University:
Southern New Hampshire University
Course:
IT304 | Systems Requirements and Implementation Planning
Academic year:

2023
Views:

149

Pages:

3
Author:

Cameron T.

Cameron Thistle SNHU IT 304 4-3 The controversy surrounding Facebook users' data sharing is the subject of the article. It was alleged in this scandal that "Cambridge Analytica" improperly shared, sold, and manipulated user data all over the world without their consent. They were able to take advantage of a security flaw in the Facebook app, which allowed them to collect the information of each user who took part in a particular poll and use that information to create a user profile that could be sold or shared with anyone who was interested. A lot of unethical profiling was done, and hundreds of thousands of people thought they were part of academic research. After that, dishonest marketers were able to target messages based on very sensitive personality traits, and the private information of millions of additional people was used in a huge, lucrative political experiment. "Cambridge Analytica" made an unethical decision by using the data in this way without giving it any thought because they could easily make much more money by using it for their own and other people's personal use. It was even able to influence votes in some elections by concentrating on specific user psychographics, affecting individuals as well as entire governments. The system requirements ought to have included a document stating that no third-party Facebook apps may acquire any user-provided private information; This was not the case, however. If I were an IT professional involved in this, I would have tried to contact Facebook to inform them that their services are being used without their permission and that their users' security has been compromised. I would try to implement a robust sustainability program that addresses every real security concern and communicates with a company's stakeholders and cyber security team to eliminate issues like these. According to the information, Facebook was unaware of this and could have stopped it sooner if they had known. This incident occurred as a result of "Cambridge Analytica's" questionable decision and Facebook's inadequate application security. If someone in a position of authority, such as the board of directors of Cambridge Analytica, decided that this was unethical and could not continue, it could have been avoided. The affair increased public interest in privacy issues and the political impact of social media. This incident permanently altered the global privacy landscape by demonstrating to individuals, businesses, and governments that personal data can and will be taken and used for immoral purposes if a system has security flaws. Reference: Facebook Pays $643,000 Fine for Role in Cambridge Analytica Scandal Facebook Pays $643,000 Fine for Role in Cambridge Analytica Scandal. (2019). Retrieved 16 January 2023, from https://www.kcur.org/2019-10-30/facebook-pays-643-000-fine-for-role-incambridge-analytica-scandal