Social Media, Ethics and the Privacy Paradox

Today’s information/digital age offers widespread use of social media. The use of social media is ubiquitous and cuts across all age groups, social classes and cultures. However, the increased use of these media is accompanied by privacy issues and ethical concerns. These privacy issues can have far-reaching professional, personal and security implications. Ultimate privacy in the social media domain is very difficult because these media are designed for sharing information. Participating in social media requires persons to ignore some personal, privacy constraints resulting in some vulnerability. The weak individual privacy safeguards in this space have resulted in unethical and undesirable behaviors resulting in privacy and security breaches, especially for the most vulnerable group of users. An exploratory study was conducted to examine social media usage and the implications for personal privacy. We investigated how some of the requirements for participating in social media and how unethical use of social media can impact users’ privacy. Results indicate that if users of these networks pay attention to privacy settings and the type of information shared and adhere to universal, fundamental, moral values such as mutual respect and kindness, many privacy and unethical issues can be avoided

Hybrid VFT/Delphi Method to Facilitate the Development of Information Security Strategies in Developing Countries

As systems become more interconnected the vulnerability to cyber attack also increases. The increased use of information and communication technology (ICT) in developing countries and the dangers associated with interconnectivity grows equally. The lack of an established guideline for information security planning and execution in developing countries further complicates this problem. There is the need for a holistic approach to information security planning. This study will use a combination of the Value Focused Thinking methodology and the measured Delphi Method to develop a framework that can assist decision makers and stakeholders in developing countries to craft and execute their information security strategies

Using Knowledge Management to Strengthen Information Security Policy Development in Developing Countries: Case - Jamaica

Information security incidents continue to grow exponentially amidst the development of advanced technological solutions aimed at protecting information system resources. Today, the growth in information systems’ breaches remains at an alarming rate. The strategies developed by malicious users are becoming more sophisticated in nature and are introduced unabated across various networks. However, security experts and developers are lagging behind in their response to the information security phenomenon. Today, developing countries continue struggling to effectively address information security issues and are becoming the main avenue for cyber criminals who capitalize on the weaknesses that exist in these regions. An effective response to information security requires a significant amount of resources. In developing countries there are limited human, financial and technological resources and weak legislative frameworks and these are fundamental requirements for combating cyber-crime. One major cyber-crime incident could be catastrophic for businesses and governments in these small, fragile economies and could have far reaching effects on their citizens. Knowledge management can be employed to assist in strengthening the capability of organizations and governments in the development of context-sensitive information security policies in developing regions. In this paper we present a knowledge acquisition model that brings together the two most widely adopted standards COBIT, ISO/IEC 27005 and tacit knowledge that exists in repositories (human) within the information security domain to support the development of context-sensitive information security policies. A quantitative methodology was used in the development of an artifact, preliminary evaluation was done using the informed argument approach and results and recommendations for future research are presented. This study can add to the limited literature on the use of knowledge management in the information security domain and the artifact presented can assist information security practitioners in small/medium-sized organizations

Adjunctive rifampicin for Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia (ARREST): a multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia is a common cause of severe community-acquired and hospital-acquired infection worldwide. We tested the hypothesis that adjunctive rifampicin would reduce bacteriologically confirmed treatment failure or disease recurrence, or death, by enhancing early S aureus killing, sterilising infected foci and blood faster, and reducing risks of dissemination and metastatic infection. METHODS: In this multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, adults (≥18 years) with S aureus bacteraemia who had received ≤96 h of active antibiotic therapy were recruited from 29 UK hospitals. Patients were randomly assigned (1:1) via a computer-generated sequential randomisation list to receive 2 weeks of adjunctive rifampicin (600 mg or 900 mg per day according to weight, oral or intravenous) versus identical placebo, together with standard antibiotic therapy. Randomisation was stratified by centre. Patients, investigators, and those caring for the patients were masked to group allocation. The primary outcome was time to bacteriologically confirmed treatment failure or disease recurrence, or death (all-cause), from randomisation to 12 weeks, adjudicated by an independent review committee masked to the treatment. Analysis was intention to treat. This trial was registered, number ISRCTN37666216, and is closed to new participants. FINDINGS: Between Dec 10, 2012, and Oct 25, 2016, 758 eligible participants were randomly assigned: 370 to rifampicin and 388 to placebo. 485 (64%) participants had community-acquired S aureus infections, and 132 (17%) had nosocomial S aureus infections. 47 (6%) had meticillin-resistant infections. 301 (40%) participants had an initial deep infection focus. Standard antibiotics were given for 29 (IQR 18-45) days; 619 (82%) participants received flucloxacillin. By week 12, 62 (17%) of participants who received rifampicin versus 71 (18%) who received placebo experienced treatment failure or disease recurrence, or died (absolute risk difference -1·4%, 95% CI -7·0 to 4·3; hazard ratio 0·96, 0·68-1·35, p=0·81). From randomisation to 12 weeks, no evidence of differences in serious (p=0·17) or grade 3-4 (p=0·36) adverse events were observed; however, 63 (17%) participants in the rifampicin group versus 39 (10%) in the placebo group had antibiotic or trial drug-modifying adverse events (p=0·004), and 24 (6%) versus six (2%) had drug interactions (p=0·0005). INTERPRETATION: Adjunctive rifampicin provided no overall benefit over standard antibiotic therapy in adults with S aureus bacteraemia. FUNDING: UK National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment