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The legal department has required that all traffic to and from a company's cloud-based word processing and email system is logged. To meet this requirement, the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) has implemented a next-generation firewall to perform inspection of the secure traffic and has decided to use a cloud- based log aggregation solution for all traffic that is logged.

Which of the following presents a long-term risk to user privacy in this scenario?

A. Confidential or sensitive documents are inspected by the firewall before being logged.
B. Latency when viewing videos and other online content may increase.
C. Reports generated from the firewall will take longer to produce due to more information from inspected traffic.
D. Stored logs may contain non-encrypted usernames and passwords for personal websites.

User Dandean
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Final answer:

The long-term user privacy risk in this scenario is that stored logs might contain non-encrypted usernames and passwords, leading to potential unauthorized access and privacy violations. Ensuring encryption and compliance with privacy protection laws is vital for maintaining privacy and security. Balancing government surveillance and individual rights is an ongoing global debate impacting strategies for cyber information protection.

Step-by-step explanation:

The long-term risk to user privacy in the scenario where all traffic to and from a company's cloud-based word processing and email system is logged, and a next-generation firewall is used, is that stored logs may contain non-encrypted usernames and passwords for personal websites. Such sensitive information, when not appropriately encrypted, can become vulnerable to unauthorized access and exploitation, potentially leading to identity theft, financial loss, and privacy violations.

In the context of online privacy and security, it is critical for organizations to comply with laws designed to protect personal data, like the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) in the U.S., and to balance the needs for security with the right to privacy and freedom of expression. Since the firewall inspects and logs confidential or sensitive documents, ensuring that these logs are safely stored and protected is vital to prevent any compromise of privacy.

Moreover, the global debate over the balance between government surveillance for safety and national security, and the individuals' right to privacy of their cyber information, reflects the ongoing tension in determining adequate privacy protection levels. Therefore, the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) needs to ensure that user privacy is not compromised during the implementation of security measures like traffic logging and inspection.

User Jim U
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