1.

0 INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY AND

SOCIETY
1.1 Introduction to ICT
1.1.1 Define ICT
 ICT is the technology required for information processing, in
particular, the use of electronic computers, communication
devices and software applications to convert, store, protect,
process, transmit and retrieve information from anywhere,
anytime.

1.1.2 Brief Evolution of Computers

FIRST GENERATION SECOND GENERATION THIRD GENERATION FOURTH GENERATION
(1940 – 1956) (1956 - 1963) (1964 - 1971) (1971 - PRESENT)

TECHNOLOGY USED: TECHNOLOGY USED: TECHNOLOGY USED: TECHNOLOGY USED:

VACUUM TUBE TRANSISTORS INTEGRATED CIRCUITS MICROPROCESSORS

FIGURE 1: Generations of Computers

1.1.3 Usage of ICT in:

1.1.3.1 Education
i. Teachers use computers to prepare their teaching
materials, participate in online forums and aid them in
their teaching
ii. Students use computers to browse the Internet for
information, a source of reference and to complete
their assignments
iii. School administrations use computers for
administration purposes such as school records,
students’ information and test results.

1.1.3.2 Banking
i. Customers use computers to make online transactions
anytime, anywhere
ii. Bank administrators use computers to oversee the
entire banking activities and to secure their records

1.1.3.3 Industry
i. Workers use computers to work their machines in
production. In some cases, robots are used to do
dangerous jobs.
ii. Researchers use computers to analyse and collect
research data for future references.
iii. Administrators use computers to oversee the entire
operation and to detect errors or problems that occur.

1.1.3.4 E-Commerce
i. Customers use computers to do online shopping,
bidding and even pay their utility bills.
ii. Suppliers use computers to keep track of their
transactions.
iii. Employees use computers and telecommunication
technologies to communicate with their customers for
any enquiries.
 1.1.4 Differences between computerized and non-computerised
systems
COMPUTERISED NON-COMPUTERISED
Speed Faster Slower
Medium Paperless Paper-based
Error Minimal or none Human error possible
Cost Expensive Cheap
TABLE 1: Differences Between Computerised and Non-Computerised Systems

1.1.5 State the impact of ICT on society

 Positive
i. Faster communication speed
ii. Cheaper communication cost
iii. Reliable mode of communication
iv. Effective sharing of information
v. Paperless transactions
vi. Borderless communication
 Negative
i. Social problems (computer crimes, controversial
contents)
ii. Health problems (bad posture, eyestrain)

1.2 Computer Ethics and Legal Issues

1.2.1 Define:
1.2.1.1 Computer ethics
 Computer ethics are the moral standards or values
that computer users practice when using the
computers and its technologies.

1.2.1.2 Code of Ethics

 Code of ethics is a system of moral standards or
values used as a guideline for computer users.

1.2.1.3 Intellectual Property

 Intellectual Property refers to the creative works
by inventors, developers, authors and artists that have
value in the market.

1.2.1.4 Privacy
 Privacy refers to the rights of an individual or an
organization to deny or restrict the collection and use
of information about them.

1.2.1.5 Computer crime

 Computer crime is a criminal activity that is
related to the use of computers and its technologies.

1.2.1.6 Cyber Law

 Cyber law refers to any legal system relating to
protecting the computer technology and any legal
party involved in its usage.
 1.2.2 Differentiate Between Ethics and Law
ETHICS LAW
As a guideline for computer users As a rule to control computer users
Judged by moral standards Judged by judicial standards
Computer users are free to follow Computer users are required to follow
Not punishable Punishable according to the law
TABLE 2: Differences Between Ethics and Law

1.2.3 State the need for Intellectual Property Laws

 Intellectual Property Laws protects the rights of
the owner, creator or developer of any intellectual works so
that other cannot claim ownership over them.
 Intellectual Property Laws cover the rights on the
followings:
i. Trademark
ii. Company name
iii. Copyrights
iv. Patent

1.2.4 Privacy
1.2.4.1 Ways to Protect Privacy
 Privacy can be protected using
i. Privacy law
ii. Utilities software

1.2.4.2 State Authentication Methods and Technologies

 Authentication is a process where
users verify that they are who they say they are
 There are 2 methods of
authentication:
i. Biometric device
o A device that
translates personal characteristics into digital
codes that is compared with a digital code
stored in a database
o Examples of
biometric device:
a. Fingerprint
recognition
b. Facial
recognition
c. Hand
geometry scanning
d. Iris scanning
e. Retinal
scanning
f. Voice
recognition
g. Signature
verification system

ii. Callback system

 o A callback system
is commonly used in bank operation and
business transaction
o For example, when
phone banking is conducted, the operator will
ask the user to hang up. Then the operator will
call the user using the number given by the
user to verify the authenticity of the call and
user.

1.2.4.3 State Verification Methods and Technologies

 Verification is and act of proving or disproving the
identity of a user
 There are 2 methods of verification:
i. User identification
o The process of
validating the user
o Examples of user
identification are:
a. Username and password
b. Exam slip during public exams
c. PIN number for ATM cards

ii. Processed object

o Refers to something the user has that
can verify their identity
o Examples of processed objects are:
a. Driver’s license
b. Identity Card
c. Passport
d. Security Card

1.2.4.4 Controversial Contents

i. Pornography
 Pornography is defined as any
form of media or material that tends to exploit
men, women and children to depict erotic
behaviour and is intended to cause sexual
excitement

ii. Slander
 Slander is a legal term for
malicious or false statements about someone that
are intentionally spread.
 In a simpler definition, it is a lie
that we spread about someone even though we
know it is a lie.

1.2.4.5 List effects of pornography

 i. can lead to criminal acts such as exploitation of
women and children
ii. can lead to sexual addiction or perversion
iii. can develop low moral value towards others
iv. can erode good religious, cultural and social beliefs
and behavior

1.2.4.6 List effects of slander

i. can develop into a society that disregards honesty and
truth
ii. can develop bad habits of spreading lies and rumors
iii. can lead to unnecessary argument
iv. can cause people to have negative attitudes towards
another person

1.2.4.7 Describe the process of filtering to control access to

controversial contents
 In order to control access to controversial
contents, we can use Internet filtering
 Internet filtering is a method that prevents or
blocks access to certain materials on the Internet
 There are 3 ways of Internet filtering:
i. Keyword blocking
 This method uses a
list of banned words
 As the website is
loading, the filter searches for the banned
words. If any of the words are found, it will
stop loading the website.
 For example, if the
word “nuclear bomb” is banned, every
website that has the word “nuclear bomb” will
not be loaded.

ii. Site blocking

 This method works based on a list of
banned websites or websites that may pose
threats
 This list is usually maintained by an
organization

iii. Web Rating Systems

 This method uses a rating system
maintained by an organization.
 Websites are rated in terms of its content
on nudity, sex, violence and language
 When this system is used, the web
browsers will only accept websites with
permitted level of rating.
 1.2.5 Computer crimes
1.2.5.1 Explain the need for Cyber Law

Privacy and
confidentiality of
information

Integrity and security Legal status of online

of information transactions

WHY DO WE
NEED CYBER
LAW?

Intellectual Property Security of

Rights government data

FIGURE 2: The Needs for Cyber Law

1.2.5.2 Explain briefly on:

i. Fraud
 Computer Fraud refers to the act of cheating
and causing loss to other people in term of
money.
 Several forms of fraud which include e-mail
hoaxes, programme fraud, investment scheme,
sales promotion and claims of expertise on certain
fields.

ii. Copyright Infringement

 Copyright Infringement is defined as the
violation of the rights secured by a copyright.
 This includes illegal copy or reproduction of
copyright materials.

iii. Theft
 Theft refers to unauthorized use of other’s
property with the intention to deny the owner’s
rights.
 Example, transfer of payments to the wrong
account, tap into data transmission lines or
database at no cost and diverts to the wrong
destination.

iv. Attacks
 Computer attacks refers to acts to disrupt the
equipment of computer systems, change
processing control or corrupt stored data.
 It can be in the form of physical attack,
electronic attack or computer network attack
1.3 Computer Security
1.3.1 Define Computer Security
 Computer security means protecting our computer
systems and the information they contain against threats
such as unauthorized access, damage, destruction or
modification.

1.3.2 Security Threat

1.3.2.1 Explain Briefly on Different Types of Security Threats:
i. Malicious Code
 A malicious code is a dangerous program
that can pose a threat to the computer system and
the information it contains
 There are several examples of malicious
code and they are:
i. Virus
 A program that can spread
malicious code to other programs by
modifying the programs
 Usually infects files with
the extension *.exe.

ii. Trojan Horse

 A dangerous program disguised as a
harmless program which can perform
harmful and unexpected actions
 Must be installed by users or intruders
before it can affect the system

iii. Logic door

 Logic bomb is a malicious code that is
triggered when a specific condition occurs
 It can go off by using a particular date,
time or action

iv. Trapdoor or backdoor

 A feature in a program that allows
someone to access the program with
special privileges

v. Worm
 A program that copies and spreads
itself through a network
 It can also spread through emails

ii. Hacking
 Hacking is defined as an unauthorized access
to the computer system by a someone known as a
hacker
  Hackers are people who learn about the
computer system in detail

iii. Natural Disaster

 Natural disasters such as flood, fire,
earthquakes, storms, power failure and excessive
heat can also pose threats to the computer system

iv. Theft
 There are 2 types of theft:
i. Using computers to steal money,
information or resources
ii. Stealing the computers or its components

1.3.3 Security Measures

1.3.3.1 Types of security measures
 There are 6 types of security measures:
o Antivirus
 A program that detects,
removes and prevents virus from infecting a
computer system

o Anti-spyware
 A program that detects,
removes and prevents spyware or malware
from infecting the computer system

o Firewall
 A device or software that
works in a networked environment to prevent
unwanted or unauthorized communications

o Cryptography
 A process of hiding or
converting information into codes so that only
the authorized person can view its content

o Data backup
 An act of making copies of the
original file which will be stored in a different
medium and location in case the original file
is damaged or destroyed

o Human aspects
 Human aspects refer to the
security measures that uses human instead of
hardware or software such as putting a
security guard at a computer facility

1.3.3.2 Select the Appropriate Security Measure for the Security

Threat
 ANTIVIRUS
MALICIOUS
CODES VS
ANTI-SPYWARE

FIREWALL
HACKING VS
CRYPTOGRAPHY

NATURAL
DISASTERS VS DATA BACKUP

THEFT VS HUMAN ASPECTS

FIGURE 3: The Security Measures for Specific Security Threats