In: Accounting
Why are the computer ethics issues of privacy, security, and property ownership of interest to accountants?
Privacy is the degree of restricted access to personal data. The creation and maintenance of huge, shared databases makes it necessary to protect individuals (and organizations) from the potential misuse of such data. This raises the issue of ownership in the personal information industry. Why can client firms that are unrelated to individuals buy and sell information about those individuals without their permission? Should privacy be protected through policies and systems of internal controls within the firms that hold the data? If so, the auditors of the firms may need to develop standards for assessing such controls in their client’s systems.
Privacy involves restricted access to personal data, crucial with extensive databases. Ownership issues arise; should firms safeguard data internally? Auditors might set control standards.