WGU D333 TASK 1 |
ACCURATE AND
VERIFIED | 2026
UPDATE
Ethics in Technology D333
Task 1
14 | 8 | 2026
A1. Ethical Issue
I will discuss the first scenario: Homeowners Association Uses a License
Plate Reader. The prompt describes how a Homeowners Association (HOA)
deployed a license plate scanner at the entrance of their community. The
HOA stated that the intent of the technology is to track unauthorized
vehicles entering the community while also possibly catching potential
criminal activity. The residents voiced distrust of the HOA's scanner while
citing concerns about the potential misuse of the scanner. HOA workers said
there are no clear guidelines on the duration of the stored data captured
from the scanner, nor who has access to it.
There are two glaring ethical issues in this scenario. First, the duration of
the data storage should be clearly defined and then safely destroyed after
the timeline has lapsed. Confirmation of this process should be audited
periodically. Secondly, there should be an authorized list of users accessing
this data. Without this safeguard, personal data can be misused.
A2. Impact of Ethical Issue
Misuse of data can have a severe impact. Without proper access controls to
the data, like an access control list (ACL), unauthorized users, such as
malicious actors in the HOA or unassociated hackers, could take the
resident’s license plate information and discover who owns the car, where
they live, and other personal private information. These problems affect the
HOA residents, visitors, delivery personnel, employees, potential residents,
and anyone who passes the gates into the community. Somebody can use
sensitive identification information negatively in many ways, such as
ACCURATE AND
VERIFIED | 2026
UPDATE
Ethics in Technology D333
Task 1
14 | 8 | 2026
A1. Ethical Issue
I will discuss the first scenario: Homeowners Association Uses a License
Plate Reader. The prompt describes how a Homeowners Association (HOA)
deployed a license plate scanner at the entrance of their community. The
HOA stated that the intent of the technology is to track unauthorized
vehicles entering the community while also possibly catching potential
criminal activity. The residents voiced distrust of the HOA's scanner while
citing concerns about the potential misuse of the scanner. HOA workers said
there are no clear guidelines on the duration of the stored data captured
from the scanner, nor who has access to it.
There are two glaring ethical issues in this scenario. First, the duration of
the data storage should be clearly defined and then safely destroyed after
the timeline has lapsed. Confirmation of this process should be audited
periodically. Secondly, there should be an authorized list of users accessing
this data. Without this safeguard, personal data can be misused.
A2. Impact of Ethical Issue
Misuse of data can have a severe impact. Without proper access controls to
the data, like an access control list (ACL), unauthorized users, such as
malicious actors in the HOA or unassociated hackers, could take the
resident’s license plate information and discover who owns the car, where
they live, and other personal private information. These problems affect the
HOA residents, visitors, delivery personnel, employees, potential residents,
and anyone who passes the gates into the community. Somebody can use
sensitive identification information negatively in many ways, such as
