Professional Ethics and Practice: NSA Case Study Analysis Report

This case study analyzes the ethical and professional practice principles violated in the National Security Agency (NSA) case, focusing on Edward Snowden's actions. The report uses the "Doing Ethics Technique" to dissect the situation, examining the facts, issues, and stakeholders involved, including the violation of civil rights and the ethical dilemma of being a good citizen versus a professional. It also provides an analysis from the perspective of an ICT professional, referencing the Australian Computer Society (ACS) Code of Ethics. The study explores the divided public opinions regarding Snowden's actions, highlighting the conflict between whistleblowing and violating professional codes. The report emphasizes the importance of ethics in guiding professionals and making critical decisions, especially when faced with dilemmas that could impact various stakeholders, public life, or the reputation of a profession. It concludes by assessing the impact of Snowden's actions on the public and the government, and the importance of ethical decision-making in the IT sector.

PROFESSIONAL ETHICS AND PRACTICE
NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY CASE STUDY
ASSIGNMENT TASK 2
PREPARED BY
JAIKRISHNA DURAISAMY

NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY CASE STUDY
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This essay discusses the Ethical and Professional Practice principles that arise in the
case study and how they have been violated. For so long Ethics and Professional Practice has
become part of the labor sector in so many countries all over the world including the United
States of America. Ethics have played an important role in providing a guideline of the
standards that various professionals have to observe. The essay looks at the case from the
ethical point of view and does an analysis based on Doing Ethics Technique. The report is
also an analysis of the situation from the point of view of an ICT Professional using the ACS
Code of Ethics. The report looks into detail the situation in the case study and how it relates
to the ethics and professional practice principles we studied in class. The report outlines the
expected professional standards the Edward Snowden was expected to observe as a law-
abiding citizen and also as an employee of Booz, Allen Hamilton was working for the
National Security Agency. This essay tries to explain why people may have divided opinions
over Snowden's actions, others seeing him as a whistle-blower while others see him as a
traitor. The ethical analysis of his actions in this report will try and explain the ethical
standards expected of him as a professional.
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Table of Contents
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY...................................................................................................................1
LIST OF ABBREVIATION AND ASSUMPTIONS MADE...............................................................3
1. INTRODUCTION.........................................................................................................................4
2. ANALYSIS OF THE SITUATION USING THE DOING ETHICS TECHNIQUE.....................5
2.1 Hints and Tips..............................................................................................................................5
2.2 What’s going on?.........................................................................................................................5
2.3 What are the facts?......................................................................................................................5
2.4 What are the issues?....................................................................................................................6
2.5 Who is affected?..........................................................................................................................7
2.6 What are the ethical issues and implications?..............................................................................8
2.7 What can be done about it?..........................................................................................................8
2.8 What are the options?..................................................................................................................8
2.9 Which option is the best- and why?.............................................................................................9
3. ANALYSIS OF THE SITUATION FROM AN ICT PROFESSIONAL PERSPECTIVE USING
ASC CODE OF ETHICS......................................................................................................................9
3.1 Primacy of Public Interest............................................................................................................9
3.2 The Enhancement of Quality of Life...........................................................................................9
3.3 Honesty........................................................................................................................................9
3.4 Competence...............................................................................................................................10
3.5 Professional Development.........................................................................................................10
3.6 Professionalism..........................................................................................................................10
4. CONCLUSION...........................................................................................................................10
5. REFERENCE..............................................................................................................................10
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LIST OF ABBREVIATION AND ASSUMPTIONS MADE
ASC –Australia Computer Society
IT- Information Technology
ICT- Information and Communication Technology
NSA- National Security Agency
In this analysis report, we assume that Edward Snowden was a member of ASC and therefore
he was obliged to demonstrate the attributes of ASC Codes of professional conduct as well as
observe professional ethics.
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1. INTRODUCTION
Can you Imagine living in a country with no ethics and professional practice standards
and regulations? Obviously, chaos and confusion would probably be the order of the day for
so the professions in the country. Ethics and code of conduct play a very critical role in
guiding professionals in their various day to day activities. Give a general framework and a
decision-making process that the professionals should follow whenever they are faced with a
dilemma in their line of duty. Therefore, ethics helps IT professionals and other professionals
in making the right decisions as expected of them. Professionalism entails doing the right
thing at all times including the situation where one is faced with tough decisions to make in
their line of duty. Such a decision may have very adverse impacts on various stakeholders
and therefore ethics and the code of conduct should be the basis of such critical decisions that
may endanger public life or even damage the reputation of a brand and a given profession at
large.
Ethic and code of professional conduct do not merely constrain professionals in their
practice but provide standards that have to be met to promote the professionalism of any
given field. The code of conduct and ethics outline the professional attributes and quality that
have to be met at all time. Such professional attributes required for a professional regardless
of their field include respect, honesty, fairness and many more. There are several
organizations that have been put in place to regulate and govern the practitioners of the
various professionals with the IT sector included. The Code of Ethics and Professional
Practice (Code) of the Association for Institutional Research is one of such organizations and
it was established to provide its members with guides for their professional life and the
relevant considerations to consider in case of any ethical uncertainties. The code provides a
process in which new individuals in a given professional can learn about the ethical standards
and principles that professional institutional researchers should adhere to in their duties.
The ASC Code of Ethics is part of the Australian Computer Society and it outlines the
various codes of ethics that all the members of this association must adhere to. The ASC code
outlines the six important ethical values that professionals under ASC have to exhibit and we
are going to use the given case study to see how any of these ethical values might have been
violated by Snowden as an IT practitioner in Australia. The members of the ACS associations
include all the practitioners in information and technology (ICT) sector.
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2. ANALYSIS OF THE SITUATION USING THE DOING ETHICS
TECHNIQUE
The case study involving Snowden, who was working as an IT practitioner, giving
confidential information raises several ethical issues and we are going to use the Doing Ethics
Technique to analyze this case. This technique has a framework that is subdivided into
several sections to help in analyzing ethical issues.
2.1 Hints and Tips
The Doing Ethics technique is a procedure used to analyze all ethical scenarios that
may arise in the line of duty of a professionally especially situations of an ethical dilemma.
This technique does not necessarily guarantee the professional will come up with the best
solution in a given situation but it ensures that the professional is thinking ethically. The
technique is sometimes associated with lack of clear guidance and being a little bit vague,
however, the series of questions followed in this technique help in understanding ethical
analysis.
2.2 What’s going on?
In this case study, Edward Snowden is an employee of Booz Allen Hamilton who is a
defense contractor for the National Security Agency (NSA). Edward Snowden agreed that he
revealed NSA Surveillance details to reporters at The Washington Post and The Guardian. He
gave the reporters confidential documents that showed how NSA is doing data mining on
Internet traffic records and collecting data from hundreds of millions of phones in the US to
identify any potential terrorist links. In order to avoid federal charges, Snowden escaped from
the country. This case created divided opinions among the public with other viewing him as a
traitor while others see him as a whistleblower.
2.3 What are the facts?
Snowden leaked documents to the reporters and these documents showed how the
NSA was tracking the Internet traffic in the U.S as well as so many phones in the country.
Snowden must have known what he was doing is illegal in the country that is why he fled to
avoid facing federal charges. Snowden is an IT practitioner and therefore must have known
all the ethical values expected of him thus whatever he did was a violation of the ethical and
code of conduct practice.
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Edward Snowden is one of the most consequential whistleblowers in the history of
United States of America. He is responsible for handing over material from one of the world's
most secretive organizations, the National Security Agency (NSA). In a note accompanying
the first set of documents he provided, he wrote: "I understand that I will be made to suffer
for my actions," but "I will be satisfied if the federation of secret law, unequal pardon and
irresistible executive powers that rule the world that I love are revealed even for an instant….
I don't want public attention because I don't want the story to be about me. I want it to be
about what the US government is doing."
He disclosed the documents to the journalists and knew very well that he was
going to face federal charges for disclosing the confidential documents but insisted that he
was aware of his actions. He had made a decision to sacrifice his salary of about $200000 and
living comfortably with his family for his conscious could not allow him to work knowing
that the US government was violating the internet and private rights of citizens. He was
determined not to opt for the protection of anonymity; he said "I have no intention of hiding
who I am because I know I have done nothing wrong”. Snowden then flew to Moscow and
the Russian government granted him asylum after they realized his US passport has been
cancelled.
2.4 What are the issues?
There are several ethical and professional issues that arise from Edward Snowden
case study. The issues that come out are as shown below.
 Violation of civil rights. The documents Edward gave the reporters confirmed
how the NSA was doing a surveillance of hundreds of millions of phones in
the U.S. This is a deliberate violation of the right of privacy of the citizens.
This means the NSA was handling personal and confidential messages of the
U.S citizens without their will.
 Violation of ethics and code of professional conduct. Edward was obliged to
think ethically in this situation and use appropriate channels instead of
exposing confidential documents. He was faced with making the decision of
choosing between doing the right thing as a person and following the
professional code of conduct and this dilemma requires critical thinking before
making any decision.
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 The issue of being honest comes out in this case study. Edward was being
honest to the public although he knew this was a compromise of the codes of
professional conduct for him as an IT professional under ACS. There is certain
information that does not have to be shared with the public since it may have a
hostile impact especially if it is related to their security.
 The issue of the government responsibility in responsibility and
accountability. Some people have raised concerns that the NSA should have
asked for the consent of the citizens before proceeding to track the Internet
traffic and collecting information from their phones. However, the issue of
security is a very delicate concern and doing this would have completely
changed the dynamics of the NSA investigations and this would have possibly
affected the end results.
 The issues of being a good citizen versus being a professional also come out in
this case study. This is the main basis that makes the public to have divided
opinions concerning Edward Snowden case study. Although he violated
ethical values and the code of professional conduct, some think he did what
was best for the public by letting them know that the NSA was doing a
surveillance of their phones without their consent.
2.5 Who is affected?
There are several stakeholders that are affected by Snowden actions. Below is the list
of those stakeholders and how Snowden actions in the case study affect them either directly
or indirectly.
 The public is a stakeholder in this case study. The information revealed by
Snowden shows how the NSA was violating the civil rights of the US citizens
by obtaining personal information from their phones without their consent.
This is going to have a negative response from the public who will think the
government does not respect their civil rights and thus destroying the
reputation of the government of the day.
 The government is a major stakeholder in this case. The government is given
the responsibility of safeguarding the rights of its citizens and act as an
example. The government is also mandated to ensure that its citizens are safe
thus eliminating terrorism is an important responsibility. This is why the
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government had to allow the NSA to do their investigation with the aim of
preventing any possible terrorist attacks in the US.
 The NSA is another stakeholder in the case. The NSA are the ones involved
with doing the surveillance of phones of the US citizens and tracking the
Internet traffic to help them identify any connection with terrorists. The NSA
was doing this surveillance without the consent of the citizens for
confidentiality reasons and ensure that their surveillance will have the desired
outcomes of eliminating terrorism.
 The media is involved in revealing the documents Snowden gave them. The
reporters shared this information so that the citizens can know the truth about
what was happening at NSA, The media was doing its main role of informing
the public about issues that are directly affecting them.
 Civil rights organizations are also stakeholders in this case. This is because
they are concerned with the enforcing of civil rights in the US. Snowden
actions revealed how the NSA was violating civil rights of US citizens hence
civil rights will have to ensure these rights are respected now that the issue had
been brought to the spotlight.
2.6 What are the ethical issues and implications?
 Honesty is the ethical issue taking the center stage in this case study. By
sharing the confidential reports to the reporters, Edward was being honest to
the public by letting them know what exactly the NSA was doing. This had the
implication of him going against ethics and the professional code of conduct
as an IT practitioner.
 Respect as an ethical issue is also evident in this case study. The NSA as a
government department is mandated to respect the civil rights of the citizens
but their act of doing surveillance without their consent is against this ethical
value. As a government department, they are expected to be at the forefront in
exhibiting the highest ethical standards.
 Responsibility is also an ethical issue coming out in the case study. All
professionals should be responsible for their actions and the impact it has on
other stakeholders, either direct or indirect. Snowden should have been
responsible for his actions but instead, he fled the country to avoid federal
charges.
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 The issue of competence also comes in as an ethical issue in this case study.
Snowden’s actions did not display the professional competence expected of
him as an IT expert working for the DNA. The information he revealed was
very critical to the public and this raised so many questions to be asked about
his competency.
 The ethical issue of fairness is also evident in the case study. The public feels
that the government is not fair for charging Snowden since whatever
documents he shared were authentic. Some people think that he should be
acknowledged for acting in favor of public interest.
2.7 What can be done about it?
In such a situation, Edward is expected to think ethically and at the same time
consider the codes of professional conduct expected of him. Principles of ethical decision-
making outline the procedure of how professionals should make decisions when faced with
an ethical dilemma like the one he was facing at the moment. Snowden was faced with a
situation which required him to make a decision on whether to follow what his conscience
was telling him or follow the rules and regulations of the organization he was working for.
A good professional should use balance ethics and the code of professional conduct
in decision making. The code of professional conduct outlines the various values and
attributes that professionals should always demonstrate regardless of the situation they find
themselves in. The values of honesty, respect and fairness are some of the professional values
that are expected of all professionals. A good professional should be an ethical thinker and
apply critical thinking skills in decision making.
Edward Snowden as an IT practitioner was expected to follow several guidelines
outlined in the ASC code. The primacy of Public Interest, the Enhancement of quality of Life,
Professional Development, competence and honesty are among the factors Snowden should
have considered before making any decision in this situation. He was expected to follow the
decision-making guideline which would have helped him find the most appropriate decision
to make from the alternatives that were available to him.
2.8 What are the options?
The first option Edward hard is to ignore the personal and public interest. This had the
advantage of him acting professionally and the disadvantage of hiding the truth from the
public. The second is the one he took of going to the media as much as this option has the
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advantage of displaying honesty it also comes with the advantage of violating
professionalism. The third option would be to approach the relevant authorities in the
organization and explain his point of view. This third option has the advantage of
demonstrating professionalism as well as ethical value.
2.9 Which option is the best- and why?
The third option of approaching the relevant authorities and explaining his point of
view on the situation is the best option he could have taken. This is because this how ethics
and the code of professional conduct principles would have expected him to do so. Public
security is a crucial government obligation and confidentiality is very critical in this sector
hence sharing such confidential information about an NSA program is not a good decision to
make.
3. ANALYSIS OF THE SITUATION FROM AN ICT
PROFESSIONAL PERSPECTIVE USING ASC CODE OF ETHICS
3.1 Primacy of Public Interest
The primacy of public interest is the first and most important component of the ASC
code of ethics. The ASC Code of Ethics requires that all the ICT professionals should always
put public interests above personal, sectional and business interests. Snowden in this case
study considered public interests and believed that the public deserved to know the truth
about what was going on at NSA.
In whatever activity IT practitioners get involved in must always put public interest as
the first priority. Edward as a practitioner as much as much as declaring to the public what
the National Security Agency was doing is a matter of public interest, there security and
safety have more priority. The NSA program of surveillance on the internet traffic and
telephone conversations was aimed mainly to protect the public from potential terrorist
attacks.
IT practitioners are expected by the code not to involve in activities or projects that will
interfere with public safety and interests. The public should always be the priority whenever
they make decisions during their day to day professional activities. Every professional IT
practitioner who is a member of the ASC is expected to observe this code and ensure that
public interests are given the deserved priority.
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3.2 The Enhancement of Quality of Life
An ICT professional under ASC is expected by the ASC code to always endeavour to
promote the quality of life of all those who are affected by their work. Security is a more
critical aspect of promoting the quality of life of the citizens compared to the students
knowing what NSA was doing with the data they obtain from their phones. Therefore his
action does not really promote the quality of life of the citizens.
The quality of life of the citizens in terms of the various aspects affecting both personal
and social lifestyles should be considered when making an ethical decision. The security of
the citizens is a very critical issue affecting the life quality of the US citizens. Terrorism
which is the main reason behind the NSA surveillance has claimed so many lives in the
country and therefore the program is trying to reduce the risk of terrorist attacks.
It projects and activities should do with the main aim of improving the quality of life.
They should identify the problems people face in their day to day life activities and come up
with solutions to these problems. IT professionals should be driven with finding easy ways to
handle the life challenges so that life can be made easier. Using technology to solve life
challenges is one way of ensuring that the quality of life is enhanced. Therefore, Edward
Snowden was expected to consider whether his actions are going to enhance the life of US
citizens before making any decision.
3.3 Honesty
An ICT professional practitioner is expected to be honest in the representation of their
knowledge, services, skills and products. In his actions, Snowden was honest since the
information he shared with the reporters was authentic. Honesty is a person that is expected
to be demonstrated by all the ASC members in the IT sector as they practice their duties.
Honesty is a virtue that is expected in almost all professions and it is among the fundamental
principles of professionalism.
Honesty does not simply lying or using treacherous means for personal gain but it may
entail speaking out what some other people may not want to hear. Honesty is the cornerstone
for being a trustworthy professional who can be trusted with very critical duties.
Professionals are expected to be honest the public, their employee, customers and all the
stakeholders that are involved in their projects and should make genuine decisions that
honestly consider all the stakeholders.
Honesty is very important among all professionals not only for the sake of individual
benefits but also for the sake of maintaining a good reputation of the given professional. IT
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professionals should observe honesty when they are bidding for projects, disclosing a conflict
of interests, talking about their qualifications and interests, answering the request and when
disclosing sensitive personal issues. Observing the honesty virtue is something expected of
all IT practitioners who are ASC members.
3.4 Competence
Competence is a term that is used to refer to doing something accurately and
effectively. Ethical competence refers to the ability to make ethical decisions and it is
something expected of all the IT professionals under ASC. An ICT professional is expected
to work diligently and competently for their stakeholders. Edward did not put this aspect into
consideration since his actions did not consider all the stakeholders he was working for.
Competence entails having the ability to fulfill all the duties an IT professional may be
expected to perform. IT professionals should have certain basic skills and knowledge that is
going to facilitate how they are going to carry out their duties. A competent IT practitioner is
one with the ability of effectively performing their duties and at the same time observes all
the ethical principles expected of them.
Experience and knowledge increase the competence of the professionals by learning
how to do something over and over again. Repeating certain tasks makes people become
more skilled and efficient. There are several professional bodies that have put guidelines in
place to taste the competence of new entrants into a certain field so that they ensure they are
competent before they can be allowed to practice.
3.5 Professional Development
An ICT professional is expected to enhance their professional in deliberating their
duties. Edward’s actions are totally contradicting this expectation hence he does not observe
the ASC code. Every profession has outlined several regulatory mechanisms that are
enhancing the development of that particular profession. The ASC for instance is one of such
body and it is mandated to regulate the information technology profession in the country and
ensure certain standards are met.
Professional development also includes personal achievement in a given profession.
Every profession has various levels of hierarchy in terms of duties and responsibilities. For
instance, in the information technology sector, we might have the technicians and engineers.
Technicians may practice for a period of time and when they have gained sufficient skills and
knowledge on the field they can seek for industrial testing to be upgraded as engineers.
Therefore one can continuously develop their career level with time.
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Professional development entails so many factors that have to be considered. The
reputation of a given professional is important to the development of that profession;
therefore, regulatory bodies work hard to ensure the public reputation is always protected.
For a given career to develop there are several stands that have to be put in place and ensure
the rules governing these standards are properly implemented to promote the development of
the profession.
3.6 Professionalism
Professionalism refers to the skills or practicing of a certain activity with the required
efficiency and competence. An ICT professional is expected to improve the integrity of the
society and the respect of its members for each other. Snowden’s actions in this case study
are disregarding this aspect since he acted contrarily to what was expected of him as an ICT
professional.
Apart from competence, a professional is also expected to demonstrate other valuable
attributes such as appearance, responsibility, demeanor, ethics, etiquette, organizational
skills, and accountability among many others. An IT professional is expected to be
responsible for their action something that Edward Snowden did not demonstrate as a
professional when he fled to Moscow to avoid federal charges. As a professional, he was
expected to face the charges and defend himself in accordance with the constitution.
Professionalism is something that all professionals in the IT sector should observe and
it provides the framework to carry out their duties accordingly. It professionals are expected
to be accountable and also be cautious of their appearance. Professionals entail following all
the requirements put in place in by the regulatory bodies and have positive personal qualities.
Every practitioner is expected to have mastered all the professionalism principles and their
actions should always demonstrate this.
CONCLUSION
The Snowden case study has raised so many ethical and professional codes of conduct
concerns. Even though there are some ethical factors behind his action, considering both the
analysis we realize that he did not act according to the professional expectations. He should
have used ethics and code of professional conduct as the basis to make a decision in the
situation he encountered.
Ethics and code of conduct play a very critical role in guiding professionals in their
various day to day activities. Ethics give a general framework and a decision-making process
that the professionals should follow whenever they are faced with a dilemma in their line of
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duty. Therefore, ethics helps IT professionals and other professionals in making the right
decisions as expected of them
A good professional should balance ethics and the code of professional conduct in
decision making. The code of professional conduct outlines the various values and attributes
that professionals should always demonstrate regardless of the situation they find themselves
in. It is normal for professional practitioners, to be specific IT practitioners, to find
themselves in an ethical dilemma where they are required to make decisions. In such
moments they should consider different ethical issues before settling down to a decision.
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