Page 203 - DCAP309_INFORMATION_SECURITY_AND_PRIVACY

Unit 14: Web Services and Privacy

14.1 Privacy on Internet Notes

Internet privacy is a main issue of today. Privacy over the Internet has increased some ethical
issues, which is required to be dealt with. While catering to the privacy requirements of the
Internet users, we require executing certain ethics.
Privacy can signify ambiguity in case a person would like to remain anonymous. Privacy can
also be associated to the security aspect of an individual or information. The definitions of
privacy can fluctuate across individuals and cultures. The assault of privacy can be averted by
the concern of privacy laws.
With Internet, hosting a massive information base, a new notion has evolved - information
privacy. The information on the Internet has security requirements. Unauthorized access to
information is unwanted. Data privacy points to the association among technology and the
legal rights that come with it. Whenever any information concerning a person or a person’s data
is stored, privacy requirements arise. Internet privacy is the control one has over what information
regarding oneself, the person would like to reveal. Internet privacy deals with managing the
access to information on the Internet.
Using the Internet frequently includes the use of social networking sites, e-mail amenities and
the browse of a variety of other websites. Internet privacy occurs on the scene when it comes to
website users offering out their individual details on the Internet. For sure websites, which help
online shopping, the users are made to input their credit card numbers. In case of e-mailing sites,
there are concerns about whether third parties should be permitted to store or read e-mails
without informed consent. Whether or not, the third parties should be permitted to track the
visitors on a website, is another major privacy concern. The other significant Internet privacy
issue is whether the sites that congregate personally express information from the users should
accumulate or share it.
Internet privacy can be measured as a division of computer privacy. Computer privacy comprises
the data privacy connecting to the escaping of the improper revelation of the personally
identifiable information composed and stored by websites. The effective sharing of data while
defensing the private information is the real confront.
One school of thought refutes the survival of Internet privacy while the other supports the
requirement of the Internet privacy. Complete secrecy is not the intention of Internet privacy. It
somewhat intends to attain a controlled revelation of one’s personal information. Internet is a
network of networks and when a person accesses the Internet, he/she attaches to it and is
identified by an address. In technological terms this address is called an IP address. For security
reasons, a website may desire to track these addresses of its users. Websites may gather the non-
personally particular information of their users. Such information is the one, which in no method
can be used to exclusively identify a person. The revelation of these forms of information is
satisfactory. It is in fact the means by which websites track the users’ Internet actions.

Is it morally right to permit users to make use of the Internet with a fake or an anonymous
identity? While it caters to the privacy requirement of some users, it may endanger the Internet
procedure for the others. Many users grumble of being stalked by the unidentified users.

The autonomy of expression gifted by social networking has resulted in some Internet users
broadcasting wrong or undesired information under bogus names. They are free to converse
and opine about any and all topics in forums, chat rooms, interacts and blogs. Furthermore, such
expressions do not need the users to reveal their identities. This raises concerns in research
ethics pertaining to the privacy of research matters and informed consent. This is an unnecessary
advantage of the Internet privacy whereby the border among the private and the public spaces
is made blurred. While offering open platforms for discussions, the Internet is ironically
becoming a stage where forged people can influence false opinions and foster fallacies.

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