The law and ethics: GDPR, Computer Misuse Act, Data Protection Act, ethical hacking and responsible disclosure

This week’s topics

The law and ethics: GDPR, Computer Misuse Act, Data Protection Act, ethical hacking and responsible disclosure

1. Legal frameworks (GDPR, Computer Misuse Act, Data Protection Act, CCPA), ethical hacking and responsible disclosure, surveillance and data rights
2. Case studies on the privacy-security trade-off

What you will be able to do

• 5.1 Explain the needs for legal and regulatory frameworks to govern Cyber Security and data protection.
• 5.2 Analyse the effectiveness of legal frameworks in ensuring information security.
• 5.3 Evaluate the trade-off between privacy and security in computer systems.

Activity

Start with this week’s 3 videos, then: Seminar, guided reading and a short written task: explain the needs for legal and regulatory frameworks to govern Cyber Security and data protection.

Study materials

Videos

• Data protection, copyright and the law · Oak National Academy, Key Stage 4 (GCSE level) · for registered students
• Careers in cyber security · Oak National Academy, Key Stage 4 (GCSE level) · for registered students
• What are the 7 principles of GDPR? · YouTube · Privacy Kitchen · 8 min · for registered students

Further resources

• GDPR (Regulation (EU) 2016/679), Articles 4–6 · PDF · Regulation (EU) 2016/679, OJ L 119, Articles 4–6: what counts as personal data, the processing principles and lawful bases, pp. 33–37 · for registered students
• Foundations of Information Systems, 6.3: Privacy from a Global Perspective · PDF · OpenStax Foundations of Information Systems (2025), 6.3: GDPR and other data-protection laws compared, pp. 227–233 · for registered students
• Computer Security Fundamentals, ch. 1: Introduction to Computer Security · PDF · Easttom, Computer Security Fundamentals 4e, publisher sample, ch. 1: hacking, malware and the law, pp. 2–31 · for registered students
• Foundations of Information Systems, 5.2: Threats, countermeasures and ethical hacking · PDF · OpenStax Foundations of Information Systems (2025), 5.2 on social engineering, countermeasures and ethical hacking (pen testing), pp. 172–177 · for registered students
• The European Union General Data Protection Regulation: what it is and what it means · Open-access article · Hoofnagle et al. (2019), Information & Communications Technology Law. Clear overview of what the GDPR is and what counts as personal data. · for registered students
• Business Ethics, 6.4: Privacy in the Workplace · PDF · OpenStax Business Ethics (2018), 6.4: employee monitoring, personal vs work accounts and privacy, pp. 168–178 · for registered students