ETHICS FOR IT WORKERS

AND IT USERS
 As you read this chapter,
LEARNING consider the following questions:
OBJECTIVE • What relationships must an IT worker
S manage, and what key ethical issues can
arise in each?
• What can be done to encourage the
professionalism of IT workers?
• What ethical issues do IT users face, and
what can be done to encourage their
ethical behavior?
What • An IT worker must maintain good working relationships
with employers, clients, suppliers, other professionals, IT
relationships users, and society at large.
must an IT • Each relationship has its own set of ethical issues and
worker manage, potential problems.
and what key • In relationships between IT workers and employers,
ethical issues can important issues include setting and enforcing policies
regarding the ethical use of IT, the potential for whistle-
arise in each? blowing, and the safeguarding of trade secrets.
• In relationships between IT workers and clients, key issues
revolve around defining, sharing, and fulfilling each party’s
responsibilities for successfully completing an IT project.
• The IT worker must remain objective and guard against
any sort of conflict of interest, fraud, misrepresentation,
or breach of contract.
 • A major goal for IT workers and suppliers is to
What develop good working relationships in which no
relationships action can be perceived as unethical.
must an IT • Bribery is the act of providing money, property,
worker manage, or favors to someone in business or government
and what key in order to obtain a business advantage.
ethical issues can • Internal control is the process established by an
arise in each? organization’s board of directors, managers, and
IT group
• to provide reasonable assurance for the
effectiveness and efficiency of operations
• the reliability of financial reporting, and
compliance with applicable laws and
regulations.
What • Policies are the guidelines, standards, and laws
relationships by which the organization must abide.
must an IT • Policies drive processes and procedures.
worker manage, • Processes are a collection of tasks designed to
and what key accomplish a stated objective.
ethical issues can
• A procedure defines the exact instructions for
arise in each? completing each task in a process.
• A fundamental concept of good internal control
is the careful separation of duties associated with
any process that involves the handling of
financial transactions so that different aspects of
the process are handled by different people.
What • In relationships between IT workers and other
relationships professionals, the priority is to improve the profession
must an IT through activities such as mentoring inexperienced
worker manage, colleagues, demonstrating professional loyalty, and
avoiding résumé inflation and the inappropriate sharing of
and what key corporate information.
ethical issues can • In relationships between IT professionals and IT users,
arise in each? important issues include software piracy, inappropriate
use of IT resources, and inappropriate sharing of
information.
• When it comes to the relationship between IT workers and
society at large, the main challenge for IT workers is to
practice the profession in ways that cause no harm to
society and provide significant benefits.
What can be • A professional is one who possess the skill, good
done to judgment, and work habits expected from a
encourage the person who has the training and experience to
do a job well.
professionalism
of IT workers? • A professional is expected:
• to contribute to society
• to participate in a lifelong training program
• to keep abreast of developments in the field
• to help develop other professionals.
 Many IT organizations are desperately seeking
workers who have the following characteristics of a
ENCOURAGING professional:
THE
PROFESSIONALIS a. They are an expert in the tools and skills
M needed to do their job.
OF IT WORKERS b. They adhere to high ethical and moral
standards.
c. They produce high quality results.
d. They meet their commitments.
e. They communicate effectively.
f. They train and develop others who are less
skilled or experienced.
What can be
done to IT workers of all types can improve their
encourage the profession’s reputation for professionalism by:
professionalism 1. subscribing to a professional code of ethics,
of IT workers? 2. joining and participating in professional
organizations
3. obtaining appropriate certifications, and
4. supporting government licensing where
available.
What can be • A professional code of ethics states the principles
done to and core values that are essential to the work of
a particular occupational group.
encourage the
• Codes of ethics usually have two main parts
professionalism
of IT workers? • The first outlines what the organization aspires
to become and the second typically lists rules
and principles that members are expected to live
by.
• The codes also typically include a commitment to
continuing education for those who practice the
profession.
 • Adherence to a code of ethics can produce many
What can be benefits for the individual, the profession, and
done to society as a whole, including:
encourage the a. ethical decision making
professionalism b. high standards of practice and ethical behavior
of IT workers?
c. trust and respect with the general public, and
d. access to an evaluation benchmark that can be
used for self-assessment.
• Several IT-related professional organizations have
developed a code of ethics, including ACM, IEEE-
CS, AITP, and SANS.
 • Many people believe that the licensing and
certification of IT workers would increase the
What can be reliability and effectiveness of information
done to systems.
encourage the • Certification indicates that a professional
professionalism possesses a particular set of skills, knowledge, or
of IT workers? abilities, in the opinion of the certifying
organization.
• Numerous companies and professional
organization offer certification.
• Namibia supports the licensing of software
engineers, and the Engineering Council have
ultimate responsibility over specific
requirements for licensing in their jurisdiction.
What ethical • IT users face several common ethical issues, including
issues do IT users software piracy, inappropriate use of computing
resources, and inappropriate sharing of information.
face, and what
can be done to • Actions that can be taken to encourage the ethical
behavior of IT users include:
encourage their
ethical a. establishing guidelines for the use of company
hardware and software;
behavior?
b. defining an AUP for the use of IT resources;
c. structuring information systems to protect data
and information;
d. installing and maintaining a corporate firewall; and
ensuring compliance with laws, policies, and
standards.
 • Software piracy in a corporate setting can sometimes
be directly traceable to IT professionals
• They might allow it to happen, or they might actively
Software Piracy engage in it.
• Corporate IT usage policies and management should
encourage users to report instances of piracy and to
challenge its practice.
• Sometimes IT users are the ones who commit
software piracy.
• A common violation occurs when employees copy
software from their work computers for use at home.
 • Some employees use their computers to surf popular
websites that have nothing to do with their jobs,
participate in chat rooms, view pornographic sites,
Inappropriate Use and play computer games.
of Computing • These activities eat away at a worker’s productivity
Resources and waste time.
• Furthermore, activities such as :
a. viewing sexually explicit material
b. sharing lewd jokes
c. sending hate email
• could lead to lawsuits and allegations that a company
allowed a work environment conducive to racial or
sexual harassment.
 • Every organization stores vast amounts of information that can be
classified as either private or confidential.
• Private data describe individual employees—for example, their
salary information, attendance data, health records, and
Inappropriate performance ratings.
Sharing of • Private data also include information about customers—credit
Information card information, telephone number, home address, etc
• Confidential information describes a company and its operations,
including sales and promotion plans, staffing projections,
manufacturing processes, product formulas, tactical and strategic
plans, and research and development.
• An IT user who shares this information with an unauthorized
party, even inadvertently, has violated someone’s privacy or
created the potential that company information could fall into the
hands of competitors.
• For example, if an employee accessed a coworker’s payroll
records via a human resources computer system and then
discussed them with a friend, it would be a clear violation of the
coworker’s privacy.
What ethical
issues do IT users • The information security (infosec) group is
face, and what responsible for managing the processes, tools,
can be done to and policies necessary to prevent, detect,
encourage their document, and counter threats to digital and
ethical nondigital information.
behavior? • The audit committee of a board of directors and
members of the internal audit team have a major
role in ensuring that both the IT organization and
IT users are in compliance with organizational
guidelines and policies as well as various legal
and regulatory practices.
What ethical
issues do IT users • The information security (infosec) group is
face, and what responsible for managing the processes, tools,
can be done to and policies necessary to prevent, detect,
encourage their document, and counter threats to digital and
ethical nondigital information.
behavior? • The audit committee of a board of directors and
members of the internal audit team have a major
role in ensuring that both the IT organization and
IT users are in compliance with organizational
guidelines and policies as well as various legal
and regulatory practices.
Supporting the • Establishing Guidelines for Use of Company
Ethical Practices Hardware and Software
of IT Users • Defining an Acceptable Use Policy
• Structuring Information Systems to Protect Data
and Information
• Installing and Maintaining a Corporate Firewall
• Compliance
End