Solutions To Ethics in IT
Solutions To Ethics in IT
Solutions To Ethics in IT
Sasser Worm
Microsoft posted a $250,000 reward By mid-May, authorities apprehended Sven Jaschan, a German teenager. Jaschan confessed and was convicted after a three-day trial He could receive up to five years in prison, but because he was tried as a minor, the court suspended his 21month sentence, leaving him with only 30 hours of community service Just a few month after Jaschans indictment, the Securepoint, a German IT security company hired him as a programmer
-Subeer Nadgonde -PMP
What is Ethics?
Each society forms a set of rules that establishes the boundaries of generally accepted behavior. These rules are often expressed in statements about how people should behave, and they fit together to form the moral code by which a society lives. Ethics is the set of beliefs about right and wrong behavior. Ethical behavior conforms to generally accepted social norms, many of which are almost universal. Virtues are habits that incline people to do what is acceptable, and vices are habits of unacceptable behavior Peoples virtues and vices help define their value system the complex scheme of moral values by which they live
Cont.
Establishing Guidelines for Use of Company Software Company IT managers must provide clear rules that govern the use of home computers and associated software. The goal should be to ensure that employees have legal copies of all software Structuring Information Systems to Protect Data and Information Implement system and procedures that limit data access to employees who need it. Employees should be prohibited from accessing the data about research and development results, product formulae, and staffing projections if they dont need it to do their job
-Subeer Nadgonde -PMP
Identify Alternatives
Implementation
Evaluation of Result
No
Success Yes
Finish
Data Breaches Purchase of Personal Data Phishing Spyware Identity Theft Monitoring Services
-Subeer Nadgonde -PMP
Spam
What are the issues associated with Spam and how we can solve these issues? Issues
Cheap for sender, costs time to receiver May contain objectionable material Disguised return address May pass through filters Invades privacy Financial issues for ISP
Solution
Technology Market Pressure Business policy : Discretion of receiver, to be charged a micro fee Law Vigilantism / Spying -Subeer Nadgonde -PMP
Net Neutrality
Argue for equal treatment for all customers
De-Regulations
Flexibility and market incentive will benefit customers
Key Terms of Agreement Computer programs are protected as literary works. Authors of computer programs and producers of sound recordings have the right to prohibit the commercial rental of their works to the public. Patent protection is available for any inventionwhether a product or processin all fields of technology without discrimination, subject to the normal tests of novelty, inventiveness, and industrial applicability. It is also required that patents be available and patent rights enjoyable without discrimination as to the place of invention and whether products are imported or locally produced.
Patent
Trade Secret Trade secrets and other types of undisclosed information that have commercial value must be protected against breach of confidence and other acts that are contrary to honest commercial practices. However, reasonable steps must have been taken to keep the information secret.
What is patent?
A patent is a grant of a property right issued by the PATENT AUTHORITY of the country to an inventor. A patent permits its owner to exclude the public from making, using, or selling a protected invention, and it allows for legal action against violators. Unlike a copyright, a patent prevents independent creation as well as copying. Even if someone else invents the same item independently and with no prior knowledge of the patent holders invention, the second inventor is excluded from using the patented device without permission of the original patent holder. The rights of the patent are valid only in the specific country where it is patented Patent infringement, or the violation of the rights secured by the owner of a patent, occurs when someone makes unauthorized use of anothers patent. Unlike copyright infringement, there is no specified limit to the monetary penalty if patent infringement is found. In fact, if a court determines that the infringement is intentional, it can award up to three times the amount of the damages claimed by the patent holder
Significant Cases
Sharing music: the Napster case Was the sharing of music via Napster fair use? Napster's arguments for fair use The Sony decision allowed for entertainment use to be considered fair use Did not hurt industry sales because users sampled the music on Napster and bought the CD if they liked it RIAA's (Recording Industry Association of America) arguments against fair use "Personal" meant very limited use, not trading with thousands of strangers Songs and music are creative works and users were copying whole songs Claimed Napster severely hurt sales Court ruled sharing music via copied MP3 files violated copyright
Free Software
Types of software license Free software - idea, an ethic, advocated and supported by large, loose-knit group of computer programmers who allow people to copy, use, and modify their software Free means freedom of use, not necessarily lack of cost Open source - software distributed or made public in source code (readable and modifiable) Proprietary software - (commercial) sold in object code (obscure, not modifiable) (E.g.: Microsoft Office) Should All Software Be Free? Would there be sufficient incentives to produce the huge quantity of consumer software available now? Would the current funding methods for free software be sufficient to support all software development? Should software be covered under copyright law? Concepts such as copyleft and the GNU (General Public License) provide alternatives to proprietary software within today's current legal framework
Crime
Hacking: currently defined as to gain illegal or unauthorized access to a file, computer, or network Phase1: (1960s-1970s) Used as positive term for a creative programmer Phase2: (1970s-1990s) Negative connotation.
User for individual Breaking into computers for which he does not have authorized access Includes the spreading of computer worms and viruses and phone phreaking Companies began using hackers to analyze and improve security
Hacking
Hacktivism, or Political Hacking: Use of hacking to promote a political cause Disagreement about whether it is a form of civil disobedience and how (whether) it should be punished Some use the appearance of hacktivism to hide other criminal activities The Law: Catching and Punishing Hackers: Covers government computers, financial and medical systems, and activities that involve computers in more than one state, including computers connected to the Internet The USA Patriot Act expanded the definition of loss to include the cost of responding to an attack, assessing damage and restoring systems
Hacking
The Law: Catching and Punishing Hackers A variety of methods for catching hackers Law enforcement agents read hacker newsletters and participate in chat rooms undercover They can often track a handle by looking through newsgroup archives Security professionals set up honey pots which are Web sites that attract hackers, to record and study Computer forensics is used to retrieve evidence from computers Penalties for young hackers Many young hackers have matured and gone on to productive and responsible careers Temptation to over or under punish Sentencing depends on intent and damage done Most young hackers receive probation, community service, and/or fines Not until 2000 did a young hacker receive time in juvenile detention
Hacking
Security Internet started with open access as a means of sharing information for research Attitudes about security were slow to catch up with the risks Firewalls are used to monitor and filter out communication from un-trusted sites or that fit a profile of suspicious activity Responsibility for Security Developers have a responsibility to develop with security as a goal Businesses have a responsibility to use security tools and monitor their systems to prevent attacks from succeeding Home users have a responsibility to ask questions and educate themselves on the tools to maintain security (personal firewalls, anti-virus and anti-spyware)
Work
Fear and Question: The introduction of computers in the workplace generated many fears Mass unemployment due to increased efficiency The need for increased skill and training widens the earning gap New trends still generating fears Off-shoring of jobs will lead to mass unemployment Employers use of technology to monitor their employees
Work
The Impact on Employment: Job Creation and destruction: A successful technology eliminates or reduces some jobs but creates others Reduced the need for telephone operators, meter readers, mid-level managers New industries arise Internet Cellular communications Lower prices increase demand and create jobs Music industry changed from serving the wealthy to serving the masses, employing more than just musicians Unemployment rates fluctuate Growth of computers has been steady, while unemployment has fluctuated widely Are we earning less? Since the 1970s, wages decreased but fringe benefits increased People work fewer hours since the Industrial Revolution Decrease in take-home pay may be due to other factors (e.g. increased taxes) Purchasing power increases as prices fall
-Subeer Nadgonde -PMP
Work
The Impact on Employment: Changing Skill Levels: The new jobs created from computers are different from the jobs eliminated New jobs such as computer engineer and system analyst jobs require a college degree, where jobs such as bank tellers, customer service representatives and clerks do not Companies are more willing to hire people without specific skills when they can train new people quickly and use automated support systems
Work
The Impact on Employment: A Global Workforce: Outsourcing - phenomenon where a company pays another company to build parts for its products or services instead of performing those tasks itself Off-shoring - the practice of moving business processes or services to another country, especially overseas, to reduce costs In-shoring - when another company employs thousands of people in the host country. (e.g. off-shoring for a German company means in-shoring for U.S.) Problems and side effects of off-shoring: Consumers complain about customer service representatives, because accents are difficult to understand Employees in U.S. companies need new job skills (e.g., managing, working with foreign colleagues) Increased demand for high-skill workers in other countries forces salaries up
-Subeer Nadgonde -PMP
Work
The Impact on Employment: Getting a Job: Learning about jobs and companies Online company histories and annual reports Job search and resume sites Online training Learning about applicants and employees Search online newsgroups and social networks Hire data-collection agencies such as ChoicePoint Prospective employees may craft an online profile and presence geared towards the job they want
Work
The Work Environment:
Work
Changing Structure of Business:
Increase in smaller businesses and independent consultants (information entrepreneurs) Mom and pop multi-nationals, small businesses on the Web Growth of large, multi-national corporations Not all changes due to technology
Work
Why Monitor Employee Employee Crime Embezzlement - fraudulent appropriation of property by a person to whom it has been entrusted Trusted employees have stolen millions of dollars Angry fired employees sabotage company systems Logic bomb - software that destroys critical files (payroll and inventory records) after employee leaves Other Reasons for Monitoring: Employees spend time on non-work activities on the Web hence some companies block specific sites (e.g. adult content, sports sites, job search sites, social-network sites) Concerns over security threats such as viruses and other malicious software Concerns about inappropriate activities by employees (e.g., harassment, unprofessional comment)
-Subeer Nadgonde -PMP
Work
History Employee Monitoring: Early monitoring was mostly blue-collar (factory) and pink-collar (telephone and clerical) jobs Time-clocks and logs Output counts at the end of the day Bosses patrolled the aisles watching workers What is Monitored: 1. Data Entry, Phone Work, and Retail: Data entry Key stroke quotas Encourage competition Beep when workers pause Phone work Number and duration of calls Idle time between calls Randomly listen in on calls Retail Surveillance to reduce theft by employees 2. Location Monitoring: Cards and badges used as electronic keys increase security but track employee movements GPS tracks an employee's location Used in some hospitals to track nurse locations for emergency purposes, also shows where they are at lunch or when they use the bathroom Used to track long-haul trucks to reduce theft and optimize delivery schedules, also detects driving speeds and duration of rest breaks Employees often complain of loss of privacy
Work
3. E-Mail, Blogging, and Web Use: E-mail and voice mail at work Employees often assume passwords mean they are private Roughly half of major companies in the U.S. monitor or search employee e-mail, voice mail, or computer files Most companies monitor infrequently, some routinely intercept all e-mail Law and cases: Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) prohibits interception of email and reading stored e-mail without a court order, but makes an exception for business systems Courts put heavy weight on the fact that computers, mail, and phone systems are owned by the employer who provides them for business purposes Many employers have privacy policies regarding e-mail and voice mail
Vulnerable viewers Less educated individuals Children Responsibilities of site operators Should identify user-supplied content Make clear which information has been verified Evaluating Information on the Web: Manipulation of images: Movies and videos use special effects to add creativity and enjoyment of entertainment People can use technology for deception and fraud Ease with which we can modify digital images and video
-Subeer Nadgonde -PMP
Vulnerable viewers Less educated individuals Children Responsibilities of site operators Should identify user-supplied content Make clear which information has been verified Evaluating Information on the Web: Manipulation of images: Movies and videos use special effects to add creativity and enjoyment of entertainment People can use technology for deception and fraud Ease with which we can modify digital images and video
-Subeer Nadgonde -PMP
Neo-Luddism (View) Neo-Luddism is a personal world view opposing modern technology. Its name is based on the historical legacy of the British Luddites which were active between 1811 and 1816. Neo-luddism includes the critical examination of the effects technology has on individuals and communities .
Computers cause massive unemployment No real need (We use technologies because they are there, not because they satisfy real needs) Computers cause social inequity Benefit big business and the government Do little or nothing to solve real problems Computers separate humans from nature and destroy the environment
Individual Problems/Failures: Billing errors Inaccurate and misinterpreted data in databases Large population where people may share names Automated processing may not be able to recognize special cases Overconfidence in the accuracy of data Errors in data entry System Failures: Businesses have gone bankrupt after spending huge amounts on computer systems that failed Voting system in 2000 presidential election, Denver Airport, Ariane 5 Rocket -Subeer Nadgonde -PMP
Professional techniques for preventing issues: Importance of good software engineering and professional responsibility User interfaces and human factors Feedback Should behave as an experienced user expects Testing Include real world testing with real users
Many new technologies were not very safe when they were first developed We develop and improve new technologies in response to accidents and disasters We should compare the risks of using computers with the risks of other methods and the benefits to be gained
-Subeer Nadgonde -PMP