Ethical Issues in Information Technology

Running head: PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE IN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
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Professional Practice in Information Technology
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PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE IN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
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Professional Practice in Information Technology
Introduction
When practicing information technology parties may encounter a scenario which might
affect their decision-making ability. This may lead to financial and other kinds of loss to the
stakeholders. In a seminar attended several ethical issues emerging from information technology
were analyzed. These ethical issues were arising from; education, plagiarism, piracy, file sharing,
hacking, and computer crime.
Hacking
In the analysis carried out by the group in the seminar hacking was one of the major
ethical issues. A hacker is can be any person with enough knowledge to gain access without
authorization to computer systems. Several stakeholders are affected by hacking such as; system
owners, systems users, system designers, and system builders.
Hacking is undertaken to if an individual wish to damage a system or grasp how the system
works. In some scenarios, a hacker's ethics can be arguable. Some hackers create awareness of
the fact that some systems are insecure and need to be improved. Hacking also brings about a
moral dilemma. This is because organizations hire reformed hackers to shield themselves from
other hackers.
Ethical concerns such as security arise due to hacking. Hackers use internet protocol
address and internet cookies to gain access to an individual computer and collect information.
This has exposed users to risks of fraud, denial of services, identity theft and conflicting
interests. In banking, money transfer can easily be disrupted by a hacker and money conveyed in
their individual accounts. A digital divide is also seen as some argue hackers play an important
role. This is because they show if a system is insecure and need to be improved. Some see
hackers as harmful as they hack systems for their personal gains. (Foridi, 2010)
Stakeholders are presented with several rights in information technology. Encryption as a right
provides security and privacy which is important to exercise the right to freedom of opinion and
expression in the digital age. The Australian Computer Society Code of Ethics provides
regulations in society. It advocates individuals to uphold and honor the profession of information
technology and keep a high standard of competence and ethical conduct. It also promotes
honesty as it stipulates one must not misrepresent his skills and knowledge.
Human rights in information technology must be encouraged. This is by enforcing the
rule of law. Lack of legal protection means the government is relying solely on technical
measures for protection. Where legal protection is adequate the stakeholders are increasingly
able to compete in the new economy.
Hacking can be avoided by encrypting your devices, updating your software frequently,
downloading security programs and destroying all traces of your personal information on
hardware.