Security and Ethics (Unhu/Ubuntu): notes

Cyber-wellness and Unhu/Ubuntu

Behave online as you would in person: respect others, do not bully, do not share private things about people, and think before you post. Unhu/Ubuntu/Vumunhu means "I am because we are": your actions online affect the whole community.

Copyright, plagiarism and piracy

• Copyright is the legal right of a creator to control copies of their work.
• Plagiarism is presenting someone else's work or ideas as your own. Fix it by citing your sources.
• Piracy is copying or selling software, music or films without permission.

Computer crime

• Hacking: getting into a computer system without permission.
• Malware: harmful software. A virus attaches to files and spreads; a worm spreads by itself over a network; a Trojan pretends to be useful; spyware watches what you do; ransomware locks files until you pay.
• Phishing: fake emails or messages that trick you into giving passwords or bank details.
• Identity theft and online fraud use stolen personal details.

Protecting data

• Strong passwords, changed often; two-factor authentication.
• Firewall: checks traffic in and out and blocks what is not allowed.
• Antivirus: finds and removes malware. Keep it updated.
• Encryption: scrambles data so only someone with the key can read it.
• Access rights: each user sees only what their job needs.

Privacy and integrity

• Privacy: personal data is kept from people who should not see it.
• Data integrity: data stays accurate and complete. Validation and verification help.

Backup and disaster recovery

• A backup is a copy of data kept somewhere else (another drive, the cloud, off site).
• A disaster recovery plan says what to do after fire, flood, theft or attack: who acts, where backups are, how to restore systems.