket to the driver, complete with photo evidence. Six months after
the system is put into operation, the number of people speeding on East Dakota
freeways is reduced by 90 percent.
The FBI asks the EDSP for real-time access to the information collected by
the video cameras. The EDSP complies with this request. Three months later,
the FBI uses this information to arrest five members of a terrorist organization.
