Information Technology Impact on Business: Facebook and Data Breaches

This report delves into the critical impact of Information Technology (IT) on modern businesses, particularly within the media industry, using Facebook as a primary case study. It explores the increasing dependency of businesses on IT infrastructure and the associated risks, including data breaches and security vulnerabilities. The report highlights the importance of IT for business survival, effective communication, expansion, and revenue generation. It discusses the Cambridge Analytica scandal and other data breaches, emphasizing the ethical and practical challenges of data security in media companies. The report also examines the need for robust monitoring systems and preventative measures to mitigate risks. It concludes by summarizing the key findings, underscoring the importance of proactive data protection strategies in the face of evolving cyber threats and privacy concerns.

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Information Technology for business
Topic- Report: IT impact on Business
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Executive summary
In this report, we will discuss the security breach in industries and their impact on IT. Due to
increased dependency on the use of technology, there is a rise in threat activities and that
makes a huge loss for the business. When a company has the backbone of IT then they cannot
survive without it, moreover, they can experience loss in terms of privacy loss, productivity
loss as well as loss in revenue generation. Thus, for effective security of business, there is a
need to set up anti-prevention methods in a systematic way so that the company can be
protective in case of any kind of data breach. Any business survives on the effective
relationship of customers and clients. Due to the use of IT at the business, there is a vast
generation of data and it’s completely management responsibility to protect data from any
kind of predictable and unpredictable data breach.

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Contents
Executive summary...............................................................................................................................2
Description............................................................................................................................................3
Importance of IT for business survival...................................................................................................4
Need to apply Designing in Facebook business.....................................................................................4
Use of IT in Media Company like Facebook...........................................................................................4
Risk in Media Company.........................................................................................................................5
Monitoring of business..........................................................................................................................6
Conclusion.............................................................................................................................................7
Reference..............................................................................................................................................7

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Description
Media is the top influenced industry for any country which brings lots of benefits and
opportunities. It supports revenue generation as well as the effective management of the
business. One of the top media company is Facebook which most of us are aware. Very soon
Facebook has become the most used social media platform for personal and professional life.
Not only Facebook allows us to engage our personal life but also it gives many chances of
business through a Facebook business profile. Politics, music, business, dance, enjoyment,
education, etc. like many sectors are influenced by the use of a social media platform like
Facebook. Users share lots of personal and professional data through this platform because
they believe that company like Facebook will always try to maintain the privacy of data.
However, this is just an illusion because there are a series of data breach happened in
Facebook and many times it has exploited the privacy of user’s data. One of the top myth is
that Facebook is using, users data for commercialization purpose and that the reason it is
completely free of use. They work in Utilitarianism ethical theory according to which doing
a great thing more majority of people can be good even though if it is unethical. Yes,
Facebook business is always dependent on the use of IT and that’s the reason there are many
scams happened to this industry.
Importance of IT for business survival
Most of the business today is dependent on the use of IT for its survival because through its
maximum number of peoples can be targeted at a time. Though there are most of the case
when Facebook is down for even 10 sec can make a huge loss for Facebook users. It is a
similar situation as when Google is down for 10 sec can make a huge loss for everyone. IT is
one of the major sources for effective management of business along with setting an effective
and secure communication medium. IT helps in the expansion of business root to different

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geographic location and it allows to connect through a secure platform with the help of the
network. Mobile network, remote network, VPN network are some of the common tools
which can be used to connect people sitting at a different location in the business chain.
Similarly, Facebook can be helpful in connecting people from a different location at one
platform. Advertising, branding, and promotion can be very easy with the help of these social
media platform and if any scandal happens there that can be a problem for the reputation of
the business (Poza, D. 2019)..
Need to apply Designing in Facebook business
However, any business which is dependent on the use of IT cannot run its own and it requires
the support of necessary methodology and tool. Designing is very much important in the use
of Facebook because this platform can be used to spread ideas in a decorative way. There are
different themes and background that can be chosen for the survival of the business
(Langone, A. 2018).
Use of IT in Media Company like Facebook
It can be used to establish a secure platform and database where data can be stored provided
by users. Further use of necessary tools and technique is appreciated for the protection of
data. Next, it can be used to connect inside employee as well as users of the company.
Suppose any Facebook users have a problem with their personal or business account they can
contact the support team. The support team will further look into the matter and take
necessary decision to sort out the matter. However, every connectivity in Facebook is
dependent on the use of IT (Essays, UK. November 2013)..

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Revenue generation, cost generation, and flexibility are the major benefits of the use of such
type of social media platform. Suppose the company has to place some advertisement they
can use a Facebook business account to reach end-user and that can increase the customer
list. Customers are the main agenda for any business and if they are managed effectively that
can be a great help in the survival of the business (Admin, W. 2018).
Risk in Media Company
The explosion of 50 million users accounts data through the app is one of the biggest scandal
reported ever in the year 2018. The recent incident of Cambridge analytics scandal has
highlighted the ethical breach in the use of the Facebook account. Company has shared user’s
data for commercialization purpose and for the benefits in the election. According to a report,
it is said that around 50 million user’s data has been shared to US president Trumps for
influencing voters behavior. This is data reach, confidentiality breach and that too without
users consent. Thus a major part of the risk in the media industry is identity theft, data breach,
confidentiality breach and well as loss of sensitivity of private and confidential data. There
are more than users apps which have developed quiz and to participate in that quiz they took
users permission in sharing their friend’s data too along with opinion. This way the company
has focused on influencing voter’s behavior and they had tried to manipulate elections results.
Another biggest scandal related to Facebook reported that hackers have stolen private
information from Facebook platform and they use their personal information including Photo
to get access in other third-party apps like Instagram and Spotify. After obtaining data from
the Facebook platform they tried to steal information from other platforms and they tried to
generate tokens. This way hackers can make a complete directory of data which can be used
to sell further for business benefits. While it is being clarified by the Facebook authority was

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unable to obtain financial information else they would have made a huge loss for the
company.
There are lots of risk for business it completely depends on the use of IT cybersecurity breach
is one of the topmost threat along with virus attack because through thing attackers get inside
the network and try to steal, damage or destroy the important data for the personal use of for
professional benefits. Christopher Wyle was the whistleblower of this Cambridge analytics
incident who took responsibility to explain all details of this scandals happened recently.
According to his report, around 87 million data has been harvested in a hidden manner and
user do not aware of this. Even Facebook authority said that they were touched by a privacy
crisis recently. Around 87 million users account information has been shared with Cambridge
analytics which was the highest rate of a data breach which has been reported before.
Monitoring of business
Monitoring of business is very important so that any threat type activities can be detected
before it occurs and can be corrected at the right time. There is much software available to
perform such type of activities like Intrusion detection and prevention system. This software
of capable of identifying suspicious activity and reporting to concerned authority so that any
losses can be prevented. Facebook is a big social media giant they have incorporated many
security features for users so that they can track their account against an unidentified threat. If
any suspicious activity happened immediately users will get a notification and the further
process can be the security of user account.
Conclusion
While concluding this report we have focused on Facebook Scandal with Cambridge
analytics according to which 50 million user data has been compromised. User data has been

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used for commercialization purpose. President Trump has used user’s data to influence
voter’s behavior in the election. Cambridge Analytica Company has launched a quiz related
to the election. Users have to sign up or log in through their Facebook account and also they
can recommend their friends account. By this method, the company has mined huge data and
make a big collection of user’s data. Even users have not provided all permission then also
they have gained access to data and hackers has used it for segmentation of election in the
US. As an outcome, many of the Facebook users have denied access to Cambridge analytics
in the sharing of data.
Reference
Admin, W. (2018). The Importance of Business Monitoring and Reporting. Retrieved from
https://www.whistl.co.uk/news/the-importance-of-business-monitoring-and-reporting
Essays, UK. (November 2013). Role Of Information Technology In Business Information
Technology Essay. Retrieved from
https://www.uniassignment.com/essay-samples/information-technology/role-of-information-
technology-in-business-information-technology-essay.php?vref=1
Langone, A. (2018). http://time.com. Retrieved from http://time.com/5205314/facebook-
cambridge-analytica-breach/
Lapowsky, I., Tiku, N., Baker-Whitcomb, A., Finley, K., Matsakis, L., & Barrett, B. (2019).
How Cambridge Analytica Sparked the Great Privacy Awakening. Retrieved from
https://www.wired.com/story/cambridge-analytica-facebook-privacy-awakening/

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Poza, D. (2019). 11 of the Worst Data Breaches in Media. Retrieved from
https://auth0.com/blog/11-of-the-worst-data-breaches-in-media/