Hacking is a serious worry for many businesses. It could mean that trades secrets could be sold to competitors. It may cause customers to lose confidence in the business or organisation. Would you place your money in a bank which had been hacked? The Pentagon in the USA, home of the military has been hacked in the past. Could sensitive military information have been accessed?
Data Protection Act
Information Technology makes it easy to collect vast amounts of data. It also makes it easy for this data to be shared between companies.
Personal data is stored about you by different people. This data may something as simple as your name and address. This may not be particularly sensitive but it could allow companies to use it to mass mail people about products. Incorrect or out dated data could cause problems. It may mean that you are mixed up with someone else and may be refused credit or wrongfully arrested.
The Data Protection Act protects individuals from misuse of this data. It governs the collection and processing of data by organisations and the individual rights to access the data if they wish.
Rules for Data Controllers
Data controllers are people and organisations which collect, store and process personal data. They must obey the principles of good information handling which states that personal data must be:
- processed fairly and lawfully;
- processed for limited purposes;
- adequate, relevant and not excessive;
- accurate;
- not kept for longer than necessary;
- processed in accordance with the individual's rights;
- kept secure;
- not transferred to countries without adequate protection.
Rights for the Individual
The individual can find out what information is held about them by writing to the person or organisation for a copy of the data held and a description of why it is processed and who it may be passed onto or seen by.
There are exceptions to data access however. If providing the information would be likely to affect:
- The way a crime is detected or prevented;
- Catching or prosecuting offenders;
- Accessing or collecting taxes or duty;
- The rights to see certain health and social work details may also be limited.
A person or organisation has 40 days to respond to a request for the data and must be given after sufficient proof of identity has been given and where necessary a fee of no more than £10.
There are exceptions to the Data Protection Act. These are:
- The maintenance of a public register
- Some not for profit organisations
- Processing personal data for personal, family or household affairs
- If you only process personal data for
- staff administration
- advertising, marketing and public relations
- accounts and records
Health & Safety
It is important that people use computers in a safe manner and they are set up correctly. There are often many cables and wires around computers and these must be secured or placed so that they cannot cause people to trip over are to pull accidentally. The sockets must not be overloaded with plugs from the electrical equipment.
Employers have to look after their workers and make sure they work in a safe environment which is free from health risks. There is a growing body of evidence associating certain health risks with the use of computer screens. In the past publicity has been given to possible radiation hazards, but the best evidence now available suggests that the emission of radiation from computer screens is minimal. There are, however, other problems that you should take account of. Users have complained of eyestrain, backache, pains in the arms and neck, and general symptoms of stress. These effects can be minimised if you use your computer sensibly. Here are a few simple rules which computer users are advised to follow.
- Do not work at a computer screen for much more than an hour without taking a break. This break should be at least ten minutes and should be used to move about and to relax or do an entirely different sort of work.
- Between breaks you should look up from your screen frequently, preferably looking out of a window or across a large room.
- Organise your work so that you never have to spend the whole day looking at a computer screen.
- Adjust the height and position of your chair, keyboard and screen so that they are right for you. Think in particular of your wrists, neck and eyes. If you are copying from a document it also should be placed carefully.
- Readjust things regularly so that you do not remain for too long in the same posture.
- Make sure that your back and wrists are adequately supported, and use a footrest if necessary.
- Remember that even small movements such as keystrokes or turning the head to look from document to screen can cause strain if repeated with great frequency. You should stop work regularly and try to relax the muscles in your neck, wrists and fingers.
- Adjust the brightness of your screen and avoid having light from lamps or windows reflected from your screen. Under some conditions, an anti-glare filter may be a suitable option to reduce glare and reflections from your screen.
- Clean your screen regularly – and immediately if it becomes smeared. Proprietary cleaners are available, suitable for cleaning such screens.
- Do not work with a faulty screen. Report faults as soon as they appear, however trivial they may seem. Even a slight flicker or distortion can aggravate eyestrain.
