IS/IT Ethics

Jenny Cauble

Scotty Sykes

Ashley Cox

Ethics Today

Comparison of ethics in other professions to ethics in IT

IT is a relatively new field Ethical situations in the present

Ethics Defined

Independent Objective Honest Impartial Fair Integrity

Understanding Trustworthy Morals/Values Respect Responsibility Citizenship

Ethics= A rational process founded on certain principles

IT Ethics Defined

Cyberethics (IT/IS Ethics)= “The study of moral, legal, and ethical issues involving the use of information and communication technologies.”

IT personnel have access to confidential information- this power can be abused

Bilal Azmat: “Cyberethics (Information System Ethics)”

Why are ethics important in IT?

Issues to Overcome: Privacy Accuracy Property Accessibility

Bilal Azmat: “Cyberethics (Information System Ethics)”

ISACA Code of Conduct

6 Main Ethical Standards Organizations are not required to be

members of ISACA

ISACA Code of Professional Ethics

Due Professional Care

“Level of diligence that a prudent and competent expert would exercise under a given set of circumstances.”

Requires an IT auditor to exercise the same level of skill that would be expected from other practitioners of this specialty

ISACA: G7 Due Professional Care

Due Professional Care (Cont.)

Foundation for Due Professional Care: Peer Review Technical Competence Auditor Conduct Judgment Business Knowledge Certification Standards

ISACA: G7 Due Professional Care

Ethical Scenarios

1) You are the entire information technology department for a small firm with 20 employees. The president of the company believes some of the employees are spending far too much time on the Internet doing tasks not related to work. The president asks you to start monitoring employees’ Internet usage without their knowledge, something you could easily do from a technological standpoint.

What do you do?

A. Start monitoring employees’ email and Web usage, as the president has asked

B. Suggest that an acceptable Internet-use policy be developed C. Talk to employees and tell them what the president has in mind

so they’ll change their habits

Monster.com

Ethical Scenarios 2) Carrie, an employee at an accounting firm, tells her colleague,

Phil, that she found something during her work on an engagement that she believes is a problem. The client has dismissed the issue and asked her to “trust him on this one.” Furthermore, her Senior Manager on the engagement has been focused on finishing the engagement and has not addressed her concern.

What should Carrie do?

A. Let the issue go. She was rejected the first time she raised it so it must not be a big deal

B. Avoid going around her Senior Manager at all costs. If she angers him, she may get a poor evaluation or reputation as a troublemaker

C. Consult with another superior, the Engagement Partner D. Report her concern using one of the firm’s channels of

communication

KPMG, LLP

Consequences

Loss of Job Prison Loss of reputation Loss of certifications

Conclusion

Where do you think we will be in 10 years with regard to IT ethics?

http://www.cnbc.com/id/27305287

“Do the right thing. It will gratify some

people and astonish the rest.”

-Mark Twain