TASK SHEET 6 TITLE OF THE ISSUE:

PRIVACY AND SECURITY

TITLE OF THE
ARTICLE:
DATA PRIVACY AND SECURITY DURING PANDEMIC

SOURCE:

HTTPS://WWW.GOOGLE.COM/SMP/S/WWW.MANILATIMES.NET/2020/09/14BUSINESS/COLUMNISTS-BUSINESS/DATA-PRIVACY-ANDSECURITY-DURING-
A-PANDEMIC/767795/AMP
AUTHOR:

AVIS MANLAPAZ

THERE ARE MANY REASONS WHY OBSERVERS ARE CALLING THE

CURRENT PANDEMIC AN UNPRECEDENTED HEALTH CRISIS. BESIDES THE
OBVIOUS IMPACT ON PUBLIC HEALTH AND ECONOMIC ACTIVITY, IT HAS ALSO SIGNIFICANTLY CHANGED THE WAY WE GET THE SIMPLEST
THINGS DONE. THE NATURE OF THIS VIRUS IS SUCH THAT ORGANIZATIONS ARE HAVING TO COLLECT PERSONAL DATA FROM PRIVATE CITIZENS
IN ORDER TO PROTECT PUBLIC HEALTH. FOR THE MOST PART, IT IS A TRADE-OFF PEOPLE UNDERSTAND AND ACCEPT, BUT INEVITABLY ISSUES
REGARDING PRIVACY AND DATA SECURITY WILL ARISE. DELOITTE RECOMMENDS ASKING THREE QUESTIONS BEFORE MOVING FORWARD WITH
ORGANIZATIONAL INITIATIVES REQUIRING INDIVIDUALS TO SHARE THEIR PERSONAL HEALTH INFORMATION. IF THE ANSWER TO ALL THREE
QUESTIONS IS “YES,” THEN A FURTHER STUDY OF PLANS IS WARRANTED. BUT IF ONE OR MORE ANSWERS ARE “NO,” THEN IT MAY HAVE TO
REDESIGN THE INITIATIVE OR SHELVE IT ALTOGETHER. THERE WAS A CONCERN, FOR EXAMPLE, WHEN THE PHILIPPINE NATIONAL POLICE
ANNOUNCED THAT IT WOULD MONITOR THE SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS OF PRIVATE CITIZENS FOR POSSIBLE QUARANTINE VIOLATIONS. WITH
PEOPLE NOW MORE AWARE OF WHAT IT TAKES TO CONTAIN THE SPREAD OF THIS VIRUS, THEY MAY BE MORE WILLING TO SHARE THEIR DATA,
BUT COLLECTING AND USING THIS INFORMATION STILL HAS TO BE WEIGHED AGAINST ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS. CAREFULLY ANSWERING
THESE QUESTIONS WILL HELP AN ORGANIZATION CRAFT DATA COLLECTION INITIATIVES THAT SERVE THE SHORT-TERM NEEDS AND AT THE
SAME TIME AVOID PROBLEMS DOWN THE ROAD. BUT SEEING AS HOW WE HAVE NO CLEAR VIEW YET ON WHEN EXACTLY THIS PANDEMIC WILL
END, ORGANIZATIONS SHOULD LOOK INTO BUILDING A HOLISTIC, ETHICAL, AND SUSTAINABLE APPROACH TO DATA PRIVACY AND SECURITY FOR
MANAGING THIS HEALTH CRISIS. THERE ARE SOME KEY FACTORS THAT WILL HELP WITH THE EFFICIENCY AND EFFECTIVENESS OF SUCH AN
APPROACH. FIRST IS THE CROSS-FUNCTIONAL EXECUTIVE SUPPORT, AS WITH ANY MAJOR ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE, THE TONE AT THE TOP
WILL PLAY A BIG PART IN THE SUCCESS OF A DATA PRIVACY AND SECURITY APPROACH. SECOND IS THE RISK-BASED APPROACH, WHEN
COLLECTING EMPLOYEE AND CUSTOMER DATA, ORGANIZATIONS SHOULD DO SO WITH A FOCUS ON BUSINESS RISK RATHER THAN MERE
COMPLIANCE. IDENTIFY HIGH-RISK ITEMS IN THE PROCESS AND PRIORITIZE MANAGING THOSE RISKS TO ENSURE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF
PRIVACY AND SECURITY SOLUTIONS. AND LASTLY, DATA LIFECYCLE, UNDERSTANDING THE DATA LIFECYCLE — CREATE OR COLLECT; STORE AND
PROCESS; ANALYZE AND USE; SHARE OR TRANSFER, AND RETAIN AND DESTROY — IS KEY TO IMPLEMENTING THE RIGHT CONTROLS AT EVERY
STAGE. AS THE GOVERNMENT ALLOWS MORE ECONOMIC ACTIVITY TO RESUME, THE PRIVATE SECTOR WILL HAVE TO STEP UP AND PLAY ITS PART
IN SAFEGUARDING PUBLIC HEALTH, WHICH INCLUDES EARNING THE TRUST OF EMPLOYEES AND CUSTOMERS THAT THE DATA THEY SHARE
DURING THESE EXTRAORDINARY TIMES WILL BE HANDLED WITH UTMOST CARE.
BASED ON THESE ARTICLES, I HAVE LEARNED THAT IT IS IMPORTANT TO HAVE OUR DATA PRIVACY AND SECURITY WHEN IT COMES TO
GIVING OUR PERSONAL INFORMATION BECAUSE IN TODAY’S SITUATION THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO MIGHT TAKE ADVANTAGE AND USE OUR
PERSONAL INFORMATION ILLEGALLY. THE THREAT FROM HACKERS AND CYBERCRIMINALS HAS EXPANDED ESPECIALLY WE ARE EXPERIENCING A
CRISIS THIS DAY. WE CAN’T DENY THAT EVEN THOUGH WE ARE BEING CAREFUL ABOUT GIVING OUR PERSONAL INFORMATION, WE HAVE SOME
THOUGHTS THAT IT CAN BE USED ILLEGALLY. BUT STILL, WE SHOULD TRUST THE PROCESS OF COLLECTING OUR PERSONAL INFORMATION WITH
THE HELP OF CROSS-FUNCTIONAL EXECUTIVE SUPPORT, A RISK-BASED APPROACH, AND THE LIFE CYCLE.
IT HAS BEEN OBSERVED THAT PRIVACY CONCERNS ARE VERY COMMON NOWADAYS ESPECIALLY WE ARE EXPERIENCING A PANDEMIC
AND MOST OF THE ORGANIZATIONS ARE ASKING FOR OUR PERSONAL INFORMATION. IN CONCLUSION, IT IS IMPORTANT FOR US TO ADJUST OUR
ONLINE HABITS TO PREVENT PRIVACY RISKS AND SECURITY BREACHES. WE SHOULD ALWAYS BE CAREFUL ABOUT CHOOSING A PASSWORD,
LIMITING WHERE AND WHEN AND WHOM WE SHARE SENSITIVE DATA. THOUGH THE GOVERNMENT HAS A RESPONSIBILITY ON KEEPING OUR
INFORMATION SAFE WE SHOULD ALSO BE RESPONSIBLE PEOPLE AND USERS TO PROTECT OURSELVES FROM THE HACKERS AND CYBERCRIMINALS
THAT MAY TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IT.
 TASK SHEET 6 TITLE OF THE ISSUE:
E-POLLUTANTS FROM E-WASTE

TITLE OF THE
ARTICLE:
ELECTRONIC WASTE

SOURCE:

HTTPS://WWW.BRITANNICA.COM/TECHNOLOGY/ELECTRONIC-WASTE

AUTHOR:
GITANJALI NAIN GILL
ELECTRONIC WASTE (E-WASTE) PRODUCTS HAVE EXHAUSTED THEIR UTILITY VALUE THROUGH EITHER
REDUNDANCY, REPLACEMENT, OR BREAKAGE AND INCLUDE BOTH “WHITE GOODS” SUCH AS REFRIGERATORS,
WASHING MACHINES, AND MICROWAVES AND “BROWN GOODS” SUCH AS TELEVISIONS, RADIOS, COMPUTERS, AND
CELL PHONES. THE TECHNOLOGY REVOLUTION HAS EXPONENTIALLY INCREASED THE USE OF NEW ELECTRONIC
EQUIPMENT, IT HAS ALSO PRODUCED GROWING VOLUMES OF OBSOLETE PRODUCTS; E-WASTE IS ONE OF THE
FASTEST-GROWING WASTE STREAMS. ALTHOUGH E-WASTE CONTAINS COMPLEX COMBINATIONS OF HIGHLY TOXIC
SUBSTANCES THAT POSE A DANGER TO HEALTH AND THE ENVIRONMENT, MANY OF THE PRODUCTS ALSO CONTAIN
RECOVERABLE PRECIOUS MATERIALS, MAKING IT A DIFFERENT KIND OF WASTE COMPARED WITH TRADITIONAL
MUNICIPAL WASTE. GLOBALLY, E-WASTE CONSTITUTES MORE THAN 5 PERCENT OF ALL MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE
AND IS INCREASING WITH THE RISE OF SALES OF ELECTRONIC PRODUCTS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES. THE
MAJORITY OF THE WORLD’S E-WASTE IS RECYCLED IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, WHERE INFORMAL AND
HAZARDOUS SETUPS FOR THE EXTRACTION AND SALE OF METALS ARE COMMON. RECYCLING COMPANIES IN
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES FACE STRICT ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATORY REGIMES AND AN INCREASING COST OF
WASTE DISPOSAL AND THUS MAY FIND EXPORTATION TO SMALL TRADERS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES MORE
PROFITABLE THAN RECYCLING IN THEIR OWN COUNTRIES. THE COMPLEX COMPOSITION AND IMPROPER
HANDLING OF E-WASTE ADVERSELY AFFECT HUMAN HEALTH. A GROWING BODY OF EPIDEMIOLOGICAL AND
CLINICAL EVIDENCE HAS LED TO INCREASED CONCERN ABOUT THE POTENTIAL THREAT OF E-WASTE TO HUMAN
HEALTH.
BASED ON THE ARTICLE, I HAVE LEARNED THAT ELECTRONICS CONSTITUTE IS PART OF EVERYDAY LIFE BUT
THERE ARE HAZARDOUS EFFECTS ON THE ENVIRONMENT AND TO US HUMANS THAT CANNOT BE OVERLOOKED OR
UNDERESTIMATED. AS THE YEARS PASS, WE DON'T KNOW WHAT WILL HAPPEN BECAUSE AN ELECTRONIC WASTE,
ALSO CALLED E-WASTE, VARIOUS FORMS OF ELECTRIC AND ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT THAT HAVE CEASED TO BE OF
VALUE TO THEIR USERS OR NO LONGER SATISFY THEIR ORIGINAL PURPOSE.
IN CONCLUSION, AS A USER OF THESE ELECTRONICS CONSTITUTE WE SHOULD BE AWARE OF HOW ARE WE
GOING TO ERADICATE THE INFORMAL AND HAZARDOUS SETUPS OF ELECTRONIC WASTE THAT MIGHT BE CAUSED
HARM TO US, USERS. WE SHOULD KNOW THE PROPER USAGE AND MANAGEMENT OF USING THIS KIND OF
ELECTRONIC CONSTITUTE. I SUGGEST THAT WE SHOULD RESPONSIBLY HAVE PROPER WAYS ON HOW WE ARE
GOING TO USED ELECTRONIC TECHNOLOGY WITHOUT HARMING OUR BODY AND THE ENVIRONMENT.