Data Protection Act

The data protection act is also used to help online. I usually buy things online from websites like Amazon. These use an e commerce management system and websites use them to ensure the security of their credit details is securely going across the internet. This is stated in their privacy policy. When signing up to websites like hotmail then the user is asked to read to the privacy policy and agree to it. This is so if they breach the code then the company can’t be prosecuted. Also when making an account then you are asked weather hotmail can share information with third person parties. If you don’t check the box then hotmail cannot legally send information. Hotmail also has to say what they are going to do with the information. They will say this in the terms and conditions screen.

Evaluation

The data protection act protects

How Legislation Affects a Working Adult

   In nearly all workplaces today ICT is used today. It used for computers, servers, printers and fax machines. Now because of all these different technologies there are now many laws. My dad Paul Fairburn has to follow these rules and stay on the right side of the law. If he doesn’t then he may risk losing his job. The main law that affect my dad is health and safety.

  Health and Safety act at work

     The health and safety at work act (1974) is the main piece of health and safety legislation. When my dad enters his workplace he gets a talk about the rules and safety of the workplace. This would include things like the route to the fire escape. There are many different rules for the manager needs to follow. Ones of those is putting a screen in front of any VDU’s. This is so that the workers don’t damage their eye from continually looking at a screen. To check that the worker hasn’t damaged their eyes they have regular eye tests. If the worker’s eyes are damaged then they won’t be working at optimum efficiency  

The data protection act protects my local community a lot. Shops like blockbuster have to collect large amounts of data from all their members. This means that they have to use and protect it properly. A lot of the data protection act is applied to how collected data is used. If a worker was to access a member’s details to get their phone number then they would be breaking the law. This law applies to all the workers of blockbuster. This is so that people that apply don’t have to be worried that there details will not be misused. To make sure that no extra data can be collected blockbuster can only get the following information.

1. Name
2. Phone Number
3. Address
4. Age
5. E-mail (if applicable)

This is so that people who join don’t have to give out extra unnecessary information to blockbuster. This is to protect their privacy and this will encourage more people to join. This law effects blockbuster all the time and if a worker was to ask a customer about their religion then they would be breaking the law. This protects users because it stops workers using customer data for personal use.

 Blockbuster must keep regular checks on their customer’s information to make sure it is all right they must send out regular checks to make sure everything is right. Things like house could change because the customer could move house. By keeping data communication correct then time isn’t wasted with workers trying to find incorrect data. When a member quits their membership their account details must be removed strait away. If they weren’t then blockbuster would be b reaching the code. This means that the users don’t have to worry abut their information to be passed on a third party or their data being misused by a worker. This means that they can’t be blamed for any lost DVD’s of videos. All the information on the members must be secure so that means blockbuster is responsible for security. There are many ways to protect the data. First is to make passwords. This is slow because a worker will have to input a code every time they want to access the data. A better way of doing this would be a password at the beginning when turning on the computer. Then when turning of the computer they would have to type in another password. Also if the hacker has the right software then they can easily find out the password. Also with a password a dishonest worker who knows the password could still access the information. Then they have to make sure the server and the computer holding the information is secure from hackers. Blockbuster can also protect their data with firewalls and encrypting the data. This means that even if the hacker gets into the computer then they would then to decipher the information to make it readable. The use of computer to hold all the information instead of it being written is much more secure. It is more secure because there are more ways to protect the data than a four digit code. It also has its downsides though because it means that the data can be hacked.

Evaluation  

I think that blockbuster does a good job of protecting the data with their strict rules. Also the data is quickly deleted to make sure nothing happens to it. Blockbuster only asks for the relevant data meaning nothing is unnecessarily taken and risked being misused. The workers only have access to a limited amount of things so that dishonest workers can’t breach the data protect act and risk the law. Lots of other technology is used to help make sure the data isn’t misused like CCTV cameras and firewalls. Also if the computer is left logged on then anybody can access the data. This can be stopped by a self locking system meaning that when the computer is left for a long time it locks itself and only a password can unlock it. The data protection act has a large effect on the community because it ensures that the data is not misused by anyone.

The computers are only installed with the basic so the computer isn’t slowed down