The successes of scientific and technological progress at the current stage of development of society testify to the global achievements of mankind in the field of information technology. One of the greatest discoveries in this field, no doubt, should be considered the emergence and development of the Internet, the resources and capabilities of which are constantly growing.
Positive and negative aspects of the development of information technology in society
The positive role of the development of the information society is undeniable and hardly needs explanation, but we should not forget that any achievement of scientific and technological progress, as a rule, has both positive and negative sides. Also, a separate issue is the legal norms related to information.
As for the information society, it is important to note that the development and improvement of the system of communicative relationships between individuals not only optimizes the process of obtaining data, but also forms new communication schemes. In this case, certain personal boundaries are violated . There is a problem of maintaining privacy in the conditions of formation and development of the information society based on legal norms related to information.
The phenomenon of mass culture and access to informational "power"
In this context, the fact of the development of the so-called mass culture is also important - the socio-cultural aspect in itself is ambiguous. Based on the industrial theory of O. Toffler, it can be noted that the spread of mass culture in Western society of the 20th century was due, on the one hand, to such factors as the development of urbanization, universal literacy, the spread of media, and on the other hand, the growth of psychological discomfort and tension, associated with the intensification of most types of labor activity, as well as with the spread of consumer values in society.
Thus, mass culture reaches a new organizational level, acquiring new knowledge, possessing new information, and gaining greater access to society’s resources and capabilities. Actually, the broad masses get access to those resources that used to be the privilege of representatives of the elite of society. Accordingly, by mastering resources of this kind, mass culture receives a new power, and one of the most important conditions for this power is the possession of relevant information, as well as the protection of information.
Mobility and Availability
It should be noted that the scale and mobility of the information that the mass consumer currently owns (and can potentially own) is extremely high. Moreover, information protection tools are insufficient in modern conditions. It is important to consider that the availability of such information cannot always be used with good intentions. Unfortunately, the social and moral culture of the modern information consumer is far from perfect. In this regard, the question arises not only about the possibility of obtaining data, but also about its certain limitations and privacy, especially in cases where accessibility violates the individual’s rights to privacy and legal standards related to information become necessary.
The problem of data privacy in modern society
One of the conditions for maintaining privacy in the information space is intellectual property - the rights to the results of intellectual activity and the formation of a means of protecting information are enshrined in law.
According to article 1228 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, a citizen is recognized as the author of the result of intellectual activity , whose creative work created such a result. The legislation on intellectual property, relying on legal norms related to information, establishes the monopoly right of authors to use the results of intellectual, creative activity at their discretion, as well as to allow or prohibit their use to other persons.
Copyright category
Intellectual property also includes copyrights. Among them are the rights of performers of the work, producers of phonograms, cable or broadcasting organizations, publishers, manufacturers of databases, patents for inventions, various industrial designs, utility models, company names, trademarks, service marks.
Actual question
At the moment, the problem of information piracy is acute due to the fact that data protection, subject to the development of modern information technologies, cannot be fully provided. The issue is complicated not only by the development of various kinds of software that provides ample opportunities for network robbery. A separate difficulty is the lack of clear criteria that define the law on the protection of information. Among the types of illegal use of software can be identified as illegal acquisition and production of information products. The Law on the Protection of Information considers both to be an infringement of copyright.
Illegal acquisition
- Softlifting (“quiet theft”) - the acquisition of one licensed copy of the software and installing it on several computers in violation of the terms of the license agreement.
- Unlimited client access - the organization’s acquisition of licensed software for installation on one or several computers (or for installation on a server on a limited number of corporate network clients), but actual installation on a company’s server and opening access to it for more users than specified in the licensed agreement.
Software distribution
- Internet piracy - putting commercial software products on the Internet (thus, any user of the world wide web has the ability to download or copy this software), as well as opening access to counterfeit software (or selling it through the global network).
- Forgery or manufacture of counterfeit products - is ensured by duplicating an illegal copy of licensed software (in this case, such a copy is issued as licensed and authorized).
- Illegal copying of software to external media (disks, memory cards) for subsequent distribution (or sale), however, in this case, a copy is not issued for the original.
- Copying and selling software in parts for their subsequent implementation together with hardware (or bundled with other programs).
- Sale of personal computers with installed unlicensed software.
- Use of non-commercial software for commercial purposes. The security itself is acquired with an educational license or with a license for limited commercial use (in this case, the license terms are violated). For this security addressed to educational institutions, as a rule, special discounts are provided.
- Factory piracy - sale of unaccounted surpluses and “destroyed” circulations of plant products. This type of piracy occurs when the plant produces a larger number of copies of products than it had the right (or in the case of non-destruction of the remains of the consignment). Such unaccounted products are subsequently illegally marketed.
Legal basis for technical data protection
Technical protection of information is based on the following regulations:
- "Protection of unauthorized access to information. Definitions and terms." Decision of the Chairman of the State Technical Commission of Russia (03.30.1992).
- "Automated systems. Information security technologies for unauthorized access. Automated system classification and information protection requirements." Decision of the Chairman of the State Technical Commission of Russia (03.30.1992).
- "Means of computer technology. Firewalls. Protection against unauthorized access. Indicators of security against unauthorized access to information." Decision of the Chairman of the State Technical Commission of Russia (07.25.1997).
- "Information security system for unauthorized access. Software information security. Classification of the level of control of the absence of undeclared capabilities." Decision of the Chairman of the State Technical Commission of Russia (06/04/1999).
It should be remembered that the technical protection of information at the moment is a poorly formalized task. In other words, the latter has no formal methods of solution today.
The specifics of the difficulties in organizing technical protection
- The presence of a large number of factors that influence the construction of effective information protection.
- Difficulties in establishing an accurate initial input.
- Difficulties in mathematical methods for obtaining optimal results from the totality of the source data.
The problem of defining the concept of intellectual property
The legal norms of information fixed by the legislation, as well as the right to intellectual property, cannot sufficiently ensure their observance. In addition to elementary fraud, there are certain situations where the solution to the problem of preserving this right in full is simply not possible due to its ambiguity.
So, for example, one of the problematic issues that determine the legal standards for protecting information is the ethics of reverse software development (modifying a program, obtaining keys, algorithms for using and exporting and other sensitive information).
On the one hand, reverse software development acts as a useful educational toolkit, on the other hand, it is regarded as an infringement on copyrights to the program code. To date, there is no information about attempts to prove in court the justice of prosecution for reverse development. These conflicts are not resolved in court, and until the situation changes, a discussion about the legality and ethics of reverse software development will continue.