A Study on the Behavioral Roots of Information System Security

This report delves into the behavioral roots of information system security, examining the impact of unethical practices in the IT sector. It highlights how individual behaviors and perceptions, influenced by factors such as socio-economic background and ethical values, contribute to cyber security threats. The paper explores various ethical theories, including consequentialist and deontological schools, to understand decision-making processes related to unethical technology use. It introduces the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) as a framework for assessing individuals' intentions towards unethical actions. Furthermore, the report defines unethical practices in information technology based on privacy, accuracy, property, and accessibility, and identifies driving forces behind such behaviors, including moral intensity. The proposed non-technical solutions involve spreading awareness, while technical solutions include AI-driven software to detect and analyze user behavior to predict potential cybercrimes. The report aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the complexities surrounding unethical technology use and proposes strategies for mitigation.

Running head: THE BEHAVIORAL ROOTS OF INFORMATION SYSTEM SECURITY
THE BEHAVIORAL ROOTS OF INFORMATION SYSTEM SECURITY
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The behavioral roots of information system security
First-name Surname1*, Second-name Surname2 and Third-name Surname3
1Affiliation 1, Email address, University, City, Country
2Affiliation 1, Email address, University, City, Country
3Affiliation 1, Email address, University, City, Country
*Corresponding Author
ABSTRACT
Information technology plays an important role in managing the business in the different sectors. However, it has been seen that
the practice of the unethical practices are conducted in the usage of information technology in different fields. Unethical
practices includes hacking , breaching of the data, unethical usage of username and passwords. There are various consequences
of the unethical practices. There are some of the behavioral issues those can be considered as the main cause of the unethical
use of the information technology [4]. It has been found out that the way of using the unethical usage of information technology
in different fields of the business and the industry is dependent on behavior and perception of individuals and the situational
background . It can be considered as a complex phenomenon to understand the behavioral issues regarding the unethical usage
of the information technology. The main purpose of this paper is to develop the framework to understand the behavioral
perspective of making the unethical use of information technology in the business sector [1]. It can be assumed that this
framework will help to mitigate the probability of the cyber attacks and can predicate the probability of individuals to indulge
into cyber crimes. The non technical framework includes the spreading of awareness among the users regarding the result of
unethical use of technology. The technical solution regarding this is the development of artificial intelligence driven software
that can detect and analysis the behavior and intention of the individuals. Based on that analysis it can predict the probability
of unethical use of technology by individuals.
Keywords: Ethical issues, TBP, Consequentialist and Deontological schools
1. Introduction
Extensive use of information technology is playing a major
role in the improvement of the business in the different sector
of the industry. There are many advantages of using the
information technology in everyday’s business. However, it
has been seen that there are some of the issues happened
regarding the application of the information technology. One
of the major issue regarding this is the unethical use of the
information technology. The unethical use of the information
technology can cover the vast area o the misuse of
information technology [3]. It has been seen that the main
concern about the use of information technology in the
business of the industry is the security issues. The technology
is exploited in a negative way to breach the data and
information from the system. The main objective of this paper
is to evaluate the different forms security threats and other
issues regarding the use of information technology in the
business and the behavioral issues associated with the
negative use of the information technology. The identification
of the issues and problems will be helpful for the mitigation of
the risks from the threats of the information technology [1].
Apart from that the discussion will also address the initiatives
to prevent the unethical use of information technology. In
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order to prevent the unethical use of information technology
both technical and non technical frameworks can be
applicable. The non technical framework regarding this will
include the awareness programs regarding the results and
consequences of the unethical use of technology. Apart from
that the training of the individuals on maintaining the ethics
regarding the use of IT can be included in the framework.
The technical framework to prevent the unethical use of IT
includes the application of TBP and artificial intelligence
driven system based on the result of TBP.
2. Discussion
Use of the information technology in the business and
industry:
In order to understand the significance of the use of the
information technology in the business and the industry , the
impact of the use is needed to be discussed. It has been seen
that the extensive use of the information technology has
helped the business industry to enhance the flexibility and the
functionality of the business [1]. The deployment of the
technology has helped the business industry to reduce the
overhead cost and offer better service to the consumers along
with maintain the standard and the quality of the service.
Apart from that managing the information and maintaining
the security of the data can be achieved through the
implementation of the information technology. The
automation of the different functionalities of the business
helps to save the processing time for the each product thus
managing the industry to produce the goods and the services
in a large amount in a small time span.
3. Technology and unethical behavior
Issues with the use of the information technology
There are several issues regarding the usage of the information
technology in the industry. It is uncountable that use of the
emerging technology has help the business industry and the
individuals at different levels. The flow of the communication
between the individuals and the employees and management has
been improved in this course. However, the deployment of the
technology has faced certain problems also [2]. The main
concern regarding the use of the technology is that it has been
found out the that the use of the technology has been exploited in
a negative way. The most significant result of negative
deployment of the technology is the breaching of the security.
The threats for the security and the system is becoming the
major concern regarding the usage of the technology.
Technology is used to deceive the advantage of the technology
[5]. The use of the malware and different virus in the system is
the application of the technology. The breaching of the data from
the system and exploiting those data in illegal purpose can be
done by different merging technology. All these practices are
violating the goodwill of the business organization.
Reason behind the unethical use of technology:
There are many reasons behind the unethical use of the
technology. This paper has chosen the behavioral factor behind
the unethical use of technology. The behavioral factor behind
the unethical use of the technology can be regarded as complex
phenomenon. It has been found out the tendency of unethical
practices with the technology is dependent on various factors like
socio economic background of the individuals, the ethical values
and the perception of the individuals [7]. The threat in the field of
information technology is growing rapidly and the study on the
tendency of the deployment of the threats for the security of the
information technology is needed to be evaluated. From the
ethical theory perspective the evaluation is needed to be done
regarding the indulgence of the individuals in the cyber crime
[6]. The role of the technology in the unethical behavior is
needed to be investigated from the philosophical perspective. In
some cases the exploratory behavior of the ethical philosophy in
IT have been discussed.
Philosophical Theories regarding the ethics:
In order to find out the reason behind the unethical use of
information technology from the ethical perspective, the
philosophical theory of the ethics is needed to b evaluated. The
classification of the ethical theories can be can be categorized in
to two types- consequentialist and deontological schools.
Consequentialist is concerned about the rightness of the action
whereas deontological is concerned about the rightness of the act.
All these things are measured on the basis of certain predefined
rules and regulations. The decision making ability of the
individuals is also responsible regarding the unethical practice of
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the information technology [9]. In this context both ethical
perspectives have been evaluated properly in order to understand
the decision making of the individuals for unethical deployment
of the information and technology.
The Theory of planned behavior (TPB):
The theory of planed behavior defines the actual behavior as
the real intention to carry out the particular work. It has been
seen that sometimes the subjective norms are responsible for
these intentions. Subjective norms can be defined as the
expectation of the society, family and friends of the individuals
[9]. Apart from that the perceived behavioral forms helps the
individuals to carry out the behavior. It has been found out that
TBP is an effective framework that can indicate the inclination
of the individuals towards the intention of the unethical doings.
In this context TBP has often used as the framework for
determining the intention of the individuals for the unethical use
of information technology. However, TBP is not a judgmental
approach for determining the unethical intention of the
individuals. However, this framework explains the engagement
of the individuals to the unethical practices.
Definition of unethical practice information technology:
Regarding the security of the information there are four
ethical issues. Act of violation of these four factors can be
regarded can be regarded as the unethical act for information
technology. These four factors are- Privacy, Accuracy, Property
and accessibility.
Privacy : Maintaining the privacy of the information is
important. Privacy can be defined by the control of the
individuals on the information or the data owned by them [11].
Maintaining the privacy will help the individuals to decide over
the choices regarding the disclose of the data. The act of
stealing data from the individuals and disclosing the data without
the concern of the owner of the data can be regarded as the
unethical practice in information technology.
Accuracy: the data used in the flow of the communication in
the information technology is needed to be accurate . This will
help the generation of the right information and the functionality
of the different sectors will proceed in a right way [10]. It has
been seen that group of individuals tend to change the form of
information during the flow of communication. In this case
miscommunication happens. In this case this kind of practice can
be regarded as unethical doings.
Property: The information or data in the field of information
technology is owned by individuals. Denying the ownership of
the data can be regarded unethical. Some of the usage of the
technology prevent the data or information being accessed by the
owner of that particular information. In this case, this can be
regarded as unethical.
Accessibility: The main property of maintain the information
security in the field of information technology is to give the
access of the right data and information to the right person. The
usage of the username and password are implemented in order to
control the accessibility of the data [12]. The controlling of the
accessibility of the data helps to maintain the security and the
correctness of the data. Apart from that chances of the data
modification and data deletion can be prevented in this course.
Sometimes it has been seen practices have been indulged in the
breaching of the data and information and the accessibility of the
information has been gained through the unethical practices.
Finding the driving forces for the participants in the
unethical practice in information technology:
There are some factors those can be considered as the driving
force for the unethical practice in the information technology.
The finding of these factors has been done on the basis of
consequentialist and deontological perspective of ethics.
Moral intensity: Moral intensity is regarded as the factor
important for the ethical decision making . It has been seen that
the person with low moral intensity fails to understand the
importance of maintaining the rules and regulations of handling
information in the system [16]. In this case, those individuals can
make unethical se of the technology both intentionally or
unintentionally.
Moral intensity reflects the perspective of the individuals. The
paramount of the moral intensity can be judged by the
consequences of the proposed actions. As for example it can be
said that intentionally changing the dose of the medicine
electronically has greater moral intensity than using pirated
version of the software from peers. Apart from that the beliefs of
the individuals are also responsible for the use of the information
technology.
Lack of punishment: It has been seen that the laws regarding
cyber security are not well defined in different aspects [14].
Apart from that the steps for taking the actions against the
unethical use of the technology including the cyber crime are not
clear and ambiguous. In this case, the tendency of not maintain
the ethical dignity during the handling of the technology has been
seen while the deployment of information technology.
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Opportunistic behavior: Sometimes the unethical use of the
technology leads to the raise of many opportunities. The
opportunistic mentality of the individuals often maximize the
chance of unethical practice of the information technology[15].
The high level of the overall gain from the unethical use of the
technology also changes the positive perception of the
individuals towards the use of the technology.
Relation between technology and unethical behavior:
The use of the technology has certain benefits and challenges.
The challenges include the unethical use of the information
technology. Sometimes the technology can also cause the
unethical behavior. The use of the technology helps to provide
the anonymity. This also provokes the individuals to misuse the
use of the information technology. It has been found out that
socially unacceptable behavior occur more frequently in the
computer meditated groups. There are some of the ethical factors
those can be defined as the relation between the technology and
unethical behavior are facilitation of the resources, facilitation of
the technology and self efficiency of the computers. The
facilitation of the resources also provides no traceability [13].
The advanced use of technology also provides the availability of
interconnected nature of the information technology. This also
increases the tendency of the unethical behavior along with the
self efficiency of the computer also increases the level of
unethical practices.
Mitigation of the unethical practices in information
technology:The unethical practices in the information technology
is a growing tendency. In this case the identification of the
behavioral tendency of the unethical practice can help to find the
solution of this problem[14]. Certain framework can be
developed based on the ethical theories and philosophical
perspective of the human behavior. Apart from that the
perception of the individuals can be rectified so that they can
understand the consequences of the unethical practices of the
information technology.
4. Suggested Solution:
The evaluation of the unethical use of information technology
has been done on the basis of the behavior of the individuals. It
can be said that the analysis suggested that finding the
behavioral issues behind the unethical practice of the
information technology is based on the different aspects. The
probability of the unethical practice can not be measured through
any numerical formula or calculations. On this case the
recommended framework for the detection of the probability of
the unethical use of information technology can be based on the
TBP. The framework will evaluate the personality of the
individuals through some of the questions and this will also
suggest the controlled and partial monitoring of the online
activities of the users. Based on the analysis the predication can
be made for individuals regarding the unethical practice of IT.
Both technical and non technical solutions can be implemented
in order to prevent the unethical use of information technology.
Non technical framework to prevent the unethical use of
IT: The non technical solution for the prevention of the unethical
use of IT includes different awareness programs those will make
individuals understand the consequences of IT. Apart from that
the training to the individuals can be given for maintain the
security of the system along with usage of anti virus and firewall.
Apart from that making people aware about the consequences
and legal steps those can be take for the illegal use of the
software and information technology are also included in this
framework.
Technical framework to prevent unethical practice in
information technology: The basis of the preventing the unethical
use of IT in this case is the analysis of the behavior of the
individuals. In this context artificial intelligence driven software
can be developed which will detect the personality type and the
behavioral intention of the individuals. Based on the analysis the
software can provide that result which will state the probability
of the individuals to use the information technology unethically.
In order to develop the software some of the ethical theories can
be consulted. The function of this system will be a collaboration
of the ethical practices and the ability of psychological analysis.
In this case, the software will ask some basic questions related to
the individuals those will reflect their attributes of personality.
The systematic and logical analysis of the gathered data will help
the system to deliver the result.
5. Conclusion
The discussion is regarding the unethical use of the
information technology and the connection of this tendency with
the behavior of the individual personalities. Regarding this
discussion the analysis of the ethical perspective has been done
along with their significance in the ethical decisions making of
the individuals. Practices which are defined as the unethical have
been categorized and mentioned in this context. It can be said
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from the above discussion that proper behavioral framework can
be beneficial for the development of the situation regarding the
unethical behavior in the field of information technology.
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