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Contents

Page 3 - Legal IssuesPage 3 – Data Protection Act 1998Page 3 - Computer Misuse Act 1990Page 4 - Computer Misuse Act 1990

Page 4 - Freedom of Information Act 2000Page 4 - Human Right Act 1998

Page 4 - Privacy Act 1974Page 5 - Ethical IssuesPage 5 - Use of email

Page 5 - InternetPage 6 - Whistle blowing

Page 6 - Organisational PoliciesPage 6 - Information OwnershipPage 7 - Security of Information

Page 7 - Back upsPage 7 - Health and Safety

Page 8 - Business Continuance PlansPage 8 - Costs

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P5 & P6– Business Communication

P5 – Explain the legal and ethical issues in relation to the use of business information.P6 - Explain the operational issues in relation to the use of business information.

O2 is a trading brand of Telefonica UK limited. It is a leading telecommunications company in the UK.

What are Legal Issues? Legal issues mean something right or wrong according to the law; which requires legal expertise (lawyer). An

example of a legal issue is if a business has used an inappropriate image for their advert.

The Data Protection Act in 1998 was designed to regulate the use of personal information kept by a business on its customers,

employees or potential customers (address, email, telephone/mobile numbers, bank details and date of birth etc.).

Data may only be collected fairly and lawfully and used for the specific purposes for which it was collected

Data must not be disclosed to other parties without the consent of the individual whom it is about, unless there is legislation or other overriding legitimate reason to share the

information such as the prevention of crime The information should not be kept longer than necessary

Give individuals the right to access the information held about them

The Computer Misuse Act was carried out in 1990 which makes it illegal to access, copy or use any software/data stored on a

computer without permission. It was made to have control over computer crime and internet fraud. It made 3 activities illegal such

as:

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unauthorised access to computer material which carries a sentence of 6 months' imprisonment or a fine if caught

unauthorised access with intent to commit or facilitate commission of further offences which also carries a sentence of 6 months or the guilty pays the maximum fine

(hacking) unauthorised modification of computer material which carries a sentence of 6 months'

imprisonment (planting viruses)

The Freedom of Information Act in 2000 is a legislation that gives everyone in the UK a right to access information about

themselves by public sector organisations. Public Sector organisations are owned and controlled by the government (or local government). They aim to provide public services such as

the government or local authorities, schools, colleges and universities hospitals.

The Human Rights Act was passed in 1998. It means that you can defend your rights in the UK courts. Also, public organisations such as

the government, the police and local councils must treat everyone equally, with fairness, dignity and respect.; whether young or old, rich

and poor.

The Privacy Act in 1974 provides safeguarding against the

invasion of personal privacy through the misuse of records by Federal Agencies. The Privacy Act applies to records that are in a system of records; which is a group of any records under the

control of an agency from which information is retrieved by the name of the individual (or identifying number). It gives a person

the right to:

Access records about themselves Make amendments to records that are not accurate or relevant

The right of individuals to be protected against unwarranted invasion of their privacy resulting from the collection, maintenance, use, and disclosure of personal information

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What are Ethical Issues?Ethical issues deal with whether an action is morally right or wrong in a business, rather than basing it on the law. For O2 to be an ethical business it has to use acceptable advertising, fair ways of selling goods or services, fair prices, not use suppliers that are unethical (e.g. use of child labour and forced labour, produce goods in sweatshops)n and making contracts with

employees that support the basic rights of workers and follow health, safety and environmental standards.

The 5 main codes of practice that exist in organisations such as O2 are:

Use of emailThe use of emails in O2 should be appropriate as

it is a working environment. Many workplaces have a code of conduct on their notice boards to

remind staff about safe emailing. Businesses usually ban threatening or harassing emails sent to workers, spam emails that are inappropriate

and remind staff that there should be limited use of email for personal use. If they do share

personal information in an email then they have to ask for permission to share the information.

InternetThe use of the internet in O2 should be

appropriate as it is a working environment. Inappropriate websites (such as porn, gambling or explicit content) usually are banned or filtered

out of the internet system. The business should

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have control over all the content of company web servers. There should be limited use of internet for personal purpose by the staff.

Whistle blowingA whistle blower is an employee who raises a concern about a business practice, within the company (senior management) or outside the

business (newspapers or the press). The concerns they have may relate to fraud, crime, danger or any other serious risk that could impact on the stakeholder or O2’s reputation. In some cases, the concerns have been very serious that there

has to be arranged protection for employees who report the misuse of the system. The offence can only be reported if it was a deliberate attempt to

break the law.

Organisational PoliciesOrganisational policies are policies that ensure

the business are dealing and treating with information ethically. This can be done by

giving out information on a “need to know” basis, so most access to O2’s information is restricted by storing data in secure areas.

Information OwnershipInformation Ownership means that the information a

business produces should be owned by them. They should be responsible for ensuring that the data is

correct, up to date and consistent. This can be business information such as an annual report.

Organisational polices are policies regarding procedures that should be followed by employees in terms of internal and external communications. Employees have to follow these guidelines to safeguard the information of others or clients. Codes of practice are rules and regulations

that influence the behaviour of a business in a specific area; this can be advertising.

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O2 receives information about its customers and suppliers on a regular basis, so they need a safe and secure way to store and manage it. The two fundamental issues of O2’s information

system is: The organisation receives the information it requires to operate efficiently The appropriate members of staff receives the information in the organisation

Various organisational policies have to be put in place such as the security of information, backups, health and safety, organisational policies, business continuance plans, costs and

increasing sophistication.

Security of InformationSecurity of information is an operational issue that focuses on safeguarding

the information in O2. O2 rely on electronic systems, such as computers, that keep secure information and only let appropriate members of staff

access it. For information to be safe the modern technology has to back up information correctly and save it to a secure database and also have written

information so O2 dies not have to solely rely on technology. Also, the technology has to be checked regularly in case of viruses or system failure, so there is a minimum risk of leaking information. Every employee should

have a login to ensure the company knows which member of staff is accessing certain information.

Back upsBackups are an operational issue because this is the hardware where

the information is stored. A backup should be updated daily or weekly to avoid any information being lost and should be stored in a safe place where it is fireproof and waterproof to avoid any damage. Hard drives

are expensive but are necessities for companies such as O” as they have a wide customer and employee base.

Health and Safety Health and safety is an operational issue. The use of

computers in the work place and the work environment where the employees use them should be monitored. Rules should be implemented on what the individuals can do to ensure the risks are kept at a minimum. The overuse of a

computer can cause the human body to develop headaches, migraine, eye problems and blurred or watery vision by

sitting in the same position for a long amount of time. O2 have to insure that their worker take breaks to have a breather. If O2 fails to meet their employee’s requirements then the

employee can take legal action against them.

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Business Continuance Plans Businesses should always have a backup plan in case of any problems or disasters so

the business can continue to run as normal. O2 does rely on technology to run their business a great deal, so they should have written information as well as electronically stored

information so they can still access information. Also, they should have a business continuance plan, so all members of staff still have an idea of what to do. A business continuance plan

would include all potential risks and how they would affect the business and hoe to minimise the risks before they could happen.

Costs Costs can include the additional resources required and the

cost of development. It is imperative for O2 to invest in continuance plans, so a business knows what actions and

measures to take and the resources needed to go with it; just in case of any disastrous events.

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Bibliographyhttp://tutor2u.net/business/organisation/publicsector_intro.htm

http://www.tutor2u.net/business/strategy/business-ethics-issues.html

http://www.slideshare.net/mrcox/btec-national-in-ict-unit-3-ethical-issues

http://work.chron.com/ethical-issues-email-accounts-workplace-16688.html

http://infosecawareness.in/students/internet-ethics

http://foia.state.gov/Learn/PrivacyAct.aspx

http://teachingwithcrump.weebly.com/p6---organisational-issues.html