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Madeline Brownstone

NOVA Online | Cracking the Code of Life | Watch the Program - 7 views

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    Please use this bookmark to post your reflections. Using a Paper 2 style approach, CRITERION A) identify the IT system and describe the issues. Identify the relationship of the major stakeholders to the issues. CRITERION B) Describe step-by-step how the system works and describe how the system is related to the issue(s). CRITERION C) Evaluate the impacts on society -- both positive and negative or from differing stakeholder's P.O.V. CRITERION D) Evaluate the efficacy of a solution to the problem.
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    Criterion A- The IT system (research DNA database) that allows medical researchers to record and track medical histories throughout generations, arise a variety of issues. One of these issues is privacy, where the database holds genetic information that many ethical doctors call a "future diary". These medical databases can be analyzed by a variety of people and those who have access to this information are handling private information. The major stakeholders were those patients who gave up their DNA because their genetic information put into the hands of these medical doctors creates the privacy issue. This information needed to be well stored and doctors take implications such as encoding social security numbers and no names are used. Criterion B- These research DNA databases begin with the obtainment of genetic information. In a relational database, there are several tables containing various information. Each table contains data that all have attributes related to the subject of the table. All of the tables might be interconnected, as well. For example, a retail business using a relational database would likely have one table containing data regarding employees, another with data regarding customers, another table listing inventory and so on. A database user could run a report to find connections between data in different tables, such as the customer table and the inventory table. Criterion C- From the point of view of the major stake holders (patients who given up their genetic information) the IT system (research DNA databases) (Not done)
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    Criterion A) The IT system is a database. This database is a link of DNA records, health records, and family trees. Major stakeholders of this issue are citizens of Iceland who agree to let their information be put on these databases and analyzed. Criterion B) The database works in parts. First, there is already a database of family trees in place. This family tree generator works by inputting an individual's social security number. After this is in place, the name of many generations of ancestors of this individual is shown in a tree. Then, the creator of the database asks for the permission, of family members, to add the DNA code and the health record of each person. This allows for a social security number and a disease to be input at the same time. With this, the scientist can see those who have it, and those who don't. Then, with the use of the DNA codes, they can "hunt down" genes that cause certain diseases. The database is related to an issue of privacy. This is because those who allow their health records and DNA code, are letting the medical team and users of the database know all things about them. With just a social security number, a user that has access to the database may learn more things about you than you may want: such as your family, what diseases you may have, and many other things. Another issue is in reliability. There is the possibility that the medical teams that try to track genetic code differences between those with a disease and those without it, may come to realize that a difference they find is only a coincidence and not helpful. (not completed)
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    The IT system being used is the DNA database that are being kept on the Icelandic people. The DNA database holds a lot of information of the people in the database and even things that they do not know such as their DNA and what it means. The major stakeholder is the people that are sending their DNA information, blood samples, medical histories and family trees. The issue of privacy is then involved because of the personal information that others can go through by accessing the database. The database is run by first getting the blood sample of the patient who willingly gives permission to give their DNA information to the company, deCODE. The information is then entered into the database which organizes the information by each person's social security number. The relational database is used to organize the information. (Cont.) The impacts of the database is both negative and positive. The database can be
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    CRITERION A) identify the IT system and describe the issues. Identify the relationship of the major stakeholders to the issues. * The IT system described in this video is a medical database. The major stakeholder are the doctors who manage the data of patients in the relational databases. CRITERION B) Describe step-by-step how the system works and describe how the system is related to the issue(s). * A relational database, there are several tables containing various information. Each table contains data that all have attributes related to the subject of the table. All of the tables might be interconnected, as well. For example, a retail business using a relational database would likely have one table containing data regarding employees, another with data regarding customers, another table listing inventory and so on. A database user could run a report to find connections between data in different tables, such as the customer table and the inventory table. CRITERION C) Evaluate the impacts on society -- both positive and negative or from differing stakeholder's P.O.V. * One of the positive impacts of these medical databases are that the family tree is in a database and all health records can be found for each patient and because this is a relational database, all of the patient's information is linked to their families and other people who have similar diseases. This is beneficial because experts can see trends in the people who have a certain disease and once they figure out the "spelling" of the genetic code with the disease, they can work on coming up for cures for that particular disease. A negative impact of the medical databases can be privacy. The doctors have access to every patients information and they can know everything about a certain person or family if he/she wanted to. This would then raise an issue of integrity.
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    CRITERION A) identify the IT system and describe the issues. Identify the relationship of the major stakeholders to the issues. The IT system is the database and the issue is who has access of the Database which has medical records of individuals. The major stakeholders are the Doctors and Patients. Doctors are trying to find information on specific DNA that create sickness and diseases. Finding the relationship between the family members and there DNA, can possibly improve medicine and also allow doctors figure out what an individual can have(sickness) in future references, making inferences of what might happen. CRITERION B) Describe step-by-step how the system works and describe how the system is related to the issue(s). A data base function is that it is a computer stored software that contains tables of various information and organizes all the data into categories. One subject/category can be related to another with little difference. This is why the database makes it easier for information to be viewed and interpreted much faster. By entering data on the tables one can interlink topics in order to find specific information needed. The person who enters the data can use software like Openoffice to create a database to view DNA and the relationship with the other individuals. CRITERION C) Evaluate the impacts on society -- both positive and negative or from differing stakeholder's P.O.V. The primary issue of the negative impact on Databases, have on the skateholders for DNA purposes is Privacy. Privacy has a big part in the stakeholders because many of the patient give away there Social Security number which is something private to them. With the Social Security Number the doctors can have access to other information not related in there investigation of finding a cure. This can cause reliability with the doctors to decrease. The database would have information of all sort on there medical records which should not be something that would be public for eve
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    CRITERION A) identify the IT system and describe the issues. Identify the relationship of the major stakeholders to the issues: The IT system in these videos were medical databases containing records of many patients. Specialists use these databases to help them identify where a certain disease came from and whether or not it could be treated. they do this by viewing the patients ancestors records and seeing who had the disease in that family tree. CRITERION B) Describe step-by-step how the system works and describe how the system is related to the issue(s). Specialists (with the permission of the patient) insert a patients social security number into the medical database and let the database generate the patients entire family tree. Using this family tree, doctors were able to "hunt" down the origin of diseases, by looking at the genes of the ancestors. That way, by matching the DNA of the patient affected by a certain disease with the DNA of one of his/her ancestors DNA that suffered the same disease, and looking for similarities or patterns. CRITERION C) Evaluate the impacts on society -- both positive and negative or from differing stakeholder's P.O.V. There were several positive and negative impacts regarding this "hunting down" of diseases. By looking at family trees specialists and doctors would be able to determine what caused the disease and possibly come up with a cure or treatment for it. However, many patients are concerned with doctors going through their records and DNA due to there being a lack of privacy. If patients grant permission, specialists would be able to find out and know absolutely everything about their health history. Specialists argue that it would be of great benefit to detect diseases early so they could be treated by doing this. Chips are being created were thousands of babies genes could be looked at to look for any abnormalities. Some people argue that even if a disease were detected, there's two possibilities, one
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    Criterion A) The IT system at work here is the database run by the company deCODE. This company created a medical database in order to determine human diseases present amongst family. This leaves the stakeholders to be the Iceland citizens who use this system. The relationship between the Iceland citizens who use this system and the issue is that there is a security issue. The company, deCODE, paid a sum of one million dollars to the government for access to the medical history's and information of the Iceland citizens. This could be stolen by others or it could be hacked by an outsider. Criterion B) This system works through a series of steps to figure out what medical diseases are passed on throughout the family tree. In this case it would be a relational database. This database works by first obtaining permission from the Icelandic citizen to use their social security number and their medical history. This is put into the system and the medical records are accessed. Then the family records and past can be seen. This is multiple tables containing different pieces of information. Each table has something that is related to the previous table. Then make sure that the database is easily navigational. When the social security number is entered into the database the company must have it in the record. If the social security number is not properly encoded then the social security card could be stolen by and employee of an outside hacker. This is related to security if the hardware or software is not properly secured it can be obtained by a criminal. This can lead to identity theft and loss of financial security. Another issue would be privacy. The medical records and DNA code is allowed full use to the company. The social security number could be used in ways that the civilian did not agree to and is not known by the civilian. Criterion C) This system can cause many positive and negative impacts. One positive impact would be that this would help the patient know who e
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    Criterion A) The IT system at work here is the database run by the company deCODE. This company created a medical database in order to determine human diseases present amongst family. This leaves the stakeholders to be the Iceland citizens who use this system. The relationship between the Iceland citizens who use this system and the issue is that there is a security issue. The company, deCODE, paid a sum of one million dollars to the government for access to the medical history's and information of the Iceland citizens. This could be stolen by others or it could be hacked by an outsider. Criterion B) This system works through a series of steps to figure out what medical diseases are passed on throughout the family tree. In this case it would be a relational database. This database works by first obtaining permission from the Icelandic citizen to use their social security number and their medical history. This is put into the system and the medical records are accessed. Then the family records and past can be seen. This is multiple tables containing different pieces of information. Each table has something that is related to the previous table. Then make sure that the database is easily navigational. When the social security number is entered into the database the company must have it in the record. If the social security number is not properly encoded then the social security card could be stolen by and employee of an outside hacker. This is related to security if the hardware or software is not properly secured it can be obtained by a criminal. This can lead to identity theft and loss of financial security. Another issue would be privacy. The medical records and DNA code is allowed full use to the company. The social security number could be used in ways that the civilian did not agree to and is not known by the civilian. Criterion C) This system can cause many positive and negative impacts. One positive impact would be that this would help the patient know who e
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    CRITERION A) identify the IT system and describe the issues. Identify the relationship of the major stakeholders to the issues. The IT system involved is the DNA database system, identified as an organized collection of age old family trees, accompanied by state of the art DNA analysis and computer technology. Systematically, genetic information (DNA) is stored in related tables, distinguished by individuals' own security number codes. One centralized ethical and social consideration is privacy, mainly a major concern of the involved DNA suppliers (the public), that place their given personal information (genetic data, reference to family origins, medical history etc) in a national database system, from which the accessing of medical records and history of one's entire family can become manipulated or misused. In addition to the elevated risk of data misuse, once the involved participants (Icelandic citizens) give access to their personal information, there are no limitations placed on the utilization of the data within the national database, as it becomes accessible for the government, medical researchers and operating staff. Thus, the implications are straining to the individual donor, unable to determine when, how and to what extent the information given is shared amongst other groups. Furthermore, the privacy of the participants undesirably opens access to the medical information of related family members, as cross-referencing and data matching give the research staff operating the DNA database, access to retrieve a plethora of other members' data mainly for the purpose of effective data mining (the retrieval of hidden predictive patterns, as a diagnostic tool to decode the occurrence of genetic disorders/diseases). CRITERION B) Describe step-by-step how the system works and describe how the system is related to the issue(s). With the possession of participant's medical data, including blood type, isolated samples of DNA, medical health records e
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    The primary IT system in use is a DNA database, which includes information about patients, illnesses, and virtually one's make up as a human. DNA databases allow researchers to find patterns in a human genome, by looking at the DNA from various family members and determining the difference or similarities between the DNA of family members. This is done through database functions such as data mining, and data matching. Locations such as Iceland, have a database that traces back all of the people within the country to their Viking ancestors. These family trees have been paired with DNA analysis in order to trace diseases back to their start. Some more tests could be conducted in order to determine which of the living relatives of one family with arthritis, for example, have the disease. Then, the DNA can be compared in order to identify the exact gene that is at fault for the disease. This process is very easy to do because the database with all of the ancestral information is accessible with the presence of one of the family member's SSN. A simple data query can then bring together all of the person's information. Moreover, DNA, health records, and the family trees of Iceland were proposed to be linked. This could be very beneficial because new drugs could be made available to suit the specific disease of a patient. It could also be a way for diagnosed patients to take early preventative measures. This could increase the probability for a cure, and in general this would increase the life expectancy of certain areas. However, some doctors in Iceland opposed to this linkage, because the information is representative of each person's medical history, and potentially their future medical history. This information, according to the plans of the linkage of medical records and the family tree, would be available on a central database that would bring together private information about a person and connect it to all of their family members, past, present, and future. T
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    There is another issue along with this involving the ability of researchers to have full access to the information about anyone. Many people want to maintain their right to privacy, but others argue that this could lead to new knowledge about diseases, and the development of new medicines. For those who are afraid of risking their privacy, there are standards developed in order to protect them. Their information, such as SSNs are encoded for security reasons and the DNA part of the project is voluntary, and not imposed. However, ethicists are still afraid of this database. They claim that the future of DNA is a valuable thing because it can predict the probability of diseases, life expectancies, etc. But all copies can be made available to the FBI, schools, etc. at the time of birth. For the Biotech Industry, this is seen as a huge advantage because people an be tested for hundreds of diseases. The awareness of the disease is a great thing, because it could lead to early prevention. However, the system is faulty because it sometimes doesn't provide certainty of a disease and it limits a person's privacy. Other times, there is no cure for the disease, so the patient cannot do anything even if they know. In relation to this, there also will arise severe psychological impacts of a person knowing that they have the possibility for getting a life threatening disease. If this is a disease that will affect them later on in life, it would be detrimental for a person to live their life without the hope of a prosperous future. A solution to this problem could be giving patients the choice of knowing or not.
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    Criterion A - The IT system is the DNA database containing information about the genetic past, present, and future of the patients. The primary issues associated with this database are of privacy and anonymity. These issues arise when patients, who are one of the major stakeholders, feel that that the information in these databases shouldn't be accessible to others, or anyone for that matter. While some believe this is private information, others believe that the information should not be known by anyone because of the ethical issues associated with knowing what will come in the future. Criterion B - The medical database is a relational database meaning that it establishes relationships between different tables in the database. The smallest building blocks of a relational database are items. Items are individual pieces of information in tables. These items are organized into fields and records. Fields are columns in a table that that represent different categories of information. Records are rows that represent all the information for a specific patient. At the cross-section of a particular record and field lies the item associated with a specific piece of information related to the specified patient. These tables are related to each other through links which are established by unique primary keys assigned to each patient. This system is related to the issue of privacy because the information contained within it is considered by many to be privileged and access to it should be very limited or altogether eliminated. Criterion C - The impacts of such a database on society are varied. Some people are very against the entire idea of a genetic database because of its ethical concerns. When people have their blood analyzed for DNA, they are giving up their genetic make-up. The information that can be obtained from such tests is considered by many to be privileged, and by others to be completely unethical in every way. Often people are against very private medical
Madeline Brownstone

Electronic health records raise doubt - The Boston Globe - 11 views

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    "Google Health and others in the fast-growing personal health record business say they are offering a revolutionary tool to help patients navigate a fragmented healthcare system, but some doctors fear that inaccurate information from billing data could lead to improper treatment."
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    This article provides a possible service that can be used in the east African country our case study is on. Google health is a free service that would give all patients the opportunity to store their health records digitially, making it easier for doctors to access it. Especially if telemedicine were to be used, having electronic health records would be a great benefit. However, the issue of reliability is especially troubling when it comes to using services like Google health in this context. There have been many reported errors with the diagnoses of patients using this service, and it is crucial that the records are checked by both patients and doctors to ensure that all information listed is correct. Literacy rates are much lower in rural African settings, creating a problem for patients who may be unaware of inaccurate information on their records. Especially for individuals in critical conditions, fatal mistakes can therefore be made.
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    Electronic Health Records are also used in the case study. Patients and doctors rely on these records for accurate data, but it is rather difficult, due to the lack of reliability with which Google Health updates patient's health data. In order for Dr. Ogola's plan to work (face the challenges, create a modern health system), he must implement such health records that will store patients' information on an accessible, secure and easy to use database. This would help patients, doctors and nurses share data without having to travel long distances. Data would be secure and also accessible to the three parties. However, this would require a reliable system (more than Google Health) so as to not provide inaccurate data to the patients. Patient involvement in the care of his/her own data would be required for an such an erroneous system, as would a reliable source of healthcare information on the patients. Unreliable sources can potentially damage the whole system.
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    The use of Electronic Health Records in this article can be applied to our case study. Firstly, it would make the transfer of patient data easier and faster, this would increase the quality of care that the hospitals and clinics offer to their patients. These Electronic Health Records can also keep data from different doctors in order, for example if a patient visits several Doctors all of their information will be in one place and ready to access when ever necessary. In the case study if doctors had a more accurate picture of the patients medical history they would be more prepared to make diagnoses, especially when they are working with strange cases. This would also help to increase the quality of treatment that the patient would receive. Digital Health Records are easy to update both the patient and the doctor can edit the Electronic Health Record, it also can keep track of test results, and medications that the patient is currently using. Electronic Health Records allow patients to be more active in their health care allowing them to see and have access to all of their medical information. Even though this IT system is ideal for our case study there are some things we should take into consideration. In our case study we would have to make sure that equality of access is equal for everyone, there may be some people living on the outskirts of villages that might not have access to Digital Health Records. We would also have to assume that everyone would know how to use the Digital Health Record. Meaning how to update it and how to look for errors. Lastly we would have to assume that the patient would make good use out of having an Electronic Health Record. They would have to constantly be updating and checking their records to see if there is any missing information or any errors within their data. Lastly, the coding system would have to be revised, it is confusing and very inaccurate, there should be a new coding system that makes understanding your own records
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    In this article, the use of electronic health records is discussed. However, some problems arising from their use are also introduced, including inaccurate patient information. In the world of the case study, this IT system, electronic health records. is quite relevant and can be useful. EHRs can be used in Africa to connect rural doctors to hospitals and other professional health care workers in better facilities. This way patients' records can be reviewed, diagnoses can be made and other help can be given. However, if this system is taken advantage of in Africa, its users must be certain that the information in the records is accurate and comes from a reliable source. This is because if the information in a record is inaccurate, incorrect diagnosis and/or medication can be given as was the situation in the article. These kinds of mistakes can be detrimental to some patients.
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    This article elaborates on the drawbacks of electronic health files. Although the IT System, Google Health, seems that it will make getting quality health care much easier and quicker, there is a major issue of possible inaccurate information. These inaccuracies or exaggerated diagnoses on Google Health may prevent patients from receiving the care they need, and Google Earth is prone to human error as real people are responsible for inputting insurance billing codes or mislabeling a lab test with a disease that is hoped to be ruled out. This has an impact on our African case study as this article illustrates one of the highly potential problems that arise from the use of telemedicine. Although medical centers in Africa would be able to eliminate the tedious process of paper work by instantly communicating records over the internet, these records can be inaccurate and therefore compromise an already sick patients health even further. However, for the case study, EMR's prove to be a very feasible solution for the lack of communication and distances between villages and health centers, but a solution must be made in order to counteract the potential misdiagnoses'. One solution could be that patients would check their EMR's for accuracy, but with the poor conditions of living in the African villages and poor or no internet service, this solution does not seem possible for the case study.
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    This article is about a man getting his health information in an electronic health records massed up. There's an issue with the EMRs in the sense that they are sometimes unreliable. In regard to the Case study, as they want to place EMRs into their hospitals and clinics they ma have this issue with reliability. But it has shown signs of improvement from paper records. But the hospitals and clinics in the East African cities will need to hire more staff to make sure these records are up to date and accurate. As for the health of the patients, EMRs has its benefits and drawbacks. If the information is accurate then a life could be saved and that person could be properly cared for in a more timely fashion, but if the information isn't accurate they could be given unneeded surgery or given the wrong drugs. The EMRs could help the efficiency of the hospitals and clinics because they could work faster and get to more patients without wasting countless time looking through paper records.
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    This article arises a social and ethical issue of integrity of electronic health records. In this article, Dave deBronkart faced this issue when he transferred his medical records to Google Health. His information was inaccurately transferred because of the incorrect coding that insurance companies use. The database then used this incorrect coding and stated that Dave had other health problems, which he never had. The lack of codes makes the database more likely to make an inaccurate diagnosis. It also suffers from reliability because if the information, doctors can't rely on it to make correct diagnosis. Electronic databases are very useful and can be used in Oobunta if its integrity is improved. It will allow patients in villages that can't afford travel to share their symptoms and past medical history with doctors in the hospital. This will cut costs for both doctors and patients because they won't have to pay for transportation. It will also benefit the patients because it will let them be diagnosed accurately especially if they don't have enough resources or medical care in their village.
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    This article covers a recent problem that has risen from the use of Electronic Medical Records. Google's new Google Health, a service that gathers e-health records for patients all in one place has become unreliable. Google Health gathers medical information from billing records, which is an inaccurate source of information. The medical records on the site also do not distinguish between recent illnesses and past illnesses, and does not indicate the level of severity for the health issues. The diagnostic medical coding is to blame for inaccuracies in information gleaned from insurance data, mostly because it is clunky and includes tests for diseases that doctors hope to rule out, not for diseases that the patients necessarily have. The problems that the unwieldy code and medical records in Google Health bring up are enormous. Information is inaccurate and out of date, and this is potentially deadly when patients are being treated. The issue of reliability is that data in the records is out of date, and entered incorrectly, which could be the difference between life and death for patients with dangerous diseases.
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    This article was about electronic medical records. They allow patients to share their health information with doctors over the Internet, using Goggle Health. However, this application is not completely accurate. It takes information from insurance bills. These insurance bills may not be precise in describing the treatment of a patient because of their lack of codes. This raises the issue of reliability of the electronic health records. Inaccurate records could stop a doctor from performing a life saving procedure on a patient. The article relates to the case study because it talks about the drawbacks of having electronic medical records. In order for issues with reliability and integrity to be avoided in Oobunta, patients should regularly check their records to ensure their accuracy. Doctors and patients should also communicate more to eliminate problems within the health records.
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    In this article, a new electronic health system arose. In order for one to use this newly aged system, their personal health records must be transferred. According to the article, "accuracy gets lost in translation" (Wangsness). Due to the fact that certain information is getting lost in translation, many issues have been brought up, such as reliability. Health records are vital for every individual because they contain information that cannot be found anywhere else. A loss in data, such as certain dates, can lead to many problems for the patients during treatment. As a solution, people are asked to do one thing. They are told to check out their record and see if everything is accurate. There is a positive side for this new system and it relates directly to our case study. These Google health records are easily transferable. If one needs to send out their information to a hospital for a diagnosis, they can do so in no time. In the case study, people in Africa are having trouble getting to a hospital because of the expenses and lack of transportation. By using these Google electronic health records, the people would be able to e-mail their record to a hospital for a direct prognoses. This would save them so much money and time because they would be able to complete this task in the comfort of their own home, or anyplace with internet access. These electronic health records can solve many problems in Africa.
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    This case study tackles the issues of Integrity and Reliability. The article talks about inaccurate health records and it effect on patients who want to follow updates on their health status. The stakeholders in this articles are patients because they are the ones who need accurate information, doctors because patients come to them when they read inaccurate information about their health and the people who control the information in the databases because they are the ones responsible for whether or not the information is accurate. Integrity is an appropriate Social and Ethical Issue because the information in the databases have a been changed accidentally, in turn affecting accuracy. Reliability is even better because is directly about accuracy of data, if it is entered incorrectly. If data is entered wrong patients lose trust in them. This is especially relevant to databases which is the major IT system discussed in this article. In relation to the case study it is important to find a solution for the patients of Africa, that is as efficient as possible. In a place like the one described in the study it is important to save time by being as accurate as possible and making sure that patents and doctors can understand the information on databases, ensuring more successful treatments for the patients.
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    In the East African city, the medical facilities all contain databases that their patient's health records are recorded on, however the platform for each database varies between each clinic and the main hospital. This in turn makes it more difficult to exchange health records between each clinic and the main hospital.This article brings up a solution to the health records exchange problem that are within this East African Region. Google Health is a database that is in the cloud and makes it possible to exchange health records through the internet. This form of exchanging data for a patient helps to keep a patient's data up to date. Now though this could be a great solution it comes with many drawbacks from the system and the lacking materials from the East African region makes it difficulty to better utilize it.
nicholas n

U.S. Tries Open-Source Model for Health Data Systems - NYTimes.com - 1 views

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    This article is about the idea of putting all existing medical records into electronic form. This would cut the costs needed for storage of such information, this would also increase how fast a medical official can access the records of a sick patient. However, as listed in Strand 1, there are many positive and negative social/ethical issues. One such issue is security. By making the records digitized and put into the hospital database, people without the proper authorization would not be able to gain access to the data. This can also coincide with authenticity. The information that relates to the patient should be accessible by the patient. The patient would need to be able to get through the encryption of the data. Another social/ethical issue would be the equality of access, this would allow only certain people the ability to look at the data. Even with these positive social/ethical issues there are some negative issue. One negative issue would be integrity. There are people who can hack the encryption of this data and tamper with it. This would cause the data to be different in other places and a breach in security. This would be a great help to organizing data. Using a paper file system, the doctor would have to go through a lot of papers and cabinets to find the patient's medical history. By using a paper file cabinet documents are more likely to go missing or get mixed up with another patient's records. However, by using a database this data is much more organized. There is a smaller chance of losing the patient's data, by using back-ups the data could be easily restored. There is also a much smaller change or mixing up multiple patient's data. If the wrong data was use for the wrong person, the person may not have the correct medical treatment they need. With databases the information is much more organized. The patient's data can be found very fast, compared to a paper file system (this could take more than an hour depending on the amount of patients).
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    Continued...The hardware involved with creating databases in the health industry would be a DBMS Engine. This is also known as a Database Managing System. This takes the logical request from DBMS subsystems and converts them to physical equivalents. This also requires interactive processing. This replaces batch processing. This allows users to interact with data through terminals and view values online in real time. By having real time the doctors can give the patients what they need at the moment the patient needs it. The stakeholders in this specific case would be the hospitals adapting the database managing system and the patients whose information is stored in this database. If the database is tampered and there are not back-ups the patient would not have his/her medical history. This could cause the patient to be on a delay for an operation that is extremely important to their life. This could also place a lawsuit on the hospital.
Elisavet M

Data Security Laws Seem Likely, So Consumers and Businesses Vie to Shape Them - 0 views

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    During 2005, political organizations advocated for strict laws implementing data security enforcement, as rising concerns stemmed out of alarming statistical studies and research, revealing identity theft, credit card frauds and hacking as emerging and terrorizing practices overtaking much of the internet realm. This article introduces the beginning of the rise in public awareness, as technology strongly began to redirect the business world into another more digital phase. It was during that year, the primary stakeholders, also known as the businesses ( participants of e-commerce that stored, verified and utilized private consumer data), vocalized their needs clarifying their desire for the creation of constraints in regards to the consequences or negative implications of passing certain bills (for data security). The past exemplifies the various influences the introduction of data security measures, passed by the government legislatures, had upon newly initiated businesses; among the most significant implications discussed were: the need to build a secure database for reliable storage of clientele digital data with the utilization of particular software as well as improving business organizational structure in order to maximize the rate of security notifications towards consumers based on a foundation of rigid security standards. Far from the adaptation to such implications, the political crisis of establishing solid ground for a new set of security data policies and standards became an overwhelming process for politicians, congress members in conjunction with consumer and data privacy groups that rivaled in attaining the responsibilities of passing the needed laws. The politicians (stakeholders, holding the role of administering governmental legislation to stabilize data security breaches), came into opposition with the concerns of many members of advocacy groups (stakeholders, holding the responsibility of supervising and publicly navigating the direction of th
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    continuation: the adjusted standards enforced by politicians). The problem of adhering to the instruction of newly created laws motioning businesses to appoint data security officers, draft policies, to comply with policies and procedures involving giving access to files in business databases for the Federal Trade Commission to check comes into collision with what most online businesses want to go through the process of doing. However, with the issue of security surfacing future consumer problems, as security breaches become major forces threatening the safe entering of digitally encrypted information (such as credit card codes), many companies become increasingly aware of the needed adherence to the strict security data laws, in order to continue profiting financially in order to keep the rate of consumer trust and payment increasing.
Madeline Brownstone

Five Design Principles for Smarter Data Systems « The Quick and the Ed - 0 views

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    "In the past decade, school districts and states have spent more than a billion dollars to build and implement data systems. Data about student learning-and the systems that collect, organize, and report on this data-are what U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan calls "the driving force [behind education] reform.""
Noreen C

Keeping Secrets WikiSafe - NYTimes.com - 0 views

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    WikiLeaks has led to several problems related to privacy and security of government data. The legal debate weighs whether the posting of this data is against Constitutional laws, but many others in the Government fear the magnitude of this problem. Some people ask, what would the founding fathers have done....but the world of the internet is a whole other ball field. The latest on the WikiLeaks threats claim that Assange still has more documents which were uploaded onto the website. However, the files are encrypted. Many people have access to these files, but because they are in cipher text, they cannot be read. As soon as Assange, or anyone who has access to the information publishes the Public Key, the encrypted documents will be decoded, using the same software that Assange used to encrypt it. If these documents have material in them that could threaten national security, then the USFG will have a stronger case against Assange on the basis of a privacy breach. Because of the high security, and the reliability of the encryption software, these documents have little value at the moment. The Obama Administration is clearly keeping an eye on the situation, because they wish to protect the privacy of the documents, but also because they want to find a way to take down the documents before they create damage. However, there is an extreme level of difficulty in decrypting the data, which is protected by a mathematical algorithm specific to the software that Assange initially used. The intersection of the privacy of the Government and the reliable security that Assange used comes to show that the IT world is constantly expanding, beyond the prediction of one business, or even the Government. But these Assange and the USFG aren't the only ones involved. Many people around the world are trying to attain access to these documents, primarily in the US in order to understand national secrets that have been held back from the public. The internet as a form of media has transfo
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    continued.....transformed the notion of what is private and what isn't, and clearly now more than ever privacy needs to be secured. Maybe the USFG should look into some high security protocols such as encryption, and their data files wouldn't be intercepted and posted on the internet.
Noreen C

U.S. Tries Open-Source Model for Health Data Systems - NYTimes.com - 1 views

  • easily and securely share information
  • A fancy electronic patient record, unconnected, is just an expensive way to capture data.
  • Getting many different health care providers and suppliers of specialized software to agree on how to do that is no simple task.
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  • The solution the group agreed to is essentially Internet-based e-mail and public key encryption technology, tailored for health care.
  • For health care technology companies, the data-sharing standards, experts say, should stimulate the market for electronic health records and allow them to focus their efforts on making their individual offerings more affordable and easier to use.
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    This article is primarily about setting standards and protocols so that an electronic health records could world easily and securely for many health care providers and suppliers. The reason the introduction of an EHR hasn't worked before, is that there were no data-sharing standards, which would ensure that the data is transmitted securely across the internet. These standards are also in accordance of many of the interests of all of the health providers and stakeholders involved, which was a major problem previously. Without the issue of connecting the EHR from provider to provider, then the records would be a "fancy...way to capture data," and it's full potential would never be recognized. However, these new standards and protocols, filled with secure transactions based on encryptions, have made the introduction of an electronic health record possible. There are many benefits to the use of an EHR, including productivity and financial improvement for the companies and the employees. For example, doctors/nurses no longer need to spend time pulling a patient's file, or writing the details of the visit afterwards. There are also fewer repetitive tasks, and improved communication between doctor and nurse, or doctor and another doctor. Quality of care may also improve because doctors have quick access to a patient's information, there is better monitoring and discovery of chronic illnesses, and doctors can return phone calls/ provide medication refills immediately. Also, in general, the electronic charts allow for a more efficient office, which leads to a less stressful environment and more attention on the patients' care rather than searching for their charts. This can only be done through the introduction of an EHR, leading to easier queries, instant reorganization, and file management that could be transmitted to both the patient and any other doctors. This minimizes the ambiguity of not having tests results from one doctor, and allows all doctors treating a p
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    patient to see all of the patient's history. This is important in having a correct diagnosis and treatment. However, there are also some drawbacks. Initially, doctors who chose to engage in the implementation of a EHR, see some decreases in productivity. This is because entering information and learning how to use the software takes some time. Some doctors also do not have the money to invest in such software and accompanying hardware to, and others no not want to because they are accustomed to their hand-written charts. There are also some security issues, leading to greater privacy issues. The EHR maintains very personal data about a patient, and if the records are breached, then the privacy of the patient may be put at risk. There is also the issue of interoperability, which was brought up in the article. Many of the companies in different countries wishing to engage in the implementation of EHR have different standards involving the usage. This could harm the usage of an international EHR.
Madeline Brownstone

Technology: The data deluge | The Economist - 1 views

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    "Everywhere you look, the quantity of information in the world is soaring. According to one estimate, mankind created 150 exabytes (billion gigabytes) of data in 2005. This year, it will create 1,200 exabytes. Merely keeping up with this flood, and storing the bits that might be useful, is difficult enough. Analysing it, to spot patterns and extract useful information, is harder still. Even so, the data deluge is already starting to transform business, government, science and everyday life (see our special report in this issue). It has great potential for good-as long as consumers, companies and governments make the right choices about when to restrict the flow of data, and when to encourage it."
Madeline Brownstone

A special report on managing information: Data, data everywhere | The Economist - 1 views

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    "WHEN the Sloan Digital Sky Survey started work in 2000, its telescope in New Mexico collected more data in its first few weeks than had been amassed in the entire history of astronomy. Now, a decade later, its archive contains a whopping 140 terabytes of information. A successor, the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope, due to come on stream in Chile in 2016, will acquire that quantity of data every five days. "
Madeline Brownstone

BBC NEWS | UK | England | Cambridgeshire | Security tightened over data loss - 1 views

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    "In a statement the ICO said the Trust reported the loss of an unencrypted memory stick containing treatment details "after a member of staff left it in an unattended vehicle" towards the end of last year. Other ICO cases revealed Central Lancashire Trust lost an encrypted memory stick with details of 6,360 prison patients of HMP Preston The North West London Hospitals Trust reported the theft of computers containing the details of test results of 361 patients. Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals Trust reported the loss and theft of computers containing details of 2,300 patients. The memory stick, which was privately owned, was discovered by a car wash attendant who was able to access the contents to establish ownership and returned it to the Trust. Three other health trusts have also been found to have breached the Data Protection Act: Central Lancashire Primary Care Trust, North West London Hospitals NHS Trust and Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust. All four have all signed formal undertakings outlining that they will process personal information in line with the Data Protection Act. "
Elisavet M

An Unforeseen Complication of Electronic Medical Records - 0 views

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    This article focuses specifically upon the negative implications that surface with the installation and adaptation of electronic medical records (EMR) for medical professionals targeting specifically the level of doctor/patient relationships. The author, a medical specialist within a facility, talks about his experience with the proven efficiency of the EMR system's effective retrieval of patient medical history and advanced medical database, but further accentuates emphasis on the system's flawed influence upon medical professional and patient relations. One of the primary stakeholders, the medical doctors and physicians complain that the system itself places limitations upon doctors' interactions with patients during the time of consultation (a critical part of constructing medical diagnoses); the author places emphasis upon the way he had to consistently go back and forth from the patient to the computer, in order to type in the retrieved information gained from the conversation. The act of going back and forth between patient and technological system (EMR) discouraged and urged the patient into silence, thus limiting conversation with the doctor, due to the lack of complete face to face, non interrupted evaluation and reflection of medical symptoms, history, prior experiences from the perspective of the patient. Thus, the second primary stakeholder, the patient himself, feels that he or she is not properly or fully being examined; more importantly this places the patient into the position of feeling less significant, as if his/her perspective doesn't truly matter when in reality it is the patient's responsibility to be clear and coherent with the medical professional, to help navigate the doctor into generating the correct diagnosis that will help save patient lives. The IT system involved is the EMR (electronic medical record) system that operated with the help of dozens of computer terminals that were positioned in individual workstations (hardware com
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    (continuation) component) and worked on the same networking service. The software programming that came with the system helped improve the retrieval and sharing of patient medical history, organization of data, efficiency and flexibility of keying in and updating medical information etc. In connection to the scenario of Health, the limiting influence forced upon doctor/patient relationships sourced from the integration of EMR systems targets a flaw in the advantage of having instant connection to patient medical information. Not only are doctors forced to focus on correctly typing in the necessary information, thus avoiding or diminishing patient relations, but the great magnitude of medical information stored and available in EMR systems, "can push some doctors into what one EMR expert refers to as "cognitive overload" while trying to balance patient input with medical history data on the spot. Furthermore, the system's software tool, such as the fee-for-service payment system, which helps tabulate symptoms while simultaneously facilitating the billing process, continues to discourage doctors from executing patient consultation. One major issue that surfaces is reliability; the EMR system itself consists of hardware and software components that transition the doctor's attention from the patient directly onto the transferring of information into the system while in the mode of confrontation. The correspondence of data with the real world comes into significance, as the data may become unreliable due to the fact that it may be entered incorrectly (the doctor may have been focusing more upon data transmission, rather than what the patient actually stated), and additionally the use of EMR systems increase the risk of data becoming outdated, for it is solely up to the doctor's skills and attention that medical history, symptoms, side effects of the patient be kept at a steady consistency once entered into the system. Thus, although physicians and he
Alex F

Regulations and Security Concerns Hinder Asia's Move to Cloud Computing - NYTimes.com - 0 views

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    In this article it talks about how the organization known as "The Youth Olympic Games" were hosting their games in August. But they have done something different this year. Unlike what they have done every year, purchasing their items all the time and selling them or giving them away for free; they have now would have an third-world country who has the equipment do their job if they were to buy it. By that I mean they would used a system called "cloud services", and the group in charge of working would be Asia and they would have the data of everyone who is watching, performing and workers of the organization. Therefore these are the stakeholders in with this program that because they are having someone else from a different country; without knowing if they are someone who wants to steal their identity has full access. The IT system in this "cloud services" would be cloud computing since someone that may be from home, or sitting in an office has control over the organization and the data. The issue in this would be security, that because the people that are using "cloud services" are in Asia; therefore they are in a different having control in the U.S. The scenarios in this would be the fact that everyone identity would be stolen since the controls would be in Asia and they wouldn't be tracked since they are in a different country. They also couldn't be charged since they were given permission to have access to the data.
Madeline Brownstone

Unboxed - I.B.M Tries to Help Cities Work Smarter - NYTimes.com - 0 views

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    "Local governments, like many businesses, are struggling with a data glut. Agencies collect huge amounts of information about topics as diverse as building permits, potholes, Medicaid cases and foster-child placements. Technology, according to computer experts and government officials, can be a powerful tool to mine vast troves of government data for insights to streamline services and guide policy."
Karen M

BBC NEWS | Technology | Software maps Rwandan health - 4 views

  • The biggest challenge is to collect enough information to make the databases reliable.
    • Karen M
       
      Social and Ethical Issue: The issues in this article are reliability and integrity. The information that is put into the database needs to be accurate and reliable for other doctors to access. It is important for the data to be reliable because doctors need to be able to know about the other cases of malaria as well as the resources they have.
  • The digital maps, called Geographic Information Systems (GIS), are designed to compile information from numerous databases and use it to both track and predict outbreaks of disease.
    • Karen M
       
      IT System: The Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is the main IT system that is being discussed in this article. IT is large database compiled from information from smaller ones.
  • The system has allowed health workers in Rwanda track the number of malaria cases at each health facility.
    • Karen M
       
      Stakeholders: The people who are being affected are the doctors who access and add information into the database, as well as the patients who are being treated.
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  • A system of electronic mapping which allows many different types of data to be layered onto a single image is being used to improve healthcare across Rwanda.
    • Karen M
       
      Area of Impact: Health
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    A system of electronic mapping which allows many different types of data to be layered onto a single image is being used to improve healthcare across Rwanda. The digital maps, called Geographic Information Systems (GIS), are designed to compile information from numerous databases and use it to both track and predict outbreaks of disease.
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    A system of electronic mapping which allows many different types of data to be layered onto a single image is being used to improve healthcare across Rwanda. The digital maps, called Geographic Information Systems (GIS), are designed to compile information from numerous databases and use it to both track and predict outbreaks of disease.
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    A system of electronic mapping has been developed that allows different types of data to be layered onto a single image. It is being used to improve the health care in Rwanda. These digital maps are called Geographic Information Systems (GIS). The database is compiled of information from different doctors working on cases of malaria. This brings up the issues of reliability and integrity. The information in the database needs to be reliable enough for the doctors to use in treating patients with malaria. It affects both doctors and patients, but the patients are being affected the most because they are the ones being treated. If the information is inaccurate, the patients may be placed in dangerous situations.
Santiago P.

RFID: Protection, privacy and prevention - sourcefire, security, rsa, RFID, intermec - ARN - 1 views

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    RFID is a very valuable and new technology, that promises to bring many advantages to the business world, which is the main area of impact being addressed. RFID is the IT being discussed. It permits people to gain access to goods, data on products, and important financial data. There is, however, the concern over the issue of security and privacy, which go hand in hand. Stakeholders in the issue are normal people, who increasingly are surrounded by RFID tags, especially in their credit cards. Tags can also be used to track a person's movement, which some claim is an invasion of privacy. Defenders claim that most RFID tags are incapable of being read or trasmit data from up to 50 cm. However, this does depend on the tag's antenna and the encryption it may or may not use to protect its data. There is the continual concern however, that RFID tags will handle more sensitive data as its capabilities improve. The fact that RFID tags store information on databases is also a concern for privacy advocates. An RFID tag uploads onto the database information on financial transactions, buying, selling, etc. The location, time, and other information is stored on a log in the database. The RFID is essentially tracking users' movement. The security concern, which is more consequential to users, is what is done when the database that contains all the sensitive information is hacked or damaged, and security is breached. Such concerns and these issues' impacts are obviously paramount when dealing with RFID tags and the issues of privacy and security.
Madeline Brownstone

BBC NEWS | Technology | Workers 'stealing company data' - 1 views

  • "The industry has concentrated on the protection of the containers where the data is stored like firewalls, access, controls and end point security systems. "The end result is that most security teams are protecting the containers not the data itself. And that is a core flaw in the security methodology of many practitioners today," claimed Mr Rowney.
    • Madeline Brownstone
       
      With so many employees who have access to the data, what's to block it's flow?
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    "He added: "The intellectual property of a company can represent the crown jewels and are almost worth more than the building. This is the core asset of a company and any breach or loss can be very expensive." "
Madeline Brownstone

A new way of looking at the world - CNN.com - 0 views

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    "An emerging set of tools is making it easier than ever to track and compile all sorts of "data" and display it in a way that's relatively easy to understand. You can now point your mobile phone at a street and instantly get ratings for restaurants. Or type in your address and find reports of crimes that may have occurred in your neighborhood. It's even possible to track emotions on a national and global scale."
Jialin C

Google Reports on Government Requests and Censorship - NYTimes.com - 2 views

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    Google has came up with a tool in which people can view the government's censorships. It keeps track of how many times the government has requested for Google to take down certain information due to privacy.
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    Strand 1: 1.2: Security: Google isn't secure if they put statistics and a counter on how many times they were asked to take information down. 1.7 surveillance: Governments don't want to be monitored and therefore, many of them refuse to share whether or not their censorship demands. 1.3 Privacy and anonymity: Google created this tool which keeps track of how many different countries would want their government "secrets" and policies to be taken down; there fore, google does respect that to a certain extent. Although, many countries do make a huge number of requests for their data to be taken down. Strand 2: 2.6:This Google transparency tool can be used to view the demands and requests of data been removed by specific countries and their governments. Stakeholders: Google is the organization that created such a tool. And it's main purpose was to show the world that censorship and privacy is asked for by many. The governments around the world are asking for either data requests to be taken off, or data requests based on their country from the transparency tool. Strand 3: 3.4 Internet: it plays the main role of how Google puts up too much information and due to privacy and surveillance issues, the IT system is shown as a map that organizes the lack of information that can be seen by viewers and the amount of information that are taken off due to requests.
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    Please go back and "cache" this page. I see by the URL that this is a blog. Although the lines between bloggers and journalists are somewhat blurred these days, blogs are usually opinion pieces and not considered journalism in the same way as edited news items. For example, this summer, you blogged on the NY Times site. That wasn't "news" it was your opinion about what you read about what was happening.
Madeline Brownstone

BBC NEWS | UK | Wales | Missile data found on hard drives - 0 views

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    "Of 300 hard disks bought randomly at computer fairs and an online auction site, 34% still held personal data."
Madeline Brownstone

BBC NEWS | Technology | Office intruder 'steals' data - 0 views

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    "According to Mr Greenlees, hackers and those intent on industrial espionage will use all the tools at their disposal to get their hands on data. Siemens consultant Colin Greenlees on how to protect against cyber criminals Far from needing a sophisticated computer system, good old-fashioned legwork can do the job just as well he has discovered"
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