Logging in with a friend's password just to look: is it a crime?

The Computer Misuse Act 1990

• The Computer Misuse Act 1990 (CMA) makes hacking a crime in the UK. Unauthorised means without the owner's permission.

• Maximum prison terms: 2, 5 and 10 years. Making or supplying hacking tools for these crimes is also an offence (up to 2 years).

Laws that protect personal data

• Personal data is any information that identifies a living person: name, address, photo, location, health records.
• In the UK, the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA) and the UK GDPR control how organisations collect, store and use it. Organisations must follow seven principles:

• GDPR stands for General Data Protection Regulation. Since Brexit the UK has its own version, the UK GDPR, which works alongside the DPA 2018.

Your rights over your data

• The person the data is about is the data subject. The organisation deciding how it is used is the data controller.

• Serious data breaches must be reported to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) within 72 hours of finding out.
• Penalties: ICO fines up to £17.5 million or 4% of worldwide turnover, whichever is higher. Obtaining or sharing personal data without the controller's permission is a crime (fine).

Surveillance, monitoring and openness

• RIPA also used to control the interception of phone calls and emails. Since 2018 that power, and the business monitoring rules, have moved into the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 and its regulations. Your exam uses the names above.

You paid for an app. What exactly did your money buy?

Who owns software?

• Intellectual property (IP): creations of the mind, such as code, music, inventions, brands.
• Copyright protects a creator's work, including code, graphics and sound. It applies automatically and usually lasts the creator's life plus 70 years.
• It protects the work, not the idea.
• The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 makes copying, sharing or selling a work without permission illegal.
• Penalty: up to 10 years for selling pirate copies.

Software licences

• A software licence is the copyright owner's legal permission to use their software, with rules attached.
• Buying software normally gets you a licence, not the copyright.
• A licence can set: how many devices or users; whether you may copy, change or pass it on; one-off or subscription.
• Why license? Creators earn money and control use; users get clear, legal permission.

Creative Commons licences

• A Creative Commons (CC) licence lets a creator keep copyright but give everyone advance permission to reuse a work, on conditions.

• Six licences combine these, from CC BY (most open) to CC BY-NC-ND (least open). CC0 gives up all rights.
• Breaking the conditions is copyright infringement.

A free app knows where you were all week. Who agreed to that?

Personal data and privacy

• Personal data identifies you: name, photos, location, browsing history, smartwatch health data.
• Privacy is your right to control who sees information about you.
• Apps collect it through permissions and by tracking what you do.
• Data is valuable for targeting adverts or selling on. "Free" apps are often paid for with your data.

Consent and misuse

• Consent means agreeing to your data being collected and used. Fair consent is informed, freely given and easy to withdraw.
• Tapping "Allow" or accepting the terms is usually treated as consent, read or not.
• Misuse: using data in ways people didn't agree to, such as selling or leaking it.

Issues across new technologies

• Most technologies bring benefits and risks; exam answers should weigh both.

Culture and inclusion

• The digital divide is the gap between people with technology and the skills to use it, and those without. Causes: cost, age, poor broadband, disability.
• Those left out lose access to jobs, learning and online-only services.
• Inclusion: screen readers, captions and voice control help everyone.
• Cultural change: online shopping empties high streets; social media reshapes friendships.
• Working conditions: remote working, staff monitoring, automation.

Professional standards

• Computing workers control systems and data others rely on, so they must behave ethically.
• A formal code is written and signed up to: an acceptable use policy, or a professional code such as the BCS Code of Conduct.
• An informal code is unwritten: expectations, customs, habits, personal integrity.
• Hacker hats: white (has permission), black (criminal), grey (no permission, no harm meant).

Your old phone is in a drawer. Why does that matter to the planet?

The life of a device

• Every device goes through four stages, and each affects the environment.

• Much of the impact happens before you even switch a device on.

Energy consumption

• Devices, routers and servers use electricity, much of it still generated from fossil fuels, releasing carbon dioxide.
• Data centres run nonstop and need cooling. In 2024 they used about 1.5% of the world's electricity (415 TWh), expected to more than double by 2030, partly due to AI.
• To cut it: efficient processors, sleep modes, renewable energy, cool-climate data centres, switching off instead of standby.

E-waste and disposal

• E-waste is thrown-away electrical and electronic equipment. It is growing faster than recycling.
• In landfill, toxic substances such as mercury and lead can leak into soil and water.
• Some is shipped to poorer countries and burned or stripped by hand, harming workers' health.
• Recycling recovers metals: 2022's e-waste held about US$91 billion worth.
• Best first: keep using, repair, reuse, then recycle.

Technology can also help

• Smart meters and smart heating show energy use and cut waste.
• Video calls and remote working reduce travel.
• Sensors and satellites monitor pollution, deforestation and ice loss; computer models forecast weather and climate change.
• Online documents and e-tickets save paper, although the servers behind them still use energy.
• In an exam answer, weigh the harms against these benefits.

Big ideas

• Getting into a computer system without permission is a crime, even with no damage; adding intent to commit another crime or to impair the system makes it more serious. (Computer Misuse Act 1990: up to 2, 5 or 10 years)
• Organisations must collect only the personal data they need, keep it accurate and secure, use it only for the stated purpose and delete it when no longer needed; people can see and correct their data.
• RIPA controls surveillance by public bodies; the Lawful Business Practice Regulations let organisations monitor their own networks; the Freedom of Information Act lets anyone request information from public authorities.
• Copyright protects code, images and music automatically; the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 makes copying, sharing or selling them without permission illegal.
• When you buy software you buy a licence: permission to use it on set terms.
• Creative Commons licences (BY, SA, NC, ND) let creators share work on their own conditions.
• Personal data has value; collecting and using it fairly needs informed consent, and using it for anything else is misuse.
• New technologies bring benefits and risks: weigh both, including privacy, safety and who is responsible.
• Professionals follow formal codes (written, signed) and informal codes (customs, integrity); the digital divide means technology affects people unequally.
• Devices harm the environment at every stage: manufacture, use (energy), the replacement cycle and disposal.
• E-waste is growing faster than recycling; keeping devices longer, repairing and recycling all help.
• Technology also helps the environment, so good answers weigh benefits against harms.