Abstract:

The purpose of this review is to provide a comprehensive understanding of the closely related nature of Information Security (IS) and Digital Rights Management (DRM). Students and educators are familiar with the "front-end" of technology yet the information gathering and processing that occurs via the "back-end" is largely unfamiliar to both parties. It is the researcher's opinion that more information needs to be shared and expounded on involving information security and how it impacts the end user. This knowledge will potentially allow educators to create better informed decisions when generating coursework or designing a new LMS. Advances in our technological landscape and the ability of the user to self-generate content while being socially connected to a network of peers, created a new level of IS awareness that Shaw et al. (2009) expounded on by stating that “users with low security awareness are one of the weakest security loopholes” (p.93). A feature that is handcuffed to IS, and one that is harder to find with our interconnected world, is that of privacy. In short, our ability to educate, protect, and conceal data was at the forefront of our socially connected world and led to a new decade in how we viewed our privacy, and the steps needed to ensure intellectual ownership (especially in the mobile environment). In recent years, an interesting and potentially useful technology has emerged that could shift the centralized nature of repositories. This technology, coupled with the idea of peer-to-peer (P2P) networking, revolves around the notion of a dispersed digital ledger to record transactions in a safe environment. In reviewing similar literature, information security as it pertains to the Internet of Things (IoT) has garnered much attention due to the amount of data these systems gather. Be it video surveillance, wireless sensor devices, home automation, or medical machines, all of these “things” track, gather, and store personal data and potentially (or eventually) intellectual property.

Keywords:

Information security, digital rights management, privacy, blockchain, ICT.