Ethical Issues Paper

I have discovered that personal and professional ethical behaviors are being increasingly scrutinized as reports around the globe are becoming the topic of attention in the area of information security. “The security of information, along with ethical difficulties that ascend when enforcing the appropriate security creativities are becoming prevalent as well. Current security management and ethical topics of information technology focuses on these matters at a time when the world society greatly needs to re-examine the existing practices and policies”. (Ethical issues, 2005) Information Technology (IT) personnel have easy access to employee data which put them in an area of great responsibility. “Training requirements for in-house IT personnel,

“One situation is where an IT employee does something that doesn't appear ethical on the surface, such as scanning employee’s e-mail, because in many cases may be part of their job function. Another scenario exists where IT employees engage in activities that are unethical, such as modifying email messages or sending the email messages to a different email address”. (Electronic Ethical Issues, 2013) Focusing on the areas of privacy that I’ve mentioned, it's possible to justify each of these actions described under certain circumstances. In some cases these functions can translate into unethical actions. “For one example, information retrieved from viewing someone's e-mail could be used to gain an advantage over an individual. This unethical act could lead to getting someone disciplined, fired or even for blackmail”. (Electronic Ethical Issues, 2013) Viewing another employee’s e-mail is, in my opinion is unethical, as it would no different than going through someone’s desk without their permission. From the perspective of personal, or even professional ethics, the obvious answer to these questions should be “no”, because these actions are unethical, and illegal in most

“Increasing computing power, storage, and networking capabilities including the Internet can expand the reach of individual and organizational actions and magnify their impacts”. (System and Ethics, 2007) The ease and privacy with which information can be communicated and manipulated within online environments are challenging traditional rules of right and wrong behavior. “Ethical issues confront individuals who must choose a course of action, often in a situation in which two or more ethical principles are in conflict. The argument still exists that we must reconsider our approach to information security from the ground up if we are to deal effectively with the problem of information risk. It’s probably not possible to develop comprehensive ethical guidelines to cover every possible situation of IT misuse in inside or outside the organization”. (System and Ethics, 2007) Professional conduct can vary from one organization to the next, however I believe it’s possible to realize the pervasiveness and the magnitude of the problem. It’s also possible to develop ethical guidelines on an ongoing basis to keep pace with changes in the