How can organisations ensure that information held within their Essay

How can organisations ensure that information held within their information systems is both secure and also used in an ethical and socially responsible manner - Essay Example n accurate and quickly gathered information regarding markets, products, customers, ideas, and other aspects concerning the business, in order to properly plan and implement their future strategies. Businesses must also keep accurate records of their past, current, and future plans in order to function in an organized manner (Martin, pg. 256, 1973). As businesses must take due care of their possessions and assets to prevent damage or theft, businesses must also protect their information from being stolen or misused. While assets may be quite expensive and valuable for the firm, information is worth much more and has a higher risk involved. Cyber crime is at large in today’s technologically advanced world, in which thieves do not attempt to take physical assets from people, but directly aim to access intangible information, which is regarded as more valuable. Corporations keep their information safe on computers that are locked with passwords and only staff is permitted to access the information. However, often there are instances of information leaks or access to restricted records by competitors, which causes the business immense damage. Hackers and other cyber thieves access important information to commit frauds or to manipulate the business’s financial records. Many times, large amounts of cash are transferred from the business account to other accounts and they become irretrievable (Kankanhalli, Teo, Tan, & Wei, pg. 145-147, 2003). There are thousands of ways that businesses can suffer harm through the access of their personal information. Account numbers, financial information, customer records, meeting plans, and new business strategies are all recorded on computers and it is regarded as a safer place to put such information rather than in paper form where it is easily accessible to all. Unfortunately, while computers may be the safer place to put such information, saving it from ordinary people and ordinary thieves, yet it is still considerably unsafe