I PUC Computer Science Chapter 11 Societal impact

SOCIETAL IMPACT 8marks(1+2+5)

INTRODUCTION
In recent years, the world around us has seen a lot of changes due to use of ‘Digital
Technologies’. These changes have made a dramatic impact on our lives, making things more
convenient, faster, and easier to handle.
From the banking industry to aviation, industrial production to e-commerce, especially with
regard to the delivery of their goods and services, all are now dependent on the use of computers
and digital technologies.

DIGITAL FOOTPRINTS
Whenever we surf the Internet using smartphones, tablets, computers, etc., we leave a trail
of data reflecting the activities performed by us online, which is our digital footprint.
There are two kinds of digital footprints we leave behind.
 Active digital footprints: Which includes data that we intentionally submit online. This would
include emails we write, or responses or posts we make on different websites or mobile
Apps, etc.
 Passive digital footprints: The digital data trail we leave online unintentionally is called
passive digital footprints. This includes the data generated when we visit a website, use a
mobile App, browse Internet, etc.

DIGITAL SOCIETY AND NETIZEN

Anyone who uses digital technology along with Internet is a digital citizen or a netizen.
A responsible netizen must abide by net etiquettes, communication etiquettes and social
media etiquettes.

Net Etiquettes
When we are online, we should exhibit proper manners and etiquettes.
One should be ethical, respectful and responsible while surfing the internet.

(A) Be Ethical
 No copyright violation: We should not use copyrighted materials without the permission
of the creator or owner.
 Share the expertise: It is good to share information and knowledge on Internet so that others
can access it.

(B) Be Respectful
 Respect privacy: We should respect this privacy and should not share those images,
documents, files, etc., with any other digital citizen without each other’s consent.
 Respect diversity: We should respect the diversity of the people in terms of knowledge,
experience, culture and other aspects.

(C) Be Responsible
 Avoid cyber bullying: Repeated posting of rumours, giving threats online, posting the victim’s
personal information, sexual harassment or comments aimed to publicly ridicule a victim is
termed as cyber bullying.
 Don’t feed the troll: An Internet troll is a person who deliberately sows discord on the Internet
by starting quarrels or upsetting people, by posting inflammatory or off topic messages in an
online community, just for amusement.

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I PUC Computer Science Chapter 11 Societal impact

Communication Etiquettes
Digital communication includes email, texting, instant messaging, talking on the cell phone,
audio or video conferencing, posting on forums, social networking sites, etc.
For good communication a digital citizen to abide by the communication etiquettes given
below.

(A) Be Precise
 Respect time: We should not waste precious time in responding to unnecessary emails or
comments and also do not expect an instant response from the recipient.
 Respect data limits: To save data acoid sending large attachments. Rather send compressed
files or link of the files through cloud shared storage like Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive,
Yahoo Dropbox, etc.

(B) Be Polite
Whether the communication is synchronous (happening in real time like chat, audio/video
calls) or asynchronous (like email, forum post or comments), we should be polite and non-aggressive
in our communication.

(C) Be Credible
We should be cautious while making a comment, replying or writing an email or forum post
as such acts decide our credibility over a period of time.

Social Media Etiquettes

Social media (Facebook, Google+, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, or the YouTube channel)
are websites or applications that enable their users to participate in social networking by creating
and sharing content with others in the community.
In social media too, there are certain etiquettes we need to follow.

(A) Be Secure
 Choose password wisely: Users should be wary of such possibilities and must know how to
safeguard themselves and their accounts. Never share personal credentials like username and
password with others.
 Know who you befriend: We need to be careful while befriending unknown people as their
intentions possibly could be malicious and unsafe.
 Beware of fake information: Fake news, messages and posts are common in social networks.
As a user, we should be aware of them.

(B) Be Reliable
 Think before uploading: We need to be cautious while uploading or sending sensitive or
confidential files, which have a bearing on our privacy.

DATA PROTECTION
 In this digital age, data or information protection is mainly about the privacy of data stored
digitally.
 Elements of data that can cause substantial harm, embarrassment, inconvenience and
unfairness to an individual, if breached or compromised, is called sensitive data.
 Examples of sensitive data include biometric information, health information, financial
information, or other personal documents, images or audios or videos.
 Privacy of sensitive data can be implemented by encryption, authentication.

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I PUC Computer Science Chapter 11 Societal impact

Intellectual Property Right (IPR)

 Intellectual Property refers to the inventions, literary and artistic expressions, designs and
symbols, names and logos.
 The ownership of such concepts lies with the creator, or the holder of the intellectual
property.
 Intellectual Property is legally protected through copyrights, patents, trademarks,etc.

(A) Copyright
 Copyright grants legal rights to creators for their original works like writing, photograph,
audio recordings, video, sculptures, architectural works, computer software, and other
creative works like literary and artistic work.
 Copyright law gives the copyright holder a set of rights that are given below:
1) Right to copy (reproduce) a work.
2) Right to create derivative works based upon it, right to distribute copies of the work to the public.
3) Right to publicly display or perform the work.

(B) Patent
A patent is usually granted for inventions. Unlike copyright, the inventor needs to apply (file) for
patenting the invention. When a patent is granted, the owner gets an exclusive right to prevent
others from using, selling, or distributing the protected invention.
A patent protects an invention for 20 years, after which it can be freely used.

(C) Trademark
 Trademark includes any visual symbol, word, name, design, slogan, label, etc., that
distinguishes the brands.
 For example, no company other than Nike can use the Nike brand to sell shoes or clothes.

Violation of IPR
Violation of intellectual property right may happen in one of the following ways:

(A) Plagiarism
 Presenting someone else’s idea or work as one’s own idea or work is called plagiarism.
 If we copy some contents from Internet, but do not mention the source or the original
creator, then it is considered as an act of plagiarism.

(B) Copyright Infringement

Copyright infringement is when we use other person’s work without obtaining their
permission to use or we have not paid for it, if it is being sold.

(C) Trademark Infringement

Trademark Infringement means unauthorised use of other’s trademark on products and
services.

Public Access and Open Source Software

 When authors share their copyrighted works with others under public license, it allows
others to use and even modify the content.
 Open source licenses help others to contribute to existing work or project without seeking
special individual permission to do so.
 The GNU General public license (GPL) and the Creative Commons (CC) are two popular
categories of public licenses.

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I PUC Computer Science Chapter 11 Societal impact

 CC is used for all kind of creative works like websites, music, film, literature, etc. CC enables
the free distribution of an otherwise copyrighted work.
 GNU GPL is another free software license, which provides end users the freedom to run,
study, share and modify the software, besides getting regular updates.

CYBER CRIME
 Cybercrime is defined as a crime in which computer is the medium of crime (hacking,
phishing, spamming), or the computer is used as a tool to commit crimes (extortion, data
breaches, theft).
 Cyber crimes are carried out against either an individual, or a group, or an organisation or
even against a country, with the intent to directly or indirectly cause physical harm, financial
loss or mental harassment.
 The nature of criminal activities are alarmingly increasing day-by-day, with frequent reports
of hacking, ransomware attacks, denial-of-service, phishing, email fraud, banking fraud and
identity theft.

Hacking
 Hacking is the act of unauthorised access to a computer, computer network or any digital
system.
 Hacking, when done with a positive intent, is called ethical hacking. Such ethical hackers are
known as white hat hackers.
 A non-ethical hacker is the one who tries to gain unauthorised access to computers or
networks in order to steal sensitive data with the intent to damage or bring down systems.
They are called black hat hackers or crackers.

Phishing and Fraud Emails

 Phishing is an unlawful activity where fake websites or emails that look original or authentic
are presented to the user to fraudulently collect sensitive and personal details, particularly
usernames, passwords, banking and credit card details.
 The most common phishing method is through email spoofing.

(A) Identity Theft

A user’s identifiable personal data like demographic details, email ID, banking credentials,
passport, PAN, Aadhaar number and various such personal data are stolen and misused by the
hacker on behalf of the victim.
There can be many ways in which the criminal takes advantage of an individual’s stolen
identity. Given below are a few examples:
 Financial identity theft: when the stolen identity is used for financial gain.
 Criminal identity theft: criminals use a victim’s stolen identity to avoid detection of
their true identity.
 Medical identity theft: criminals can seek medical drugs or treatment using a stolen identity.

Ransomware
 This is another kind of cyber crime where the attacker gains access to the computer and
blocks the user from accessing, usually by encrypting the data.
 The attacker blackmails the victim to pay for getting access to the data Some ransomware
are sent as email attachments in spam mails.
 It can also reach our system when we click on a malicious advertisement on the Internet.

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Combatting and Preventing Cyber Crime

Following points can be considered as safety measures to reduce the risk of cyber crime:
 Take regular backup of important data
 Use an antivirus software and keep it updated always
 Avoid installing pirated software. Always download software from known and secure
(HTTPS) sites
 Always update the system software which include the Internet browser and other
application software
 Do not visit or download anything from untrusted websites
 Use strong password for web login, and change it periodically

INDIAN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ACT (IT ACT)

 The Government of India’s Information Technology Act, 2000 (also known as IT Act),
amended in 2008, provides guidelines to the user on the processing, storage and
transmission of sensitive information.
 Cyber Appellate Tribunal has been established to resolve disputes arising from cyber
crime, such as tampering with computer source documents, hacking the computer system,
using password of another person, publishing sensitive personal data of others without their
consent, etc.

IMPACT ON HEALTH
 Spending too much time on Internet can be addictive and can have a negative impact on our
physical and psychological well being.
 These health concerns can be addressed to some extent by taking care of the way we
position such devices and the way we position our posture.
 Ergonomics is a branch of science that deals with designing or arranging workplaces
including the furniture, equipments and systems so that it becomes safe and comfortable for
the user.
 Ergonomics helps us in reducing the strain on our bodies — including the fatigue and injuries
due to prolonged use.

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