Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
11. What is the difference between a patent and a copyright?
What copyright issues come into play when downloading
software or music from a Web site?
12. What is the difference between the Children's Online
Privacy Protection Act and the Children's Internet Protec-
tion Act?
13. What is ergonomics? How can it be applied to office
workers?
14. What specific actions can you take to avoid spyware?
15. What is a code of ethics? Give an example.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1.
Imagine that your friend regularly downloads copies of
newly released, full-length motion pictures for free from
the Internet and makes copies for others for a small fee. Do
you think that this is ethical? Is it legal? Would you express
any concerns with him?
6. Briefly discuss the potential for cyberterrorism to cause a
major disruption in our daily life. What are some likely
targets of a cyberterrorist? What sort of action could a
cyberterrorist take against these targets?
7. You are the new head of corporate security for a large For-
tune 1000 company and are alarmed at the number of
laptop computers your firm's employees lose each month.
What actions would you take to cut down on the potential
for loss of personal and/or company confidential data?
8. Do you believe that the National Security Agency should
be able to collect the telephone call records of U.S. citizens
without the use of search warrants? Why or why not?
9. Using information presented in this chapter on federal pri-
vacy legislation, identify which federal law regulates the
following areas and situations: cross-checking IRS and
Social Security files to verify the accuracy of information,
customer liability for debit cards, your right to access data
contained in federal agency files, the IRS obtaining per-
sonal information, the government obtaining financial
records, and employers' access to university transcripts.
10. Briefly discuss the difference between acting morally and
acting legally. Give an example of acting legally and yet
immorally.
2.
Outline an approach, including specific techniques (e.g.,
dumpster diving, phishing, social engineering) that you
could employ to gain personal data about the members of
your class.
3.
Your 12-year-old niece shows you a dozen or so photos of
herself and a brief biography including address and cell
phone number she plans to post on MySpace. What advice
might you offer her about posting personal information
and photos?
4.
Imagine that you are a hacker and have developed a Trojan
horse program. What tactics might you use to get unsus-
pecting victims to load the program onto their computer?
5.
Discuss the importance of educating employees in pre-
venting computer waste and computer crime. Imagine that
you are given the assignment of developing a computer
education program for your employer. What topics would
you cover in the course?
PROBLEM-SOLVING EXERCISES
1.
Access the Web sites for the Recording Industry Association
of America (RIAA), Motion Picture Association of America
(MPAA), and Business Software Alliance (BSA) to get esti-
mates of the amount of piracy worldwide for at least three
years. Use a graphics package to develop a bar chart to show
the amount of music, motion picture, and software piracy
over a three-year time period. Compare the amount of
piracy to the total music, motion picture, and software rev-
enue for the same time period.
2.
Using spreadsheet software and appropriate forecasting
routines, develop a forecast for the amount of piracy for
next year. Document any assumptions you make in devel-
oping your forecast.
3.
Using your word processing software, write a few brief
paragraphs summarizing the trends you see from reviewing
the data for the past few years. Then cut and paste the
information from Exercise 1 and your forecast from Exer-
cise 2 into your report.
