What is Professional Ethics in the IT world?
Professional Ethics in the field of information technology addresses ethical issues for individuals that use and create computer systems. It involves examining ethical dilemmas an IT professional might encounter on the job and provide guidelines on how to treat with those dilemmas.
Two common ethical issues faced by IT Professionals
1. Publishing Security Vulnerabilities:
For IT professionals who develop and designs systems, it is sometimes difficult for them to disclose security vulnerabilities in their systems due to the need to meet deadlines and fear of legal implications once it’s disclosed to the public. However, based on the ethical guidelines for computer professionals it is the responsibility of the individual to be open and honest about the capabilities, safety, and limitations of the software/system.
Hiding known security vulnerabilities and lying to internal and external stakeholders is unethical as information garnered from these systems are used on a day to day basis to make decisions. Thus, it is important that such limitations and vulnerabilities be disclosed.
2. Software License Violation:
An IT professional might violate a software license if he or she installs a computer program on more than the stipulated number of computers in the software license agreement. I believe this a common practice by businesses and individuals and is usually as a result of financial constraints. Nevertheless, it is unethical to violate the agreement and IT professionals are ethically responsible to honor the agreement made and should report this practice to management or the software vendor once they are aware.
The Association for Computing Machinery (AMC) code of ethics indicates that copyright violation is contrary to professional behaviour and that copying software should be made only with proper authorization.
Reference: Baase, S. (2013). A Gift of Fire: Social, Legal, and Ethical Issues. San Diego: Pearson.
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