Course Research Project part 2
Part II – Investigation and Review
In part II, you will closely study the materials found on the topic and conduct research to fully understand the relevant details. Based on your research and investigation, you are going to describe your understandings in the review. For example, if you chose “An investigation on Facebook privacy issues” as your topic, you should describe its privacy policies in detail and present different ways to enforce privacy in Facebook. As a result, at least 800 words are expected for this part. Biblical worldview should be integrated in an appropriate manner and supported by Scripture. If you have used additional references in this part, be sure to include them at the end with the references from Part I. The second submission of the course project is due by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Sunday of module/week 6.
Cyber Securityinformation systems
CSCI 620
Grading RUBRIC for Project Part 2
Total: 80 Points
Criteria
Levels of Achievement
Content 70%
(56 points)
Advanced
Proficient
Developing
Not present
Comprehension on Selected Materials
(20 points)
18 to 20 points
The selected materials are carefully studied and fully understood.
17 to 17 points
The selected materials are studied and understood with some points being unclear.
1 to 16 points
The selected materials are studied and understood to a certain level.
0 points
Investigation of Current Approaches
(20 points)
18 to 20 points
Extensive investigation of current approaches is conducted.
17 to 17 points
An investigation of current approaches is conducted with some missing elements.
1 to 16 points
An investigation of current approaches is conducted to a certain level.
0 points
Project Review
(11 points)
11 to 11 points
The project review is thorough and detailed.
10 to 9 points
The project review is thorough though it should be more detailed at points.
1 to 8 points
The project review should be more thorough or detailed.
0 points
Biblical Worldview
(5 points)
5 to 5 points
Major tenets of a biblical worldview are integrated in an appropriate manner, supported by Scripture.
4 to 4 points
Tenets of a biblical worldview are integrated, supported by Scripture.
1 to 3 points
Some biblical concepts are integrated but may be narrow in scope or may not be congruent.
0 points
Structure 30%
(24 points)
Advanced
Proficient
Developing
Not present
Word Count
(10 points)
10 to 10 points
The paper contains at least 800 words.
8 to 9 points
The paper contains 700-799 words.
1 to 7 points
The paper contains less than 700 words.
0 points
APA Format, Spelling and Grammar
(7 points)
7 to 7 points
APA format is followed; proper spelling and grammar are used.
6 to 6 points
APA format is largely followed; between 1-2 spelling and grammar errors are present.
1 to 5 points
APA format is not consistently followed; between 3-4 spelling and grammar errors are present.
0 points
Reference Information
(7 points)
7 to 7 points
At least 5 references with complete information are included.
6 to 6 points
4 references with complete information are included.
1 to 5 points
Less than 4 references with complete information are included.
0 points
Running head: AN INVESTIGATION ON FACEBOOK PRIVACY ISSUES
AN INVESTIGATION ON FACEBOOK PRIVACY ISSUES
6
An investigation on Facebook privacy issues
Trevor Henry
Liberty University
09/20/20
PART I – TOPIC SELECTION AND INTRODUCTION
An investigation on Facebook privacy issues
Facebook is an online social media platform and social networking service that has faced many privacy issues. Data privacy issues at Facebook culminated, especially in 2018, following revelations that some organizations had harvested user data and information which was used for targeted advertisements. Cambridge Analytica Limited is a British strategic communication and political consulting organization that was involved in Facebook’s data privacy issues. Cambridge Analytica was behind Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and pro-Brexit Leave EU campaign. The company harvested and used data from Facebook users to execute the campaigns while targeting a specific population. Apart from Cambridge Analytica, other organizations also used the same techniques to gather personal data and information from Facebook users.
Generally, Facebook data privacy issues are centered around the gathering of personally identifiable data and information of more than 87 million Facebook users (Duarte, 2020). The prominent firm involved in the scandal is Cambridge Analytica. This firm and other organizations gained access to users’ data. A combination of various factors contributed to this problem. The main issue that contributed to the problem was the lack of adequate safeguards to ensure other organizations did not engage in data harvesting. Other factors that contributed to the problem are users agreeing to uncertain terms and conditions, developer abuse of Facebook Application Programming Interface, and Facebook failed to adequately oversee developers.
Cambridge Analytica used a personality quiz application known as thisisyourdigitiallife app to collect personally identifiable data and information. The data and information collected using the application were used to create the users’ psychographic profile (Sanders, & Patterson, 2018). Facebook users who added the application to their accounts and collected the quiz gave the developer of the app the ability to access their profile information and user history. Moreover, the creator of the app was able to access the user’s friends list and information. An example of information that was gathered was items that Facebook users and their friends like. From a Biblical viewpoint, Christians need to honor the need for privacy, but Facebook failed to do this. Researchers found out that the thisisyourdigitiallife app has the capability to accurately and automatically predict different sets of sensitive personal attributes such as political views, intelligence, sexual orientation, etc. This can be achieved if the app is used with a model that uses logistic regression and dimensionality reduction. The predictions of personal attributes are based on what users have liked and how frequently they like certain things.
Facebook has faced many privacy-related incidences for more than a decade, and this has mainly been attributed to insufficient and inadequate data privacy protection measures. The severity of the data privacy cases at an individual level varied; however, the sequence of the cases is an indication of systematic problems (Arora, & Zinolabedini, 2019). In 2007, Facebook was involved in a case that involved the violation of the Video Privacy Protection Act, whereby Beacon illegally used titles on Facebook News Feed. As a result, Facebook was forced to pay $9.9 million as compensation (Sanders, & Patterson, 2018). In 2011, Facebook promised to address data privacy issues. Facebook disclosed that the personal details of more than 6 million users had been exposed in 2013. In this scandal, users who downloaded their Facebook account history were able to obtain the details of their friends’ email addresses and phone numbers. In 2018, a scandal involving the collection of data from more than 50 million Facebook users by Cambridge Analytica came to the limelight. An investigation was opened in March 2018 to examine if terms had been violated by Facebook (Sanders, & Patterson, 2018).
In February 2019, Facebook added a feature that allowed users to have the capability of deleting messages up to 10 minutes after sending a message. However, it was reported that Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg had deleted messages months after sending them, which was controversial. In June 2018, a report showed that Facebook did not honor its privacy policy because the data-sharing partnerships with mobile device providers such as Samsung and Apple were maintained. However, Facebook repudiated the claims indicating that device users were responsible for making their own decisions on the kind of information they share. The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Federal Trade Commission joined in 2018 to investigate the issue involving the Cambridge Analytica Facebook data scandal. A privacy loophole was reported in July 2018 whereby a Google Chrome plug-in known as Grouply.io enabled users to gain access to private Facebook group members’ lists. More than 800 pages and Facebook accounts were deleted by Facebook in October 2018 for violating rules (Sanders, & Patterson, 2018).
In March 2019, Facebook made an announcement on its plan to improve its services around encryption and privacy. However, in the same month, there was a lapse in security whereby millions of passwords were stored in plain text. From a Biblical point of view, this is considered hypocritical. In Matthew 6, people should do good deeds covered rather than proclaiming them and failing to do so. Acts 5:41 also encourages people to do good deeds without fear. Facebook claimed that they would improve privacy for users, but they failed to do so. In July 2020, around 5,000 third-party developers were able to access user data without the users’ consent. From a Biblical point of view, sharing users’ data to third-party developers is wrong and unlawful because it failed to obey the data privacy policy and laws. According to Romans 13:3, people should fear authority and do what is right. The key organizations that are involved in the Facebook data privacy issues are Cambridge Analytica, SCL Group, Global Science Research, Emerdata, Onavo, Cubeyou, and Internet Research Agency. In conclusion, the case of Facebook privacy issues is a lesson for Christians to know the need to be responsible for their own and friends’ information. Christians have a responsibility to protect the privacy of other people and take care of their own privacy. From a Biblical viewpoint, truthfulness is significantly connected to privacy. Ephesians 4:25 emphasizes on the need to speak the truth.
References
Arora, N., & Zinolabedini, D. (2019). The Ethical Implications of the 2018 Facebook-Cambridge Analytica Data Scandal. Student Works.
Duarte, R. P. G. M. (2020). Case study: Facebook in face of crisis (Doctoral dissertation).
Sanders, J., & Patterson, D. (2018). Facebook Data Privacy Scandal: A Cheat Sheet. TechRepublic. Retrived from:
https://www.techrepublic.com/article/facebook-dataprivacy-scandal-a-cheat-sheet/
.
CSCI 620
Course Research Project Instructions
In the course, we have covered various security and privacy issues that arise in the cyberspace field. We have learned to identify these risks and have discussed the current approaches and developments for mitigating them. In the course project, you are going to select a topic in the area and further investigate it. It is a research-oriented project. You will need to use your research skills to find relevant literature on the topic. After studying the materials, you will use critical thinking skills to explore and analyze the details. A thoughtful discussion should follow with a concise summary concluding in the end.
Part I – Topic Selection and Introduction
In part I of the project, you need to select a topic that is of interest to you and within the area of the course. You can either come up with a topic yourself or choose one provided in the following list. Next, you will find substantive resources on the selected topic, or at least five references from reputable sources such as research articles, whitepapers, well-known websites, etc. An introduction to the topic with at least 700 words is expected for this part. Biblical worldview should be integrated in an appropriate manner and supported by Scripture. Be sure to include your complete reference information at the end. The first submission of the course project is due by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Sunday of module/week 4.
Suggested Topics:
1. An overview of Google’s cloud computing services and their security
2. An investigation on Facebook privacy issues
3. iOS and its security
4. A survey on government surveillance software
5. Blockchain technology
6. IoT’s security threats and countermeasures
Part II – Investigation and Review
In part II, you will closely study the materials found on the topic and conduct research to fully understand the relevant details. Based on your research and investigation, you are going to describe your understandings in the review. For example, if you chose “An investigation on Facebook privacy issues” as your topic, you should describe its privacy policies in detail and present different ways to enforce privacy in Facebook. As a result, at least 800 words are expected for this part. Biblical worldview should be integrated in an appropriate manner and supported by Scripture. If you have used additional references in this part, be sure to include them at the end with the references from Part I. The second submission of the course project is due by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Sunday of module/week 6.
Part III – Discussion and Summary
Based on the details and your supported understandings in Part II, you are going to further discuss the topic in Part III. Still using “An investigation on Facebook privacy issues” as an example here, you need to evaluate Facebook’s approach for privacy and examine the risks. You will answer questions such as “What are the privacy risks using Facebook?” and “What approaches are developed to address such risks?” Again, you will need to conduct research to find the answers to these questions. A thoughtful and coherent discussion is expected for this part, followed by a summary to wrap up your research work. This part should contain at least 1000 words. Biblical worldview should be integrated in an appropriate manner and supported by Scripture. If you have used additional references in this part, be sure to include them at the end with all previous references from Part I and Part II as well. The final submission of the course project is due by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Sunday of module/week 7.
General Guidelines:
It is recommended to include prior part(s) of the course project when you make a submission, i.e., to include the first part of the project when you make the second submission and include the prior two parts when you make the final submission. The final submission with all 3 parts included should contain at least 2,500 words. In addition to course materials and the Bible, a minimum of 5 references is required for this project. Your submissions should follow current APA formatting style and for guideline details, please refer to the current edition of the APA publication manual.