Legal norms relating to information. Data protection

The successes of scientific and technological progress at the current stage of the development of society testify to the global achievements of mankind in the field of information technology. One of the greatest discoveries in this field is, undoubtedly, the emergence and development of the Internet, whose resources and capabilities are constantly growing.

The 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 requires 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 relating to information.

As for the information society, it is important to note that the development and improvement of the communication system between individuals not only optimizes the process of obtaining data, but also creates new communication schemes. In this case, certain personal boundaries are violated. There arises the problem of preserving 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 information "power"

In this context, the fact of the development of the so-called mass culture is also important - the socio-culturological aspect itself is ambiguous. Based on O. Toffler's industrial theory, it can be noted that the spread of mass culture in the western society of the 20th century was due, on the one hand, to such factors as the development of urbanization, general literacy, the spread of the media, and on the other - the growth of psychological discomfort and tension, Related to the intensification of most types of labor activity, as well as the spread of consumer values in society.

Thus, mass culture enters a new organizational level, acquiring new knowledge, having new information, gaining more access to the resources and opportunities of society. Actually, the broad masses get access to those resources that used to be the privilege of representatives of the elite of society. Accordingly, mastering resources of this kind, mass culture receives a new power, while one of the most important conditions for this authority is the possession of current information, as well as information protection.

Mobility and accessibility

It should be noted that the scale and mobility of the information that the mass consumer currently owns (and potentially can own) is extremely high. At the same time, information protection is not sufficient in modern conditions. It is important to consider that the availability of such information can not always be used with good intentions. Unfortunately, the socio-moral culture of the modern information consumer is far from perfect. In this regard, the issue is not only about the possibility of obtaining data, but also about their specific limitations and privacy, especially in cases where access violates the rights of the individual to privacy and the legal norms relating to information become necessary.

The problem of data privacy in modern society

One of the conditions for the preservation of privacy in the information space is intellectual property - the rights established by law for the results of intellectual activity and the formation of a means of protecting information.

According to Article 1228 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the author of the result of intellectual activity is a citizen whose creative work created such a result. Legislation on intellectual property based on legal norms relating 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 others.

Copyright category

Also, intellectual property includes those adjacent to copyright. Among them - the rights of performers of the work, producers of phonograms, cable or broadcasting organizations, publishers, database manufacturers, patents for inventions, various industrial designs, utility models, brand names, trade marks, service marks.

Actual question

At the moment, the problem of information piracy is acute in connection with the fact that data protection, provided that modern information technologies are developed, can not be fully provided. The issue is complicated not only by the development of various kinds of software that provides ample opportunities for network robbery. Separate complexity is the lack of clear criteria defining the law on information protection. Among the types of illegal use of software can be identified as illegal as the acquisition and production of information products. The law on the protection of information both regards both as encroachment on copyrights.

Illegal acquisition

- Softlifting ("quiet theft") - the acquisition of one licensed copy of the software and its installation 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 more computers (or for installation on a server for a limited number of clients on the corporate network), but the actual installation on the server of the company and the opening of access to it by more users than indicated in the license Agreement.

Distribution of software

- Internet piracy - laying out 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 its sale through a global network).

- Counterfeiting or manufacturing of counterfeit products is provided by replicating an illegal copy of the licensed software (with such a copy issued for licensed and authorized).

- Illegal copying of software to external media (disks, memory cards) for later 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, along 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 purchased with an educational license or with a license with limited commercial use (license terms are violated). On this security, addressed to educational institutions, as a rule, special discounts are provided.

- Factory piracy - sale of unaccounted for surpluses and "destroyed" production runs of the plant. This type of piracy occurs when the plant produces a greater number of copies of the product than it had the right (or in the event of non-destruction of the leftovers of the consignment of the goods). Such unaccounted-for products are then illegally sold.

Legal basis of technical protection of data

Technical protection of information is based on the following normative acts:

- "Protection of unauthorized access to information." Definitions and terms. " Decision of the Chairman of the State Technical Commission of Russia (30.03.1992).

- "Automated systems - Technologies of information security in case of unauthorized access - Classification of the automated system and requirements for information protection". Decision of the Chairman of the State Technical Commission of Russia (30.03.1992).

- "Computer hardware, Firewalls - Protection against unauthorized access - Indicators of security against unauthorized access to information". Decision of the Chairman of the State Technical Commission of Russia (25.07.1997).

- "Information security system in case of unauthorized access." Software of information protection means: Classification of the level of control of the absence of undeclared capabilities. " The decision of the Chairman of the State Technical Commission of Russia (04.06.1999).

It should be remembered that the technical protection of information at the moment is a weakly formalized task. In other words, the latter does not have formal methods of solution today.

Specificity of difficulties in organizing technical protection

- The presence of a large number of factors that affect the construction of effective information protection.

- Difficulties in establishing accurate initial input data.

- Difficulties in mathematical methods for obtaining optimal results for a set of initial data.

The problem of defining the concept of intellectual property

The legal norms of information established by the law, as well as the right to intellectual property, can not sufficiently enforce them. In addition to elementary fraud, there are certain situations when the solution to the problem of maintaining this right in full is simply not possible because of its ambiguity.

For example, one of the problematic moments that determine the legal norms for the protection of information is the ethics of reverse software development (program modification, key collection, use and export algorithms, and other closed information). On the one hand, reverse software development acts as a useful educational toolkit, on the other hand it is regarded as an infringement of copyrights to the program code. To date, there is no information on attempts to prove in court the fairness of the prosecution for reverse engineering. 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.