WOLAITA UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF INFORMATICS
DEPARTMENT OF
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (IT)
Module NAME: IT SOCIAL, PROFESSIONAL AND ETHICAL
ISSUES
MODULE CODE: InTc 2104

PREPARED BY:

Yibrah Haile (Msc, IT)

Edited by:
Akalu Assefa (Msc, IT)

Wolaita Sodo University

Wolaita, Ethiopia, 2019

Module Code: InTc 2104

Module Description:

In addition technical skills, IT professionals must understand the social and professional context of
information technology and computing, and adhere to ethical codes of conduct. This knowledge area
covers the historical, social, professional, ethical and legal aspects of computing. IT identifies how
teamwork is integrated throughout IT and how IT supports an organization. It is also stresses
professional oral and written communication skills.

Learning Objectives:

1. Develop an incident-recovery plan for handling system compromises for an organization

2. Analyze stated security procedures for "weak points" that an attacker could exploit, and explain
how they could (or will) fail
3. Propose appropriate security measures for different situations
4. Explain to a non-security community of users what measures they must follow and why, in a
situation where their jobs are not security-related

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 Table of Contents
CHAPTER ONE.........................................................................................................................................................2
Social, Ethical and Professional Issues in the context of Information Technology and Computing.........................2
1.1 Introduction..................................................................................................................................................2
1.2 Principles behind the Code of Conduct and Professional Ethics...................................................................2
1.3 Code of Conduct and Ethics..........................................................................................................................2
1.4 What are "Ethics" and "Morality"?...............................................................................................................2
1.4.1 Ethics:.....................................................................................................................................................2
1.5 Is Computer Ethics Unique in Relation to Other Fields of Ethics?.................................................................2
1.6 Why Study Professional Ethics?....................................................................................................................2
1.7 Morality........................................................................................................................................................2
1.8 Codes of Ethics and Professional Conduct....................................................................................................2
1.9 Moral standard, Values and Principles..........................................................................................................2
1.9.1 Moral standards.....................................................................................................................................2
1.9.2 Moral value............................................................................................................................................2
1.9.3 Moral principles.....................................................................................................................................2
1.10 Types of ethics and Ethical & moral duties.................................................................................................2
1.11 Mill’s Liberty Presumption..........................................................................................................................2
1.12 Liberty-limiting principles (LLP)...................................................................................................................2
1.13 Justice and different type Justice in working environment.........................................................................2
1.14 The Nature, Kinds, and Grounds of Rights..................................................................................................2
1.15 Kant’s Ethical Formalism and Rawls Social Justice Ethics............................................................................2
Summary.................................................................................................................................................................2
CHAPTER TWO........................................................................................................................................................2
Creativity: Employer and Employee rights in IT Matters.........................................................................................2
2. 1 Introduction.................................................................................................................................................2
2.2. What is intellectual property (IP)?...............................................................................................................2
2.3 Objectives of intellectual property law.........................................................................................................2
2.3.1 Infringement, misappropriation, and enforcement...................................................................................2
2.4 Advantages and Disadvantages of Intellectual Property Rights....................................................................2
2.5. The Nature of Digital Reliability and Failure.................................................................................................2
2.6. Software and hardware risks.......................................................................................................................2
2.7. The complexity of computer systems; origins of the Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility......2

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 2.7.1 Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility...................................................................................2
Chapter Summary...............................................................................................................................................2
CHAPTER THREE......................................................................................................................................................2
Social issues and criminality in computing Technology..........................................................................................2
3.1. Social issues in Computing Technology........................................................................................................2
3.1.1. Social Inclusion in the Age of ICT...........................................................................................................2
3.1.2. Government..........................................................................................................................................2
3.1.3. Education..............................................................................................................................................2
3.1.4. Culture..................................................................................................................................................2
3.1.5. E-Health................................................................................................................................................2
3.1.6. E-environment.....................................................................................................................................2
3.1.7. Political Dimension................................................................................................................................2
3.1.8. E-Commerce.........................................................................................................................................2
3.1.8.1. Data Mining........................................................................................................................................2
3.1.8.2. Internet of Things (IoT)......................................................................................................................2
3.1.8.3. E-advertising......................................................................................................................................2
3.2. Criminality in Computing.............................................................................................................................2
3.2.1. What is computer Crime?.....................................................................................................................2
3.2.2.1. Introduction.......................................................................................................................................2
3.2.2.2. What is Denial-of-Service Attack (DoS)?............................................................................................2
3.2.2.3. Types of DoS Attacks..........................................................................................................................2
1.2. Flooding Attacks...........................................................................................................................................2
3.2.2.4. Targets of DoS....................................................................................................................................2
3.2.2.5. DENIAL OF SERVICE DEFENSE CHALLENGES.......................................................................................2
3.2.3. Identity Theft.........................................................................................................................................2
3.2.4. Fraud.....................................................................................................................................................2
3.2.5. Misrepresentation.................................................................................................................................2
3.2.6. Cyber terrorism.....................................................................................................................................2
1.1. What is Cyber Space?...................................................................................................................................2
1.2. What is Cyber security?...............................................................................................................................2
1.3. The Changing Landscape of Cybercrime......................................................................................................2
1.4 What Is Cyber terrorism?.............................................................................................................................2
2.1. The Attraction of Cyber terrorism for Terrorists..........................................................................................2
2.2. The Growing Vulnerabilities.........................................................................................................................2

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 3.2.7. Websites, e-commerce and data: rights to access and to privacy.........................................................2
Summery................................................................................................................................................................ 2
Chapter Four...........................................................................................................................................................2
Commentary on Legal Frameworks and Enforcement of computing Technology..................................................2
1.1 Federal cybercrime Legislation.....................................................................................................................2
1.2 Privacy Act....................................................................................................................................................2
1.2.1 What is Privacy?....................................................................................................................................2
1.2.2 Is privacy a right?...................................................................................................................................2
1.2.3 What is information privacy?.................................................................................................................2
1.3 The Impact of Technology on Privacy...........................................................................................................2
1.4 Case Study: The Legal Framework for Privacy Protection in Ethiopia...........................................................2
1.5 Charter of Rights and Freedoms Act.............................................................................................................2
1.6 Case Study the Legal Framework for Rights and Freedoms in Ethiopia........................................................2
3.7 Copyright Act................................................................................................................................................2
3.8 Case Study: The Legal Framework for Copyright in Canada..........................................................................2
3.9 Industrial Design Act.....................................................................................................................................2
3.9.1 Case study: Legal Framework for Industrial design in Ethiopia..............................................................2
3.9.2 Case study: Legal Framework for Integrated Circuit Topography in Canada.........................................2
1.9.2 Case study:Legal Framework for Personal Information Protection........................................................2
and Electronic Documents Act S.C. 2000, c. 5in Canada..................................................................................2
3.10 Protection of Personal Information............................................................................................................2
3.10.1 Case study: Legal Framework for Protection of children and other vulnerable persons in Ethiopia....2
3.11 Computer Crime Proclamation in Ethiopia..................................................................................................2
3.12. A proclamation for the computer crime (/2008)........................................................................................2
3.13 Crimes against computer system and computer data................................................................................2
3.13.1. Criminal Acts Related to Usage of Computer Devices and Data..........................................................2
3.14 Computer related forgery, fraud and theft.................................................................................................2
3.15 Illegal content data.....................................................................................................................................2
3.16 Failure to Cooperate and Hindrance of Investigation................................................................................2
3.17 Preventive and investigative measures.......................................................................................................2
3.18 Evidentiary and procedural provisions........................................................................................................2
3.19 Institutions that follow up cases of computer crime...................................................................................2
3.20 Miscellaneous provisions............................................................................................................................2
Summery................................................................................................................................................................ 2

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CHAPTER FIVE.........................................................................................................................................................2
Team Work Integration in Computing Technology Environment and Organizational Communication..................2
2. Team work in computing technology..............................................................................................................2
References …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….………………155

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 CHAPTER ONE

Social, Ethical and Professional Issues in the context of Information Technology

and Computing
Unit objectives:-

Learners, when you finish reading this unit you are expected to:

Define the term ethics, morality, and values

Discuss moral standards, values and principles

Distinguish ethics and morality

Discuss Mill’s presumption on Liberty and Kant's Ethical Formalism

1.1 Introduction
Today computers play an essential role in industry, commerce, government, research, education,
medicine, communication systems, entertainment and many other areas of our society. Professionals
who contribute to the design, development, analysis, specification, certification, maintenance, study or
myriads of different applications of computer systems have a significant impact and therefore the
opportunities to both make positive contributions to the society, but also to cause harm. To ensure that
their efforts will be used for good Computing professionals must commit themselves to making
Computing beneficial and respected profession, promoting an ethical approach to the professional
practice. So, the Code of Conduct and Ethics is designed to assist staff in providing clients with the best
possible service and to manage and resolve workplace issues. As well as setting out the legal guidelines
for complying with rules and directions, the Code of Conduct and Ethics encourages staff to aspire to
high standards of professional and personal conduct to maintain integrity in the important work we do.
Staff members should be aware that the Code of Conduct and Ethics sets out a number of obligations
and standards that breached and lead to further action up to and including formal discipline.

Activity 1.1:-

Dear learners, Can you explain what do you think professional ethics, code of conducts and code
of ethics with respect to computing technology? Can you identify and mention any professional
ethics and code of conducts in your organization or sector related computing technology?

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1.2 Principles behind the Code of Conduct and Professional Ethics

The Code of Conduct and professional Ethics is based on the following principles which require that all
staff members should:-

 Have respected the law and the system of the government under which they carry out their
duties.
 Perform their duties with professionalism, objectivities, honestly, integrity and compassion, and
in the best interests of the people who access the services of the profession.
 Show respect for all stakeholders (clients, colleagues and members of the public) and their
rights.
 Observe fairness and equity in all official dealings with the organization and with other public
sector employees.
 Avoid real or perceived conflicts of interest.
 Ensure the proper use of official information.
 Maintain proper standards of confidentiality when considering making public comment.
 Ensure the efficient and effective use of public resources in the public interest.
 Report suspected corrupt behavior by other staff members.

1.3 Code of Conduct and Ethics

The Code of Conduct and Ethics is simply a guide; it cannot address all the possible ethical challenges
that you may face in your employment, therefore the computing department provides more specific
policies and guidelines for certain matters in the profession area in consideration and referring your
organization policy and other legislations. If you are unsure about whether the Code of Conduct and
Ethics applies to a particular situation, or what the appropriate course of action to be adopted is, discuss
the matter with your supervisor, the Manager Human Resources (HR) or the Director Corporate Human
Resources of your organization and sector. Ultimately, all staff and senior managers of the department
need to be responsible for their own behavior and work in an ethical way.

Activity 1.2:
Dear learners, before you start reading the paragraphs below take a moment to write about the
definition of professional Ethics and Morality and their difference in the context of your
profession.

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Following are the topics of interest in computing technology:

 Social context of computing

 Methods and tools of analysis of ethical argument

 Professional and ethical responsibilities

 Risks and liabilities of safety-critical systems

 Intellectual property

 Privacy and civil liberties

 Social implications of the Internet

 Computer crime

 Philosophical foundations of ethics

1.4 What are "Ethics" and "Morality"?

The terms “morality” and “ethics” come from the Latin and Greek terms “mores”and “ethos”,
respectively. The terms ethics was given such meanings as customs, temperament, character and even
way of thinking. In the ancient philosophy the term was also used to implicate the terminological
meaning for permanent character of social and physical phenomenon. For example water, the ethos of
water, the ethos of fire (burns).

Delineation of boundary between ethics and morality may turn to be a challenging task since both have
been used interchangeably for long. This has also made a separate definition of the contents a bit
difficult, but ethics can generally be viewed as “the area of philosophy that is concerned with the
study and analysis of what is bad, what is right and what is wrong”. It is attempts to arrive at an
understanding of the nature of human values, of how we ought to live , what constitutes the right
conduct and good life for human beings and what is the good reason for acting in one way or the other.
The definition tells that ethics has the deep concern on human actions, and it studies matter of ethics is
contributed more by the action of individuals and social groups. These actions are mainly voluntary
actions of thoughtful nature as well in the computing world.

On the other hand, morality pertains directly to the situations of acting on moral basis. It incorporates
the basic principles and standards of measuring and differentiating between right and wrong or good
behavior. The concept in morality helps an individual to determine whether his actions are right or
wrong. So, morality pertains to the specific codes and the principles that human beings do really use to

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guide their actions as right or wrong. Moral philosophy seeks to establish principles of right /good
behavior which may serve as an action guides for the individuals and groups. It in investigates which
values and qualities are paramount to the worthwhile life of the society.

1.4.1 Ethics: - relates to the philosophy behind a moral outcome. In order to spotlight acceptable and
unacceptable behavior within a specific situation, ethical behavior is defined. The term 'ethics' also
refers to understanding and adopting moral values within the home or workplace that should be
defined. It relates to values commonly adhered to and fundamentals or meta-ethics in the immediate
surroundings. There are different types of ethics and their applications are differs from one situation to
another. In the case of normative ethics, the notion behind what declares an action as 'right' or 'wrong' is
derived and defined. In meta-ethics, judgmental properties within a situation are investigated. Issues
relating to the sensitivity of ontology, semantics and epistemology are explored in this stream of ethics.

Ethics refers to the principles of right and wrong that individuals, acting as free moral agents, use to
make choices to guide their behavior. Information technology and information systems raise new
ethical questions for both individuals and societies because they create opportunities for intense social
change, and thus threaten existing distributions of power, money, rights, and obligations. Like other
technologies, such as steam engines, electricity, telephone, and radio, information technology can be
used to achieve social progress, but it can also be used to commit crimes and threaten cherished social
values. The development of information technology will produce benefits for many, and costs for
others.

In computing technology and information technology ethics, like ethics in general, imply inquiries into
values, meaning and facts:

 Normative inquiries seek to identify the values that should guide the ethical argument. An
example is the question of how professional ideals can be justified in terms of more
fundamental moral ideas.
 Conceptual inquiries seek to clarify the meaning of ideas. An example is the question: What is
profession and what defines professionals? It is obvious that normative and conceptual issues
are tightly interconnected.
 Factual (descriptive) inquiries seek to provide facts needed for understanding and resolving
the value issues. Determining the facts enables us to deal realistically with the alternatives of
resolving ethical problems.

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1.5 Is Computer Ethics Unique in Relation to Other Fields of Ethics?

The basic principles of ethics are constant, no matter to what areas they might be applied. For example
the principles of medical ethics, legal ethics, and computer ethics are not different from one another.
Theft is theft no matter whether done as a street robbery or with a computer. However, new
circumstances related to the computer do cause new questions about how these principles are to be
applied. The specific features of the computer do give rise to new ethical problems.

Speed: It seems that computers operate at the speed of but an example where speed can cause problems
is the “flame” phenomena. This occurs when, after reading some posting or e-mail, a person sends off
an e-mail response in which one uses an immoderate tone, a tone which one would not use if he or she
had taken the time to write a traditional letter or had contacted the recipient in person or by phone.

Storage: Massive numbers of files can be retained on the computer indefinitely, and once information
is recorded in these files and shared with other computers, information about people (accurate or
inaccurate) can invade privacy in a way never before possible in history

Identity: It is possible with a computer to steal a person's identity, forge a message from a person, or
send a message anonymously.

Internationality: Computer transmissions do not stop at national boundaries. What is, for example,
considered outlawed in one country can be sent into that country from another country where it is not
illegal.

Copying: Images and text can be taken with a computer in a few seconds by a few clicks of the mouse
and can be used without attribution to the author or out of context.

Openness and availability: Even in case of e.g. annoyance, pornography or gambling.

Power mediation: Computing technology is still a male-dominated field. This might be the result of a
gender-influenced relationship with the computer.

Activity -2
Is this male domination an inequity? The rich have more access to computing resources than do the
poor. But is this not like saying that the rich have more access to all the more expensive things in life?
Is the computer such a basic tool that it is wrong for the poor not to have equal access to it?

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Privacy: Is it unfair for someone to harvest e-mail addresses on the Web, perhaps combined with other
information about the holders of those e-mail addresses, such as their browsing interests and purchasing
activity, and then sell that information to mass marketers who will then send unwanted spam to those
addresses, and etc.

When using information sources and systems, it is essential to ask, what is the ethical and
socially responsible course of action?

Figure 1-1 The relationship between ethical, social, and political issues in an information society.

The introduction of new information technology has a ripple effect, raising new ethical, social, and
political issues that must be dealt with on the individual, social, and political levels. These issues have
five moral dimensions: information rights and obligations, property rights and obligations, system
quality, quality of life, and accountability and control.

1.6 Why Study Professional Ethics?

"Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?" "That's depends a good deal on where
you want to get to."... (Alice in Wonderland, Chapter VI, P 64; Carroll, 1960) What is the point in
studying Information Technology ethics? What can be gained from taking an ethics course? A
professional ethics course is not about preaching virtue so that the immoral and amoral students will
adopt a certain established set of beliefs. Rather, it means to increase the ability of concerned
computing technology, managers and citizens, to first recognize and then responsibly confront moral

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issues raised by technological activity. The goal is to foster moral autonomy, i.e. the skill and habit of
thinking rationally about ethical issues, as well as to improve the ability to think critically about moral
matters.

1.7 Morality: - Refers to an adopted code of conduct within an environment and a set of agreed upon
rules for what is 'right' and 'wrong'. Morals have formed the spine of modern society, religion and every
individual's conscience. The conceptions changed in time and take on a new meaning. For example,
'murder is immoral', but 'on the battlefield murder is permissible'. In a way, morality is in sync with
ethics. While one is abstract in understanding, the other is defined and in the form of written code.
Morality addresses the ethical queries on the moral outcome of a specific situation. The code of conduct
formulated probes prohibitions, controversial behavior, standards of belief systems and social
conformity of morally 'right' behavior.

Moral codes define 'appropriate' and 'expected' activity. Community morality is usually defined via
commentaries and codes of authority. Morality is better understood as an assimilation of beliefs about
the essentials to lead a 'good' life. It is not to be confused with religious or fanatic or political
perception. Moral codes are based on value systems that have been tried and tested. The best examples
of moral codes include the Eightfold Path of Buddhism and the Ten commandments. It is believed that
all of us, throughout our lives, act from a developing moral core.

Difference between Ethics and Morality

While morals define our character, ethics dictate the working of a social system. Ethics point towards
the application of morality. In the wake of this understanding, national, social and workplace ethics are
based on the abstract moral codes adopted and adhered to by each member of the group. It is part of
individual morality to respond to the needs of the elderly citizens within the community. Social ethics
require you to sign up for a community outreach program. The difference between morality and ethics
is a fine line that differs between communities and environment.

Activity 1.3:

Dear learners, give a short analysis on the way of using social media and other computing
technology in terms of ethical and moral issues in the context of Ethiopia and Globe?
Moral standards:

1.8 Codes of Ethics and Professional Conduct

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Professional societies in computing technology issues their codes or ethical guidelines/ codes of
professional conduct are very important. Some differ widely in their content, because of their origins
and their specific purposes, but others are similar in the topics they cover and the general ethical
standards they articulate. Codes of Ethics express the consensus of the profession on ethical issues.
They at the same time are the means to educate the general public about ethical norms and values of the
profession. Therefore an essential characteristic of a profession is the need for its members to conform
to its Code of Ethics.
Professional codes of ethics should be understood as conventions between professionals. Having a code
of ethics allows computing technology to object to pressure to produce substandard work not merely as
an ordinary moral agent, but as a professional. The possible functions of a code of ethics: “First, it can
serve as a collective recognition by members of a profession of its responsibilities. Second, it can help
create an environment in which ethical behavior is the norm. Third, it can serve as a guide or reminder
in specific situations…Fourth, the process of developing and modifying a code of ethics can be
valuable for a profession. Fifth, a code can serve as an educational tool, providing a focal point for
discussion in classes and professional meetings. Finally, a code can indicate to others that the
profession is seriously concerned with responsible, professional conduct.

Figure 1-1 Ethics in computing Technology

1.9 Moral standard, Values and Principles

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1.9.1 Moral standards

Moral standards and principles mainly turn to be socially constructed realities to certain cultural groups.
As a result, individuals in such groups may be required to go in line with these standards. The existence
of such moral conventions in societies and conformity/adherence of the individuals to them may
sometimes determine the continued existence of that community as a community. Without
communality of moral behavior individual members would have irregularly gone their way and living
togetherness may have been eroded.

1.9.2 Moral value:

Here it would be necessary to define what moral values are. They are socially accepted evaluations of
objects of the surrounding world. They are general idea or a standard the people share about what are
good and bad, right or wrong etc. Moral values can express negative or positive meaning for the man
and society and serve as reference points in the daily social activities. Thus moral values serve
standards to judge or evaluate our actions & those of others.

Therefore, generally speaking morality pertains to the action of individuals and groups and it provides
the concept and principles of evaluating their action in their right or wrong. Whereas, ethics is the field
of study or science that makes a philosophical analysis of morality, the systematic endeavor to
understand moral concepts and justify moral principles and theories. It under takes to analyze such
concept as “right”, ‘wrong”, “permissible”, “ought”, ‘good” and evil in their moral context. Ethics is
concerned with values, not what is, but what ought to be. It raises such issues as how should I live in
my life? What is the right thing to do under certain situation? Is abortion is permissible act? Do I need
to revenge my enemy? Should we always tell the truth? etc…so, whereas the specific principle and
standards that guide the actions of the individuals is the concern of morality, the study and analysis of
these principles and the actions is the concern of the field of study of ethics. Ethics therefore, is a
science that study morality itself.

1.9.3 Moral principles:

Moral principles are constructed in a society they will come in to effect in the day to day activities of
the society and the individuals. It may also include in the general rules of the society in the form of
legal restriction and juridical correct conduct. Because as morality does, the law is concerned to
promote wellbeing, resolve conflicts of interest and bring social harmony. A society can derive its
moral principles from different sources. For instance, religion is the one important source of morality
and apart from that existing social objective realities may also serve as a source of morality. But there is
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difference between religious and securely derived morality. Secular morality is the mainly grounded on
the reason and common human experiences, whereas, religious ethics takes the words of divine
authority as a reference point to construct moral ideas.

Activity 1.4:

Dear learners, before you start reading the paragraphs below take a moment to write about the
different types of Ethics? And explain the types of ethics you are exercising in your organization
or sector?

1.10 Types of ethics and Ethical & moral duties

I. Normative ethics:

Normative ethics deal with issues like what actions are right or wrong? what situations and conditions
effect and influence individuals or groups to act one way or the other?

How can one evaluate, criticize or persuade the actions of somebody?

In generals, it refers to the human nature and how and why human being acts in certain way in some
specific situations.

It may study such questions as human being good by nature? Why human beings kill each other? Why
do they steal others properties/why do they turn envious etc…

It also includes the function of morality to human life. For instance, what benefits do human beings
acquire in being good and moralistic.

If the human beings are good and moralistic, they can maintain peaceful life and be respected in their
society.

II. Meta ethics:

It analyses and studies the meaning of ethical terms and judgment in normative ethics

 Normative ethics deals with badness and goodness of action, while Meta ethics deals with term
itself what does it means by the term good or bad and right or wrong? Its finding may use to
give moral judgment in normative ethics.
 Ethical relativism:

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Ethical relativism is the notion that there are no universally valid moral principles but that all moral
principles are valid relative to cultural or the individual choice. Ethical relativism is further dissected in
to:

Subjectivism: views morality as personal decision i.e morality is in the eyes of the beholder. This
approach reduced morality to only individual and personal affair.

Conventionalism: views moral validity in terms of social acceptance. This approach has a relatively
outlook on morality giving its border social spectrum.

Cultural relativism: Cultural relativism believes that there is no such thing as universal truth in ethics,
there are only the various cultural code, and they are not to be given special status because they are just
among many. But deep scrutiny of moral issues shows that it is difficult to take molar relativism for
granted. Some values have universal acceptance and be applicable regardless of cultural variations.

 Ethics and moral responsibility:

Responsibility is the duty or obligations of a person or a group to do something. As a member of group,

community or society, a person has both an individual and collective responsibilities.

Individual responsibility: - It refers to the moral and legal obligations related with taking care of
oneself and one own action, fulfilling one own personal responsibility to oneself, family and others in
one community and nation.

Collective responsibility:-It is the responsibility shared by all the members of a group, community or
nation to protect the common good of the society.

In the organization where we discharge our duties for the common good we would be expected to fulfill
other sets of responsibilities. Such organization plays a larger social role in different ways. well
accomplishment of these roles is the function of the activities of the individual that took charge of the
positions in such organizations. So, diligence of the individual members and their being serious in
strictly observing and adhering to their professional standards is very much necessary. It is at this point
that organization can achieve their social objective.

Generally speaking, individuals living in a society may have such legal and moral duties

 Being diligent to one own job/task

 Taking care of oneself and one own family
 Keeping promises

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  Observing laws and social values
 Keeping public poverty
 Protecting the well-being of the environment
 Keeping cultural and the historical heritage
 Protecting the boundary of the state and preserving the independence of the country.

Diligence: diligence to one’s own task is one very important source of responsibility of individuals. A
government delivers public service to the society. These services are to be provided through the
institution of the government itself. These institutions are staffed by nobody but the citizens, whose
professionals and technical skills are important to deliver services to the whole society at large.

Observing the laws and social values

Responsible individuals should also observe the law and the social values of their society.Citizens are
expected to respect the customs adopted by their societies and their obligations that emanate from the
formal laws of their country.

Keeping promise:

Keeping one’s promise is also important ethical moral value in the lives of the individual.Entering in to
promise in effect causes one to assume obligation in which he becomes responsible to discharge it.

Once a person entered in to promise to that effect he/she is declaring the duty to bear on him/herself.

Whether that person is respecting his/her promise is based on the ethical consideration of the person
him/herself.

Good individuals respect and keep their promise, because he/she has at least a moral obligation to do so
as the member of the society.

Keeping the public property

Keeping the public property and historical and cultural heritages of the society is also under set of
moral obligation to be respected by the individuals.

Wise use of the resources and protecting public property from the depletion and wastage is the moral
responsibility of the citizens.

In addition, cultural and historical heritages should also be maintained protected by the citizens of the
state as a means of maintaining one’s own history and culture.

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Protecting the environment:

 Keeping the environment free from the pollution.

 Maintain the natural beauty
 Deforestation should be stopped.

Activity 1.5:

Dear learners, before you start reading the paragraphs below take a moment to write about
Liberty and list down philosophers who discuss about Liberty. After you are complete reading
compare your notes with the discussion given below. Use the space provided below.

1.11 Mill’s Liberty Presumption

John Stuart Mill (20 May 1806 – 8 May 1873) was an English philosopher, political economist and
civil servant. One of the most influential thinkers in the history of liberalism, he contributed widely
to social theory, political theory and political economy. He has been called "the most influential
English-speaking philosopher of the nineteenth century. Mill's conception of liberty justified the
freedom of the individual in opposition to unlimited state control.

Mill expresses his view on freedom by illustrating how an individual's drive to better their station, and
for self-improvement, is the sole source of true freedom. Only when an individual is able to attain such
improvements, without impeding others in their own efforts to do the same, can true freedom prevail.
Mill's linking of freedom and self-improvement has inspired many. By establishing that individual
efforts to excel have worth, Mill was able to show how they should achieve self-improvement without
harming others, or society at large.

John Stuart Mill's On Liberty (1859) is the classic statement and defense of the view that governmental
encroachment upon the freedom of individuals is almost never warranted. A genuinely civil society, he
maintained, must always guarantee the civil liberty of its citizens—their protection against interference
by an abusive authority. This is true even when the government itself relies upon the democratic
participation of the people. The tyranny of the majority is especially dangerous to individual liberty,
Mill supposed, because the most commonly recommended remedy is to demand that the recalcitrant
minority either persuade the majority to change its views or learn to conform to socially accepted
norms.

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Mill had a different notion. The proper balance between individual liberty and governmental authority,
he proposed, can be stated as a simple principle:

 "The only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized
community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others." 

Although society has a clear responsibility for protecting its citizens from each other, it has no business
interfering with the rest of what they do. In particular, anything that directly affects only the individual
citizen must remain absolutely free. On Mill's view, this entails in particular that the government is
never justified in trying to control, limit, or restrain:

 private thoughts and feelings, along with their public expression,

 individual tastes and pursuits as efforts to live happily, or
 The association of like-minded individuals with each other.

No society is truly free unless its individual citizens are permitted to take care of themselves.

Considering first freedom of thought and discussion, Mill argued that because even a majority
opinion is fallible, society should always permit the expression of minority views. There is a chance,
after all, that the unconventional opinion will turn out, in the long run, to be correct, in which case the
entire society would suffer if it were never allowed to come to light. Sincere devotion to the truth
requires open inquiry, not the purposeful silencing of alternative views that might prove to be right.
Even if the unconventional opinion turns out to be incorrect, Mill argued, there is still good reason to
encourage its free expression. The truth can only be enlivened and strengthened by exposure to
criticism and debate through which the majorities view is shown not to be merely an inadequately
grounded superstition. In the most common instance, Mill supposed, there will actually turn out to be
some measure of falsity in the clearest truth and some element of truth in the most patent falsehood.
Thus, on every possible occasion, encouraging civil discussion of alternative views genuinely benefits
society as a whole.

Mill supposed that behavior as well as thought often deserves protection against social encroachment.
Human action should arise freely from the character of individual human beings, not from the despotic
influence of public opinion, custom, or expectation. No matter what patterns of behavior may constitute
the way we ought to be, he argued, each person must choose her or his own path in life, even if it
differs significantly from what other people would recommend. No less than in the realm of thought, in
the realm of behavior unconventionality and originality are often signs of great personal genius, which
should never be curtailed by social pressures.
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In summary; Mill emphasized that individual citizens are responsible for themselves, their thoughts and
feelings, and their own tastes and pursuits, while society is properly concerned only with social
interests. In particular, the state is justified in limiting or controlling the conduct of individuals only
when doing so is the only way to prevent them from doing harm to others by violating their rights.
Where the conduct in question affects only the person who does it—even if it clearly results in harm to
that person—the state has no business in even trying to suppress the mode of being that person has
chosen. Thus, on Mill's view, legislation that attempts to promote good conduct or to prevent people
from harming themselves is always wrong. The line he drew between private and social concerns is a
fairly clear one: society should not endeavor to limit my drinking, but rightly prosecutes me for
harming others while drunk.

In the essay's final chapter, Mill carefully noted several apparent exceptions to the general principle.
Governmental interference is not necessary even in some of the instances where it might be justifiable.
Economic life involves social interest and may therefore be subject to regulation, even though free
trade is often more effective. Speech or action by one individual that encourages someone else to
commit self-harm is appropriately restricted. Indirect action by the state designed to encourage or
discourage (without requiring or restraining) individual conduct is permissible; in fact, doing so is
simply good utilitarian legislation. According to Mill, the state's legitimate interest in preventing harm
to its citizens extends even into the domain of family life, as in forbidding spousal abuse or providing
for the education of children.

Finally, Mill noted that even if the involvement of the government in some specific aspect of the lives
of its citizens does not violate their individual liberty, there may remain other good reasons for
avoiding it. If the conduct to be regulated can be performed better by individuals themselves, if it is
more desirable that it be done by them, or if regulation would add significantly to the already-
dangerous power of the social establishment, then the state ought not to be allowed to interfere. Mill's
conclusion, then, is strictly in favor of liberty: governmental action is legitimate only when
demonstrably necessary for the protection of other citizens from direct harm caused by the conduct in
question. On every other contingency, the liberty of the individual should remain inviolate. 

Activity 1.6:
Dear learners, before you start reading the paragraphs below take a moment to write about
activities or tradition taking place which could hinder the practice of Liberty. After you are
complete reading compare your notes with the discussion given below. Use the space provided
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below.

1.12 Liberty-limiting principles (LLP)

Generally, in our society, it is understood that people want to maximize their freedom and autonomy. 
But this is not always possible, since one person or group’s attempt to maximize freedom may interfere
with others’ freedom.  So we need some kind of a justification that people can agree upon, if we are to
limit the freedom of some people or group.  Liberty Limiting Principles are reasons or justifications
for limiting another person’s freedom.   In general, however, we value freedom so much that if
someone’s freedom is going to be taken away, then there should be a really good reason.

Party a uses LLP to limit the freedom of B.

1.  Harm Principle:  The freedom of a person may be justifiably restricted if the person harms another
(physical, reputation, emotional, economic).  In other words, if someone is harming others, then it
would be ok if that person’s freedom to harm others is restricted.   You are not free to harm others.

This one is uncontroversial.  People accept that someone’s harmful behavior to others should be
restricted.  For instance, if A is assaulting you, then it’s reasonable that his or her freedom to harm you
should be taken away.  Likewise, you don’t have the freedom to harm others.  Debates: Is abortion
“harm to the fetus?”  Animal Rights:  What about harm to animals?

2.  Offense Principle:  The freedom of a person may be justifiably restricted if the person offends
another.  In other words, if someone’s behavior is offensive enough, then it would be ok if that person’s
freedom to offend others is restricted.  You are not free to act in an offensive manner.

This one is more complicated.  Some people believe that since freedom of expression is so important,
people ought to put up with some levels of offense.  Also, some people might be offended by a certain
thing but others may not find that offensive (e.g., pornography).  What about racial remarks? 
Offensive?  Or is it more than offense and becoming emotional harm?

3.  Moderate Paternalism:  The freedom of a person may be justifiably restricted if the person harms
himself or herself.  In other words, this principle protects you from harming yourself.

This one is controversial.  Laws that come under this principle include the helmet law, the seat-belt law,
drug prescription law, etc—these are designed so that you won’t harm yourself.  Many people find that
this is not a justifiable principle to enforce.  People should have the freedom to harm themselves if they

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want to or if they are stupid enough.  It’s their business.  What about marijuana?  Should it be
legalized?

4.  Extreme Paternalism:  The freedom of a person may be justifiably restricted in order to compel
that person to benefit him or herself.  In other words, this principle forces you to improve yourself
beyond the present condition.

This one too is controversial, but we do have laws and practices along these lines a Compulsory in
education.   Such as forcing employees to go through skills classes.  Rewarding people for enrolling in
exercise programs, quitting smoking, etc, in such a way that if the person didn’t do it, it’s actually to
the person’s disadvantage so much so that the person pretty much has no choice, etc.   Are these rules
taking away a person’s freedom of choice too much?

5. Legal Moralism:  The freedom of a person may be justifiably restricted if the person acts
immorally.  This principle limits the freedom of another purely to enforce certain morals.  It is not
based on harm, offense, etc.  In other words, your freedom may be taken away just because you do
something immoral.

This one is very controversial.  Many people feel that morality is not enough of a reason to restrict
someone’s freedom, but this principle is often endorsed by fundamentalist groups.  Abortion should be
illegal, simply because it is immoral.  Using drugs is immoral; therefore it should be illegal, etc.  (Note
that it is not about harm to others, harm to self.  The reason must be morality.)

6.  Social Welfare Principle:  The freedom of a person may be justifiably restricted in order to prevent
harm or benefit society as a whole.  In other words, you are not free to harm society and/or you are
somewhat obligated to benefit society. This one is somewhat controversial, but in general accepted. 
There are regulations for pollution control, smog certificate laws, auto-insurance laws, “good Samaritan
laws,” requiring service learning in classes, etc.  Perhaps even the whole system of taxation.

People who tend toward libertarianism would accept only 1, the Harm Principle.  All the others are
unjustified.  On the other hand, people who argue for a more robust social welfare state would argue for
more collaboration and therefore argue for many of the others (except 5, Legal Moralism).  Religious
fundamentalist groups find 4 (Legal Moralism) entirely justifiable, but most others do not.

One way or another, any limitation of freedom requires a justification, because personal freedom is
prima facie one of the most important conditions of society.

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Activity 1.6:

Dear learners, before you start reading the paragraphs below take a moment to write about
justice. After you are complete reading compare your notes with the discussion given below. Use
the space provided below.

1.13 Justice and different type Justice in working environment

Justice is the legal or philosophical theory by which fairness is administered. The concept of justice
differs in every culture. An early theory of justice was set out by the Ancient Greek
philosopher Plato in his work The Republic. Advocates of divine command theory argue that justice
issues from God. In the 17th century, theorists like John Locke argued for the theory of natural law.
Thinkers in the social contract tradition argued that justice is derived from the mutual agreement of
everyone concerned. In the 19th century, utilitarian thinkers including John Stuart Millargued that
justice is what has the best consequences. Theories of distributive justice concern what is distributed,
between whom they are to be distributed, and what is the proper distribution. Egalitarians argued that
justice can only exist within the coordinates of equality. John Rawls used a social contract argument
to show that justice, and especially distributive justice, is a form of fairness. Property rights theorists
(like Robert Nozick) take a deontological view of distributive justice and argue that property rights-
based justice maximizes the overall wealth of an economic system. Theories of retributive justice are
concerned with punishment for wrongdoing. Restorative justice (also sometimes called "reparative
justice") is an approach to justice that focuses on the needs of victims and offenders.

There are four types of justice that people can seek when they have been wronged.

Distributive justice

Distributive justice, also known as economic justice, is about fairness in what people receive, from
goods to attention. Its roots are in social order and it is at the roots of socialism, where equality is a
fundamental principle.

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If people do not think that they are getting their fair share of something, they will seek first to gain what
they believe they deserve. They may well also seek other forms of justice.

Procedural justice

The principle of fairness is also found in the idea of fair play (as opposed to the fair share  of
distributive justice).

If people believe that a fair process was used in deciding what it to be distributed, then they may well
accept an imbalance in what they receive in comparison to others. If they see both procedural and
distributive injustice, they will likely seek restorative and/or retributive justice.

Restorative justice

The first thing that the betrayed person may seek from the betrayer is some form of restitution, putting
things back as they should be.

The simplest form of restitution is a straightforward apology. Restoration means putting things back as
they were, so it may include some act of contrition to demonstrate one is truly sorry. This may include
action and even extra payment to the offended party.Restorative justice is also known as corrective
justice.

Retributive justice

Retributive justice works on the principle of punishment, although what constitutes fair and
proportional punishment is widely debated. While the intent may be to dissuade the perpetrator or
others from future wrong-doing, the re-offending rate of many criminals indicates the limited success
of this approach.

Punishment in practice is more about the satisfaction of victims and those who care about them. This
strays into the realm of revenge, which can be many times more severe than reparation as the hurt party
seeks to make the other person suffer in return. In such cases 'justice' is typically defined emotionally
rather that with intent for fairness or prevention.

Activity 1.6:

Dear learners, before you start reading the paragraphs below take a moment to write about right
and list down the different categories of rights you think? After you are complete reading
compare your notes with the discussion given below. Use the space provided below.

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1.14 The Nature, Kinds, and Grounds of Rights

Rights are legal, social, or ethical principles of freedom or entitlement; that is, rights are the

fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people, according to some
legal system, social convention, or ethical theory. Rights are of essential importance in such disciplines
as law and ethics, especially theories of justice and deontology.

Rights are often considered fundamental to civilization, being regarded as established pillars
of society and culture, and the history of social conflicts can be found in the history of each right and
its development. According to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, "rights structure the form
of governments, the content of laws, and the shape of morality as it is currently perceived.

Rights are widely regarded as the basis of law, but what if laws are bad? Some theorists suggest civil
disobedience is, itself, a right, and it was advocated by thinkers such as Henry David
Thoreau, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Mohandas Karamch and Gandhi.

There is considerable disagreement about what is meant precisely by the term rights. It has been used
by different groups and thinkers for different purposes, with different and sometimes opposing
definitions, and the precise definition of this principle, beyond having something to do with normative
rules of some sort or another, is controversial.

One way to get an idea of the multiple understandings and senses of the term is to consider different
ways it is used. Many diverse things are claimed as rights:

 A right to life, a right to choose; a right to vote, to work, to strike; a right to one phone call, to
dissolve parliament, to operate a forklift, to asylum, to equal treatment before the law, to feel
proud of what one has done; a right to exist, to sentence an offender to death, to launch a
nuclear first strike, to carry a concealed weapon, to a distinct genetic identity; a right to believe
one's own eyes, to pronounce the couple husband and wife, to be left alone, to go to hell in one's
own way.

There are likewise diverse possible ways to categorize rights, such as:

 Who is alleged to have the right: Children's rights, animal rights, workers' rights, states' rights,
the rights of peoples? What actions or states or objects the asserted right pertains to: Rights of
free expression, to pass judgment; rights of privacy, to remain silent; property rights, bodily

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 rights. Why the right-holder (allegedly) has the right: Moral rights spring from moral reasons,
legal rights derive from the laws of the society, customary rights are aspects of local
customs. How the asserted right can be affected by the right-holder’s actions: The inalienable
right to life, the forfeitable right to liberty, and the livable right that a promise is kept.

There has been considerable debate about what this term means within the academic community,
particularly within fields such as philosophy, law, deontology, logic, political science, and religion.

Natural rights versus legal rights

Natural rights are rights which are "natural" in the sense of "not artificial, not man-made", as in rights
deriving from deontic logic, fromhuman nature, or from the edicts of a god. They are universal; that
is, they apply to all people, and do not derive from the laws of any specific society. They exist
necessarily, inhere in every individual, and can't be taken away. For example, it has been argued that
humans have a natural right to life. These are sometimes called moral rights or inalienable rights.

Legal rights, in contrast, are based on a society's customs, laws, statutes or actions by legislatures. An
example of a legal right is theright to vote of citizens. Citizenship, itself, is often considered as the
basis for having legal rights, and has been defined as the "right to have rights". Legal rights are
sometimes called civil rights or statutory rights and are culturally and politically relative since they
depend on a specific societal context to have meaning.

Some thinkers see rights in only one sense while others accept that both senses have a measure of
validity. There has been considerable philosophical debate about these senses throughout history. For
example, Jeremy Bentham believed that legal rights were the essence of rights, and he denied the
existence of natural rights; whereas Thomas Aquinas held that rights purported by positive law but
not grounded in natural law were not properly rights at all, but only a facade or pretense of rights.

Eight Claim rights versus liberty rights

A claim right is a right which entails that another person has a duty to the right-holder. Somebody else
must do or refrain from doing something to or for the claim holder, such as perform a service or supply
a product for him or her; that is, he or she has a claim to that service or product (another term is thing
in action). In logic, this idea can be expressed as: "Person A has a claim that person B do something if
and only if B has a duty to A to do that something." Every claim-right entails that some other duty-
bearer must do some duty for the claim to be satisfied. This duty can be to act or to refrain from acting.
For example, many jurisdictions recognize broad claim rights to things like "life, liberty, and property";

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these rights impose an obligation upon others not to assault or restrain a person, or use their property,
without the claim-holder's permission. Likewise, in jurisdictions where social welfare services are
provided, citizens have legal claim rights to be provided with those services.

A liberty right or privilege, in contrast, is simply a freedom or permission for the right-holder to do

something, and there are no obligations on other parties to do or not do anything. This can be expressed
in logic as: "Person A has a privilege to do something if and only if A has no duty not to do that
something." For example, if a person has a legal liberty right to free speech, that merely means that it is
not legally forbidden for them to speak freely: it does not mean that anyone has to help enable their
speech, or to listen to their speech; or even, per se, refrain from stopping them from speaking,
though other rights, such as the claim right to be free from assault, may severely limit what others can
do to stop them.

Liberty rights and claim rights are the inverse of one another: a person has a liberty right permitting
him to do something only if there is no other person who has a claim right forbidding him from doing
so. Likewise, if a person has a claim right against someone else, then that other person's liberty is
limited. For example, a person has a liberty right to walk down a sidewalk and can decide freely
whether or not to do so, since there is no obligation either to do so or to refrain from doing so. But
pedestrians may have an obligation not to walk on certain lands, such as other people's private property,
to which those other people have a claim right. So a person's liberty right of walking extends precisely
to the point where another's claim right limits his or her freedom.

Positive rights versus negative rights

In one sense, a right is a permission to do something or an entitlement to a specific service or treatment

from others, and these rights have been called positive rights. However, in another sense, rights may
allow or require inaction, and these are called negative rights; they permit or require doing nothing. For
example, in some democracies e.g. the US, citizens have the positive right to vote and they have
the negative right to not vote; people can choose not to vote in a given election without punishment. In
other democracies e.g. Australia, however, citizens have a positive right to vote but they don't have a
negative right to not vote, since voting is compulsory. Accordingly:

Positive rights are permissions to do things, or entitlements to be done unto. One example of a positive
right is the purported "right to welfare.

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Negative rights are permissions not to do things, or entitlements to be left alone. Often the distinction
is invoked by libertarians who think of a negative right as an entitlement to non-interference such as a
right against being assaulted.

Though similarly named, positive and negative rights should not be confused with active rights (which
encompass "privileges" and "powers") and passive rights (which encompass "claims" and
"immunities").

Individual rights versus group rights

The general concept of rights is that they are possessed by individuals in the sense that they are
permissions and entitlements to do things which other persons, or which governments or authorities,
can not infringe. This is the understanding of people such as the author Ayn Rand who argued that
only individuals have rights, according to her philosophy known as Objectivism. However, others have
argued that there are situations in which a group of persons is thought to have rights, or group rights.
Accordingly:

Individual rights are rights held by individual people regardless of their group membership or lack
thereof.

Do groups have rights? Some argue that when soldiers bond in combat, the group becomes like an
organism in itself and has rights which trump the rights of any individual soldier.

Group rights have been argued to exist when a group is seen as more than a mere composite or
assembly of separate individuals but an entity in its own right. In other words, it's possible to see a
group as a distinct being in and of itself; it's akin to an enlarged individual, a corporate body, which has
a distinct will and power of action and can be thought of as having rights. For example, a platoon of
soldiers in combat can be thought of as a distinct group, since individual members are willing to risk
their lives for the survival of the group, and therefore the group can be conceived as having a "right"
which is superior to that of any individual member; for example, a soldier who disobeys an officer can
be punished, perhaps even killed, for a breach of obedience. But there is another sense of group rights
in which people who are members of a group can be thought of as having specific individual rights
because of their membership in a group. In this sense, the set of rights which individuals-as-group-
members have is expanded because of their membership in a group. For example, workers who are
members of a group such as a labor union can be thought of as having expanded individual rights
because of their membership in the labor union, such as the rights to specific working conditions or

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wages. As expected, there is sometimes considerable disagreement about what exactly is meant by the
term "group" as well as by the term "group rights.

There can be tension between individual and group rights. A classic instance in which group and
individual rights clash is conflicts between unions and their members. For example, individual
members of a union may wish a wage higher than the union-negotiated wage, but are prevented from
making further requests; in a so-called closed shop which has a union security agreement, only the
union has a right to decide matters for the individual union members such as wage rates. So, do the
supposed "individual rights" of the workers prevail about the proper wage? Or do the "group rights" of
the union regarding the proper wage prevail? Clearly this is a source of tension.

The Austrian School of Economics holds that only individuals think, feel, and act whether or not
members of any abstract group. The society should thus according to economists of the school be
analyzed starting from the individual. This methodology is called methodological individualism and is
used by the economists to justify individual rights.

Rights and philosophy

In philosophy, meta-ethics is the branch of ethics that seeks to understand the nature of

ethical properties, statements, attitudes, and judgments. Meta-ethics is one of the three branches of
ethics generally recognized by philosophers, the others being normative ethics and applied ethics.

While normative ethics addresses such questions as "What should one do?", thus endorsing some
ethical evaluations and rejecting others, meta-ethics addresses questions such as "What is goodness?"
and "How can we tell what is good from what is bad?", seeking to understand the nature of ethical
properties and evaluations.

Rights ethics is an answer to the meta-ethical question of what normative ethics is concerned with.
(Meta ethics also includes a group of questions about how ethics comes to be known, true, etc. which is
not directly addressed by rights ethics). Rights ethics holds that normative ethics is concerned with
rights.

Alternative Meta ethical theories are that ethics is concerned with one of the following:

Duties (deontology)

Value (Axiology)

Virtue (virtue ethics)

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Consequences (consequentialism, e.g. utilitarianism)

Rights ethics has had considerable influence on political and social thinking. The Universal
Declaration of Human Rights gives some concrete examples of widely accepted rights.

1.15 Kant’s Ethical Formalism and Rawls Social Justice Ethics

Kantian ethics refers to a deontological ethical theory ascribed to the German philosopher Immanuel

Kant. The theory, developed as a result of Enlightenment rationalism, is based on the view that the only
intrinsically good thing is a good will; an action can only be good if its maxim – the principle behind
it – is duty to the moral law. Central to Kant's construction of the moral law is the categorical
imperative, which acts on all people, regardless of their interests or desires. Kant formulated the
categorical imperative in various ways. His principle of universalizability requires that, for an action to
be permissible, it must be possible to apply it to all people without a contradiction occurring. His
formulation of humanity as an end in itself requires that humans are never treated merely as a means to
an end, but always also as ends in themselves. The formulation of autonomy concludes that rational
agents are bound to the moral law by their own will, while Kant's concept of the Kingdom of
Ends requires that people act as if the principles of their actions establish a law for a hypothetical
kingdom. Kant also distinguished between perfect and imperfect duties. A perfect duty, such as the
duty not to lie, always holds true; an imperfect duty, such as the duty to give to charity, can be made
flexible and applied in particular time and place.

Good will and duty

In his combined works, Kant constructed the basis for an ethical law from the concept of duty. Kant
began his ethical theory by arguing that the only virtue that can be unqualifiedly good is a good will.
No other virtue has this status because every other virtue can be used to achieve immoral ends (the
virtue of loyalty is not good if one is loyal to an evil person, for example). The good will is unique in
that it is always good and maintains its moral value even when it fails to achieve its moral intentions.
Kant regarded the good will as a single moral principle which freely chooses to use the other virtues for
moral ends.

For Kant a good will is a broader conception than a will which acts from duty. A will which acts from
duty is distinguishable as a will which overcomes hindrances in order to keep the moral law. A dutiful
will is thus a special case of a good will which becomes visible in adverse conditions. Kant argues that
only acts performed with regard to duty have moral worth. This is not to say that acts performed merely

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in accordance with duty are worthless (these still deserve approval and encouragement), but that special
esteem is given to acts which are performed out of duty.

Kant's conception of duty does not entail that people perform their duties grudgingly. Although duty
often constrains people and prompts them to act against their inclinations, it still comes from an agent's
volition: they desire to keep the moral law. Thus, when an agent performs an action from duty it is
because the rational incentives matter to them more than their opposing inclinations. Kant wished to
move beyond the conception morality as externally imposed duties and present an ethics of autonomy,
when rational agents freely recognize the claims reason makes upon them.

Perfect and imperfect duties

Applying the categorical imperative, duties arise because failure to fulfill them would either result in a
contradiction in conception or in a contradiction in the will. The former are classified as perfect duties,
the latter as imperfect. A perfect duty always holds true—there is a perfect duty to tell the truth, so we
must never lie. An imperfect duty allows flexibility—beneficence is an imperfect duty because we are
not obliged to be completely beneficent at all times, but may choose the times and places in which we
are. Kant believed that perfect duties are more important than imperfect duties: if a conflict between
duties arises, the perfect duty must be followed.

Categorical Imperative

The primary formulation of Kant's ethics is the categorical imperative, from which he derived four
further formulations. Kant made a distinction between categorical and hypothetical imperatives. A
hypothetical imperative is one we must obey if we want to satisfy our desires: 'go to the doctor' is a
hypothetical imperative because we are only obliged to obey it if we want to get well. A categorical
imperative binds us regardless of our desires: everyone has a duty to not lie, regardless of
circumstances and even if it is in our interest to do so. These imperatives are morally binding because
they are based on reason, rather than contingent facts about an agent. Unlike hypothetical imperatives,
which bind us insofar as we are part of a group or society which we owe duties to, we cannot opt out of
the categorical imperative because we cannot opt out of being rational agents. We owe a duty to
rationality by virtue of being rational agents; therefore, rational moral principles apply to all rational
agents at all times.

Universalizability

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Kant's first formulation of the Categorical Imperative is that of universalizability:-Act only according to
that maxim by which you can at the same time that it should become a universal law.

When someone acts, it is according to a rule, or maxim. For Kant, an act is only permissible if one is
willing for the maxim that allows the action to be a universal law by which everyone acts. Maxims fail
this test if they produce either a contradiction in conception or a contradiction in the will when
universalized. A contradiction in conception happens when, if a maxim were to be universalized, it
ceases to make sense because the "...maxim would necessarily destroy itself as soon as it was made a
universal law." For example, if the maxim 'It is permissible to break promises' was universalized, no
one would trust any promises made, so the idea of a promise would become meaningless; the maxim
would be self-contradictory because, when universalized, promises cease to be meaningful. The maxim
is not moral because it is logically impossible to universalize—we could not conceive of a world where
this maxim was universalized.A maxim can also be immoral if it creates a contradiction in the will
when universalized. This does not mean a logical contradiction, but that universalizing the maxim leads
to a state of affairs that no rational being would desire. For example, Driver argues that the maxim 'I
will not give to charity' produces a contradiction in the will when universalized because a world where
no one gives to charity would be undesirable for the person who acts by that maxim.

Kant believed that morality is the objective law of reason: just as objective physical laws necessitate
physical actions (apples fall down because of gravity, for example), objective rational laws necessitate
rational actions. He thus believed that a perfectly rational being must also be perfectly moral because a
perfectly rational being subjectively finds it necessary to do what is rationally necessary. Because
humans are not perfectly rational (they partly act by instinct), Kant believed that humans must conform
their subjective will with objective rational laws, which he called conformity obligation. Kant argued
that the objective law of reason is a priori, existing externally from rational being. Just as physical laws
exist prior to physical beings, rational laws (morality) exist prior to rational beings. Therefore,
according to Kant, rational morality is universal and cannot change depending on circumstance.

Humanity as an end in itself

Kant's second formulation of the Categorical Imperative is to treat humanity as an end in itself:- Act in
such a way that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of another, always at
the same time as an end and never simply as a means.

Kant argued that rational beings can never be treated merely as means to ends; they must always also
be treated as ends themselves, requiring that their own reasoned motives must be equally respected.
This derives from Kant's claim that reason motivates morality: it demands that we respect reason as a
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motive in all beings, including other people. A rational being cannot rationally consent to being used
merely as a means to an end, so they must always be treated as an end. Kant justified this by arguing
that moral obligation is a rational necessity: that which is rationally willed is morally right. Because all
rational agents rationally will themselves to be an end and never merely a means, it is morally
obligatory that they are treated as such. This does not mean that we can never treat a human as a means
to an end, but that when we do, we also treat him as an end in himself.

Formula of autonomy

Kant's Formula of Autonomy expresses the idea that an agent is obliged to follow the Categorical
Imperative because of their rational will, rather than any outside influence. Kant believed that any
moral law motivated by the desire to fulfill some other interest would deny the Categorical Imperative,
leading him to argue that the moral law must only arise from a rational will. ] This principle requires
people to recognize the right of others to act autonomously and means that, as moral laws must be
universalisable, what is required of one person is required of all.

Kingdom of Ends

Another formulation of Kant's Categorical Imperative is the Kingdom of Ends:-A rational being must
always regard himself as giving laws either as member or as sovereign in a kingdom of ends which is
rendered possible by the freedom of will.

This formulation requires that actions be considered as if their maxim is to provide a law for a
hypothetical Kingdom of Ends. Accordingly, people have an obligation to act upon principles that a
community of rational agents would accept as laws.[ In such a community, each individual would only
accept maxims that can govern every member of the community without treating any member merely
as a means to an end. Although the Kingdom of Ends is an ideal—the actions of other people and
events of nature ensure that actions with good intentions sometimes result in harm—we are still
required to act categorically, as legislators of this ideal kingdom.

Chapter Summary

The growing importance of computers in modern society makes Computer Ethics essential both when it
comes to the issues related to the profession such as safety, environmental impact, quality and also in
the everyday usage of computers which gives rise to numerous ethical dilemmas. The aim of ethics in

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science and computing technology is to increase the ability of future professionals to recognize and
solve ethical problems, to accept different ethical perspectives and ethical pluralism. It develops the
skill and habit of thinking rationally about ethical issues and in that way prepares students for
challenges of their profession. It is therefore necessary to make Computer Ethic an integral part of
computing curricula, which is the natural way to ensure its integration in the culture of the profession.

Ethics is the study of standards of conduct and moral judgment: the system of morals of a particular
person, religion, group etc. The terms ethics was given such meanings as customs, temperament,
character and even way of thinking. On the other hand, Morality refers to an adopted code of conduct
within an environment and a set of agreed upon rules for what is 'right' and 'wrong'. Morals have
formed the spine of modern society, religion and every individual's conscience.

Mill in his Liberty Presumption expresses his view on freedom by illustrating how an individual's drive
to better their station, and for self-improvement, is the sole source of true freedom. Only when an
individual is able to attain such improvements, without impeding others in their own efforts to do the
same, can true freedom prevail

Rights are legal, social, or ethical principles of freedom or entitlement; that is, rights are the

fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people, according to some
legal system, social convention, or ethical theory. “Rights are widely regarded as the basis of law, but
what if laws are bad? Some theorists suggest civil disobedience is, itself, a right, and it was advocated
by Henry David Thoreau, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi”.

 Self Assessment

1. How does a professional society support a professional facing an ethical dilemma?

2. What guidance, if any, on conflicts to a Code of Ethics? (E.g. public safety/security –duty to
relevant authority, do you think?
3. Do you think that there is computer low? If so list some of them?
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 4. List some of the principles of professional ethics code of conduct with respect computing
technology?
5. List down the legal and moral duties individuals living in a society?
6. Explain some of the code of conduct and professional ethics you exercise in your organization
or sector?
7. What are Liberty Limiting principles in professionalism?

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 CHAPTER TWO

Creativity: Employer and Employee rights in IT Matters

Objectives:-

Learners, when you finish reading this unit you are expected to:

Define intellectual property.

Distinguish the different types of Intellectual property

Discus the Limitation of Intellectual Property

Digital reliability and failure

Describe complex system

Understand the term "Easter eggs"

2. 1 Introduction
Creativity and innovation need to be appreciated and such works must be protected especially in the
area of Information Technology and computing technology. One of the more controversial areas of
computer ethics concerns the intellectual property (IP) rights connected with software ownership. There
are different variety form of Intellectual property rights including  patents, copyright, industrial
design rights, trademarks, plant variety rights, trade dress, and in some jurisdictions trade secrets. In
this chapter we discuss mainly about intellectual property.

Activity 1.1:-

Dear learners, before you start reading the paragraphs below take a moment to write about
Intellectual Property (IP) and the different kind of IP. After you are complete reading compare
your notes with the discussion given below. Use the space provided below.

2.2. What is intellectual property (IP)?

One of the more controversial areas of computer ethics concerns the intellectual property rights
connected with software ownership. Some people, like Richard Stallman who started the Free Software
Foundation, believe that software ownership should not be allowed at all. He claims that all information
should be free, and all programs should be available for copying, studying and modifying by anyone

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who wishes to do so [Stallman, 1993]. Others argue that software companies or programmers would
not invest weeks and months of work and significant funds in the development of software if they could
not get the investment back in the form of license fees or sales [Johnson, 1992]. Today's software
industry is a multibillion dollar part of the economy; and software companies claim to lose billions of
dollars per year through illegal copying ("software piracy"). Many people think that software should be
ownable, but "casual copying" of personally owned programs for one's friends should also be
permitted. The software industry claims that millions of dollars in sales are lost because of such
copying. Ownership is a complex matter, since there are several different aspects of software that can
be owned and three different types of ownership: copyrights, trade secrets, and patents. One can own
the following aspects of a program:

The "source code" which is written by the programmer(s) in a high-level computer language like Java
or C++.

The "object code", which is a machine-language translation of the source code.

The "algorithm", which is the sequence of machine commands that the source code and object code
represent.

The "look and feel" of a program, which is the way the program appears on the screen and interfaces
with users.

Intellectual property is generally characterized as nonphysical property that is the product of cognitive
processes and whose value is based upon some idea or collection. Typically, rights do not surround the
abstract nonphysical entity, or res, of intellectual property; rather, intellectual property rights surround
the control of physical manifestations or expressions. Systems of intellectual property protect rights to
ideas by protecting rights to produce and control physical embodiments of those ideas.

Intellectual property (IP) refers to creations of the intellect for which a monopoly is assigned to

designated owners by law. Intellectual property rights (IPRs) are the protections granted to the creators
of IP, and include trademarks, copyright, patents, industrial design rights, and in some
jurisdictions trade secrets. Artistic works including music and literature, as well as discoveries,
inventions, words, phrases, symbols, and designs can all be protected as intellectual property.

While intellectual property law has evolved over centuries, it was not until the 19th century that the
term intellectual property began to be used, and not until the late 20th century that it became
commonplace in the majority of the world.

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A very controversial issue today owns a patent on a computer algorithm. A patent provides an exclusive
monopoly on the use of the patented item, so the owner of an algorithm can deny others use of the
mathematical formulas that are part of the algorithm. Mathematicians and scientists are outraged,
claiming that algorithm patents effectively remove parts of mathematics from the public domain, and
thereby threaten to cripple science. In addition, running a preliminary "patent search" to make sure that
your "new" program does not violate anyone's software patent is a costly and time-consuming process.
As a result, only very large companies with big budgets can afford to run such a search. This effectively
eliminates many small software companies, stifling competition and decreasing the variety of programs
available to the society [The League for Programming Freedom, 1992].

Intellectual property rights include patents, copyright, industrial design rights, trademarks, plant

variety rights, trade dress, and in some jurisdictions trade secrets. There are also more specialized or
derived varieties of sui generis exclusive rights, such as circuit design rights (called mask work rights
in the US) and supplementary protection certificates for pharmaceutical products (after expiry of a
patent protecting them) and database rights (in European law).

Patents

A patent is a form of right granted by the government to an inventor, giving the owner the right to
exclude others from making, using, selling, offering to sell, and importing an invention for a limited
period of time, in exchange for the public disclosure of the invention. An invention is a solution to a
specific technological problem, which may be a product or a process and generally has to fulfill three
main requirements: it has to be new, not obvious and there needs to be an industrial applicability.

Copyright

A copyright gives the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time.
Copyright may apply to a wide range of creative, intellectual, or artistic forms, or "works". Copyright
does not cover ideas and information themselves, only the form or manner in which they are expressed.

Industrial design rights

An industrial design right (sometimes called "design right") protects the visual design of objects that
are not purely utilitarian. An industrial design consists of the creation of a shape, configuration or
composition of pattern or color, or combination of pattern and color in three-dimensional form
containing aesthetic value. An industrial design can be a two- or three-dimensional pattern used to
produce a product, industrial commodity or handicraft.

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Plant varieties

Plant breeders' rights or plant variety rights are the rights to commercially use a new variety of a
plant. The variety must amongst others be novel and distinct and for registration the evaluation of
propagating material of the variety is examined.

Trademarks

A trademark is a recognizable sign, design or expression which distinguishes products or services of

a particular trader from the similar products or services of other traders.

Trade dress

Trade dress is a legal term of art that generally refers to characteristics of the visual appearance of a
product or its packaging (or even the design of a building) that signify the source of the product to
consumers.

Trade secrets

A trade secret is a formula, practice, process, design, instrument, pattern, or compilation

of information which is not generally known or reasonably ascertainable, by which a business can
obtain an economic advantage over competitors or customers.

Activity 2.2:-
Dear learners, before you start reading the paragraphs below take a moment to write about IP
laws in our country and the consequence of violation of IP. After you are complete reading
compare your notes with the discussion given below. Use the space provided below.

2.3 Objectives of intellectual property law

The stated objective of most intellectual property law (with the exception of trademarks) is to "Promote
progress." By exchanging limited exclusive rights for disclosure of inventions and creative works,
society and the patentee/copyright owner mutually benefit, and an incentive is created for inventors and
authors to create and disclose their work. Some commentators have noted that the objective of
intellectual property legislators and those who support its implementation appears to be "absolute
protection". If some intellectual property is desirable because it encourages innovation, they reason,
more is better.

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The thinking is that creators will not have sufficient incentive to invent unless they are legally entitled
to capture the full social value of their inventions". This absolute protection or full value view treats
intellectual property as another type of "real" property, typically adopting its law and rhetoric. Other
recent developments in intellectual property law, such as the America Invents Act, stress international
harmonization. Recently there has also been much debate over the desirability of using intellectual
property rights to protect cultural heritage, including intangible ones, as well as over risks of
commoditization derived from this possibility. The issue still remains open in legal scholarship.

Financial incentive

These exclusive rights allow owners of intellectual property to benefit from the property they have
created, providing a financial incentive for the creation of an investment in intellectual property, and, in
case of patents, pay associated research and development costs

In 2013 the United States Patent & Trademark Office approximated that the worth of intellectual
property to the U.S. economy is more than US$5 trillion and creates employment for an estimated 18
million American people. The value of intellectual property is considered similarly high in other
developed nations, such as those in the European Union.

Economic growth

The WIPO treaty and several related international agreements underline that the protection of
intellectual property rights is essential to maintaining economic growth. The WIPO Intellectual
Property Handbook gives two reasons for intellectual property laws:

One is to give statutory expression to the moral and economic rights of creators in their creations and
the rights of the public in access to those creations. The second is to promote, as a deliberate act of
Government policy, creativity and the dissemination and application of its results and to encourage fair
trading which would contribute to economic and social development.

The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) states that "effective enforcement of intellectual

property rights is critical to sustaining economic growth across all industries and globally".

Morality

According to Article 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, "everyone has the right to the
protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production
of which he is the author". Although the relationship between intellectual property and human rights is
a complex one, there are moral arguments for intellectual property.
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The arguments that justify intellectual property fall into three major categories. Personality theorists
believe intellectual property is an extension of an individual. Utilitarian’s believe that intellectual
property stimulates social progress and pushes people to further innovation. Various moral
justifications for private property can be used to argue in favor of the morality of intellectual property,
such as:

Natural Rights/Justice Argument: this argument is based on Locke's idea that a person has a natural
right over the labor and/or products which is produced by his/her body. Appropriating these products is
viewed as unjust. Although Locke had never explicitly stated that natural right applied to products of
the mind, it is possible to apply his argument to intellectual property rights, in which it would be unjust
for people to misuse another's ideas. Locke's argument for intellectual property is based upon the idea
that laborers have the right to control that which they create. They argue that we own our bodies which
are the laborers; this right of ownership extends to what we create. Thus, intellectual property ensures
this right when it comes to production.

Utilitarian-Pragmatic Argument: according to this rationale, a society that protects private property is
more effective and prosperous than societies that do not. Innovation and invention in 19th century
America has been attributed to the development of the patent system.] By providing innovators with
"durable and tangible return on their investment of time, labor, and other resources", intellectual
property rights seek to maximize social utility. The presumption is that they promote public welfare by
encouraging the "creation, production, and distribution of intellectual works". Utilitarian’s argue that
without intellectual property there would be a lack of incentive to produce new ideas. Systems of
protection such as Intellectual property optimize social utility.

"Personality" Argument: this argument is based on a quote from Hegel: "Every man has the right to
turn his will upon a thing or make the thing an object of his will, that is to say, to set aside the mere
thing and recreate it as his own".European intellectual property law is shaped by this notion that ideas
are an "extension of oneself and of one's personality". Personality theorists argue that by being a creator
of something one is inherently at risk and vulnerable for having their ideas and designs stolen and/or
altered. Intellectual property protects these moral claims that have to do with personality.

2.3.1 Infringement, misappropriation, and enforcement

Violation of intellectual property rights, called "infringement" with respect to patents, copyright, and
trademarks, and "misappropriation" with respect to trade secrets, may be a breach of civil law or
criminal law, depending on the type of intellectual property involved, jurisdiction, and the nature of the
action.
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Patent infringement

Patent infringement typically is caused by using or selling a patented invention without permission
from the patent holder. The scope of the patented invention or the extent of protection is defined in
the claims of the granted patent. There is safe harbor in many jurisdictions to use a patented invention
for research.  In general, patent infringement cases are handled under civil law (e.g., in the United
States) but several jurisdictions incorporate infringement in criminal law also (for example, Argentina,
China, France, Japan, Russia, South Korea).

Copyright infringement

Copyright infringement is reproducing, distributing, displaying or performing a work, or to

make derivative works, without permission from the copyright holder, which is typically a publisher
or other business representing or assigned by the work's creator. It is often called "piracy".

Trademark infringement

Trademark infringement occurs when one party uses a trademark that is identical or confusingly
similar to a trademark owned by another party, in relation to products or services which are identical or
similar to the products or services of the other party. In many countries, a trademark receives protection
without registration, but registering a trademark provides legal advantages for enforcement.
Infringement can be addressed by civil litigation and, in several jurisdictions, under criminal law.

Trade secret misappropriation

Trade secret misappropriation is different from violations of other intellectual property laws, since by
definition trade secrets are secret, while patents and registered copyrights and trademarks are publicly
available. In the United States, trade secrets are protected under state law, and states have nearly
universally adopted the Uniform Trade Secrets Act.

Activity 2.3:-
Dear learners, before you start reading the paragraphs below take a moment to write about the
advantage and disadvantage of intellectual property. After you are complete reading compare
your notes with the discussion given below. Use the space provided below.

2.4 Advantages and Disadvantages of Intellectual Property Rights

The concept of intellectual property is not an entirely new one, but it has become increasingly more
important as the economy worldwide has begun to shift into what is known as an information economy.
This shift has started to change what is considered valuable in private exchange. Instead of physical
objects, or land, the most important form of property in this new world is intellectual, the creative
products of the human mind.

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Trade Mark

A sign that can distinguish the goods and services from one trader from those of another. Might include
words, logos, pictures or a combination of these

Advantage:-Legally prevents others taking advantage of customer good will generated by your
business by trading under your name (or something very similar)

Disadvantages:-Having a registered trade mark does not entitle you to the related internet domain
names. The degree to which similar (not identical) trademarks infringe upon your business is a matter
for debate in civil action with related cost.

Copyrights:

Comes into effect immediately something that can be protected is created and ‘fixed’ in some way e.g.
on paper, on film, via sound recording, as an electronic record on the internet, etc

Advantages:-No official registration required. Comes into effect immediately. No cost to marking
something as copyright

Disadvantages:-Does not protect ideas, only the way in which the idea is expressed To be effective it
must be enforced. You have responsibility for legally asserting copyright if you feel it is infringed.
Involves legal costs and proving infringement.

Patent:

Granted by a government, a patent is the right for a limited period to stop others making, using or
selling an invention without permission. Patents are concerned with products or process which are:

New, cannot have been made public in any way before the date the patent is filed Involve an inventive
step Be capable of industrial application, as distinct from a purely intellectual or aesthetic activity.
Process alleged to operate in a manner contrary to well-established physical laws therefore donot has
industrial application Patents can be taken on a country specific basis or worldwide. More countries
mean more cost and effort to achieve this.

Advantages:-A patent gives the legal right to stop others using your invention. Its existence may be
enough to deter competitors Buys time (20 years) in which an inventor can develop a market to the
product or process

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Attractive to investors as it limits competition.

Disadvantages:-Takes time and money to establish a patent. All patents have to be ‘researched’ to
ensure there are no existing patents of a similar nature – involves legal fees Not possible to guarantee
that a patent (once granted) is valid, it can be legally  challenged and revoked with no refunds It is still
up to the inventor to protect a patent if they can identify an infringement – the patent office don’t take
sides

Granting a patent is no indication that the invention has any merit or commercial value Some products
and process can be varied slightly to get around the exact wording of Patents.

Industrial Design:

Monopoly right for the appearance of the whole or a part of a product resulting from the features lines,
colours, shape, texture or materials used. Cannot be the same as any  design already available and must
have ‘individual characters.

Advantages:-Can be combined with legal protection from copy right and design rights Protect genuine
design innovation for up to 25 year.

Disadvantages:- Cannot be applied to designs that concern how a product works or which are not
visible in normal use – ascetics only Easily subverted by slight amendments to the basic design

Activity 2.3:-
Dear learners, before you start reading the paragraphs below take a moment to write about how
far we can rely on digital system. Discuss what reliability means. After you are complete
reading compare your notes with the discussion given below. Use the space provided below.
.

2.5. The Nature of Digital Reliability and Failure

Reliability is an attribute of any computer-related component (software, or hardware, or a network, for

example) that consistently performs according to its specifications. It has long been considered one of
three related attributes that must be considered when making, buying, or using a computer product or
component. Reliability, availability, and serviceability - RAS, for short - are considered to be important
aspects to design into any system. In theory, a reliable product is totally free of technical errors; in
practice, however, vendors frequently express a product's reliability quotient as a percentage.

Computers can be found almost anywhere, usually handling data more quickly, efficiently and with
fewer errors than if we'd done the same tasks manually.

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However, there are lots of things that can go wrong with a computer system:

Hardware failure, eg a hard drive stops working

Software can contain bugs and errors

 Human error, eg someone shuts something down by accident

 Malicious, deliberate damage to a system
 Natural disasters and accidents, eg fires, power cuts, flooding or earthquakes

Reliability is a major concern for companies. There can be serious consequences, including:

 Loss of revenue
 Dissatisfied customers
 Damage to reputation
 Fines for breaking the law

The failure Critical systems like utilities (electricity, gas and water supplies), banking, emergency
services (police, fire, ambulance), telephone network, food supply (logistics and deliveries), air
traffic control, nuclear safetyetc. Can have a major impact on our lives. For example, if an air-traffic
control system fails, it could put passengers' lives at risk and cause hundreds of flights to be cancelled.

Critical systems can be targeted by cyber terrorism. Computer systems are coming up against new
threats all the time. Companies and governments take the threat of cyber-attacks very seriously, but it
can be difficult to catch and prosecute a cyber-criminal operating from another country.

One way of making systems reliable is by backing up data. A backup is a copy of data or files. Backing
up is important for everyone using computers as files and data can become corrupted, be accidentally
overwritten or deleted. Backups are often made on separate storage drives or on a different server.

There are two main types of backup:

Full backup - this makes a copy of everything on the system, even if it has not changed since the last
backup

Incremental backup - this makes a copy of only the new files or any files that have changed since the
last full backup and is much quicker to make than a full backup

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In a team, it helps to put someone in charge of backups so they take responsibility for making it
happen. Backups should be made regularly using a backup schedule. Backup disks or tapes can be
kept in a locked, fireproof safe at a different location. This is called an off-site backup. Backing up
data over the internet to the cloud is another way of making an off-site backup.Backup media or files
need to be labeled to make sure that you know when the backup was made and what it contains.

Redundancy means having extra or duplicate resources available to support the main system. It is

a backup or reserve system that can step in if the primary system fails. The reserve resources are
redundant most of the time as they are not being used if everything is working properly. Redundancy is
important in critical systems like an aero plane. If hardware or software fails during a flight, planes
have redundant systems that can step in.

The three main types of redundancy are:

 Hardware, eg reserve storage drives and servers

 Software, eg a backup operating system
 Data, egstoring copies of duplicate data

Fault-tolerant design

Designing systems so that they can continue to function even if parts of the system fail is called fault-
tolerant design. If a system needs to completely stop it is designed to fail gracefully. Failing
gracefully means that the system will take steps to avoid data loss once things start going wrong. This
could involve writing an emergency copy of all data before shutting down unexpectedly. The
emergency copy is called a 'dump file' and can be used as a last resort to recover data.

A typical example of failing gracefully is when a word processor program crashes while you are
working on a document. It usually creates an emergency copy which is recovered next time you load
the program.

One way to make software more able to cope with problems is to add extra checks in the code to make
sure that the program is operating correctly. This is defensive programming. The checks can warn a
user that a program is no longer working as it should, allowing them to take action instead of the
program crashing without warning.

Measuring reliability

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Systems can be measured by how often they are predicted to fail. These statistics help to assess how
reliable a system is going to be, and what measures are needed to keep them running smoothly.

Reliability factors that can be measured include:

 The percentage of time the service was available and working during a particular month
 The number of hours it has operated without reported problems
 Downtime - the number of times it breaks down or the time spent out of action
 Mean time between failures (mtbf) - how long we can expect between failures or major
problems
 Mean time to failure (MTTF) - the time that something is likely to last before it fails

Activity 2.5:-
Dear learners, before you start reading the paragraphs below take a moment to write about the
software and hardware risks. After you are complete reading compare your notes with the
discussion given below. Use the space provided below.

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2.6. Software and hardware risks

Organizations bear economic, legal, and ethical obligations to provide useful information about the
risks and benefits of their products, policies, and services. Failure to fulfill those obligations can be
costly.

Risk communication is the term of art used for situations when people need good information to make
sound choices. It is distinguished from public affairs (or public relations) communication by its
commitment to accuracy and its avoidance of spin.

The impact of missing timing deadlines or incorrect response to failure can be catastrophic to the
embedded and real-time system. The growing concern for safety and security requires the software
tasks to be tested for many forms of data, network, and functional errors. Testing with implemented
software is extremely complex because of the huge prototype cost and the inability to replicate the
errors. Moreover, changes identified after implementation will delay the delivery cycle, create potential
malfunctions, and affect product quality. Early simulation can identify a number of implementation
errors while identifying issues that would need to be tested.

Application of hardware-enabled software process is a major consideration in the aerospace, defense,

and automotive industries because of the need for safety, reliability and adequate protection against
failures. A hardware-enabled software task is the ability to visualize the operation of the software tasks
on a target hardware platform prior to development of the software code. Current approaches are
limited to analytical techniques. These provide either a rough estimate or a worst case/best case timing,
neither of which take into consideration realistic system operation.

An alternate approach to this evaluation of software processes is the use of digital simulation to model
the software processes as a series of control and data-flow that are mapped on hardware topologies.
Good representative patterns of the traffic stimuli are applied to this model and the corresponding
response times, power consumed, and correctness of the expected output is measured. These reports are
used as constraints for downstream implementation. As this analysis is performed prior to the
development of any implementation flow definition, the constraints become the validation metrics for
software testing. 

This important software thread design will meet the performance (latency and throughout) and power
deadlines. In this effort, the hardware platform is represented as a combination of the communication

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topology, computation technologies, and the scheduling algorithm. The faults introduced for testing
include late arrival of sensor data at the interface, modified data at the memory location, overwritten
schedule table, and wrong sequence of task sequence.

What is risk?

Risk is the possibility of loss. It is a function of both the probability of an adverse event occurring and
its impact; the impact manifests itself in a combination of financial loss, time delay, and loss of
performance. A risk is the precursor to a problem; the probability that, at any given point in the
software life cycle, the predicted goals cannot be achieved within available resources. Risk cannot be
eliminated from a software project, but it can be managed. Risk management is critical to the success of
any software effort and is a strategic aspect of all software projects.

What is software risk management?

Software risk management is a software engineering practice with processes, methods, and tools for
managing risks in a project. It provides a disciplined environment for proactive decision-making to
assess continuously what can go wrong; determine what risks are important to deal with; and
implement actions to deal with those risks. [SEIweb] Risk management planning addresses the strategy
for risk management, the risk management process, and the techniques, methods, and tools to be used
to support the risk management process. A template for software risk management planning is provided
in Appendix F.

What is the role of management?

Senior management support and commitment is critical to the success of any risk management
initiative. A formal risk management process requires corporate acceptance of risk as a major
consideration for software management. Senior management must support project risk management
activities by:

(1) Providing adequate personnel, budget, schedules, and other resources (e.g., tools and equipment);

(2) Ensuring project management receives the required training in identifying, managing, and
communicating software risks; and

(3) Ensuring project personnel receive the required training in conducting risk management tasks.
Senior management reviews risk management activities on a periodic and event-driven basis.

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In general, a hardware risk comes from a specific or outdated piece of hardware, while a software
risk comes from a specific or outdated piece of software.

Hardware risks are more prone to physical damage or crashes; an old hard drive is a greater risk
because of its age and the integrity of its parts. Some pieces of hardware are incompatible with security
software, forcing the user to disable that protection to use it and making the computer vulnerable. One
common piece of hardware that poses a risk to information security is the Key Logger, a small device
that plugs into the keyboard cable between it and the computer; the logger records every keystroke
made for later review. There are also hardware virus protection and firewall devices that route all
Internet use through a filtering unit; this allows the unit to see and trap viruses before they ever touch
the main computer or network.

Software risks are more prone to viruses and system errors; older software often has holes in their
security that can be exploited by new viruses. Not all viruses are written to crash computers; many
modern programs, called malware and spyware, are written specifically to run in the background and
send information about computer use and browsing habits back to the creator. These pose a great risk to
internal computer security. Additionally, some software is built to include malware in its installation;
these programs are intended to be used for their actual purpose, allowing the malware to be installed
without any outside assistance.

Software Risk Management Process

There are several models available for risk management. This model may be tailored to be consistent
with existing site project management processes. In all phases of a project, risks should be assessed
continuously and used for decision-making.

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 Fig 2.1 continuous set of activities to identify, confront, and resolve technical risk.

This model identifies the fundamental risk management functions that must be taken to effectively
manage risk: identify, analyze, plan, track, control, and communicate.

Identify:- Search for and locate risks before they become problems adversely affecting the project

Analyze: Process risk data into decision-making information

plan: Translate risk information into decisions and actions (both present and future) and implement
those actions

Track: Monitor the risk indicators and actions taken against risks

Control: Correct for deviations from planned risk actions

Communicate: Provide visibility and feedback data internal and external to your program on
current and emerging risk activities
Personnel from the software engineering staff are selected to participate on a Software Risk Evaluation
(SRE) Team. An SRE Team should have from one to five participants. The following criteria should be
used in selecting participants:

Knowledge and experience in the technology areas of the effort being assessed,

Risk management experience or will receive risk management training,

Mix of people with various applicable skills (e.g. development, test, quality assurance), and

Representation for any functional areas considered critical to the project.

An individual is selected to serve as the facilitator for the risk management process. The SRE
Facilitator should be someone who does not have a vested interest in the results of the process and can
effectively move the process to closure. This person should meet the entrance criteria for this process;
that is, they should have risk management experience or receive training.

Activity 2.6:-
Dear learners, before you start reading the paragraphs below take a moment to write about the
software and hardware risks. After you are complete reading compare your notes with the
discussion given below. Use the space provided below.

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2.7. The complexity of computer systems; origins of the Computer Professionals for
Social Responsibility.

What are complex Computer systems?

As demands on functional and non-functional objectives of computer systems have continued unabated
for the last 30-years, so has the size of the resultant systems. They have become extremely large,
consisting of scores of components, including distributed and parallel software, hardware, and
communications, which increasingly interface with a large number of external devices, such as sensors
and actuators.

Large (and certain small) systems also tend to be complex because of the number of interconnections
between their components tends to be large and complicated. Even as users place increasing importance
on such non-functional objectives as availability, fault-tolerance, security, safety, and traceability, the
operation of a complex computer system is also required to be ``non-stop'', ``real-time'', adaptable, and
dependable, providing graceful degradation. It is typical that such systems have lifetimes measured in
decades; over this period, components evolve, logical and physical interconnections change, and
interfaces and operational semantics change accordingly, often leading to increased system complexity.

Other factors that may also affect complexity are geographic distribution of processing and databases,
interaction with humans, and unpredictability of system reactions to unexpected sequences of external
events.

We thus define the engineering of complex computer systems as all activities pertinent to specifying,
designing, prototyping, building, testing, operating, maintaining, and evolving of complex computer
systems. While in the past, relatively non-complex ``traditional'' systems sufficed for most computer
control applications, the new and emerging demands of applications and the evolution of computer
architectures and networks now essentially ``force'' systems to be complex, given our current
understanding how to engineer these systems.

Complex computer systems are found in almost every industry. These include industrial process
control, aerospace and defense, transportation and communications, energy and utilities, medical and
health, commercial data processing, and others. Unfortunately, the current state-of-the-art in research
and technology has clearly fallen far behind the requirements of industrial, commercial and government

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complex computer systems. Of all complex computer systems, none have received as much attention as
those that are of the real-time, safety-critical variety.

What are not (Necessarily) complex Computer systems?

Obviously, no group or definition can own a perfect definition of complex computer systems and their
engineering. However, it is important to understand where some seemingly appropriate definitions in
fact do not define what these systems are. One existing definition appears to equate complex computer
systems with computer-based systems. Not so, in our opinion. While naturally most example computer-
based systems possess real-time or embedded real-time features, this class of systems includes great
many that are, frankly, not so ``complex'': programmable toasters, home thermostats and --- the
granddaddy of all examples --- cruise controls circa the early 80s. On principle, we refuse to refer to
any system with a perfectly static definition and a complete state transition diagram with well fewer
than 100 states and transitions as complex.

.One finds a definition in the systems integration community, which is mostly concerned with
complexity found in connecting and integrating components. While we once again agree that system
integration is a truly challenging area, and no laughing matter, this definition ignores the complexity
which may lurk inside an individual component, which may be as complex as an entire system.
Integration alone is not the only complex problem.

2.7.1 Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility

Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility (CPSR) was a global organization promoting the
responsible use of computer technology. CPSR was incorporated in 1983 (following discussions and
organizing that began in 1981). It educated policymakers and the public on a wide range of issues.
CPSR was a non-profit 501.c.3 organization registered in California.

When CPSR was first established, it was concerned solely about the use of computers in warfare. This
initially was focused on the Strategic Computing Initiative, a US Defense project to use artificial
intelligence in military systems, but added opposition to the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) shortly
after the program was announced. Later, workplace issues, privacy, and community networks were
added to CPSR's agenda.

CPSR was originally a chapter-based organization and had chapters in Palo Alto, Boston, Seattle,
Austin, Washington, DC, Portland (Oregon) and other US locations as well as a variety of international
chapters including Peru and Spain. The chapters often developed innovative projects including a slide

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show about the dangers of launch on warning (Boston chapter) and the Seattle Community
Network (Seattle chapter).

CPSR awarded the Norbert Wiener Award for Social and Professional Responsibility.

 There are different Patterns that can be used for positive social change. One example is given
below:-

Problem: 

Things don’t get better by themselves. Without purposeful intervention, organizations of all kinds lose
sight of their social responsibilities.

Context: 

Any organization that sees itself without social responsibility will change only in the face of financial
penalty or purposeful intervention. Where social benefits form all or part of an organization’s purpose,
this alone does not guarantee positive achievements. Any organization with a shared vision of social
responsibility, whether a for-profit corporation or a not-for-profit group working for the public good,
needs to deliver what it promises. A passion for principles drives the efforts of individuals and citizen
groups to make corporations, professions and governments more responsive; the more open and
accountable they are, the more responsive they will become.

Solution: 

Whether from without or within, advocate for principles to help for-profit corporations realize their
social responsibility in addition to the responsibility they feel toward stockholders, and to spur not-for-
profit organizations, government bodies, and professions to keep their social responsibility in view.
One principle that applies everywhere is that of openness and accountability.

Verbiage for pattern card: 

Having social benefits as part of an organization's mission, does not guarantee positive achievements.
Any organization with a shared vision of Social Responsibility needs to deliver what it promises.
Activism on behalf of principles other than self-interest or convenience is necessary to remind
organizations of their Social Responsibility, and to prevent other organizations from losing touch with
theirs.

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2.8. "Goofing off": who owns the "Easter eggs"? Why are they tolerated?

An Easter egg is an intentional inside joke, hidden message, or feature in an interactive work such as

a computer program, video game or DVD menu screen. The name is used to evoke the idea of a
traditional Easter egg hunt.

In computer software, Easter eggs are secret responses that occur as a result of an undocumented set of
commands. The results can vary from a simple printed message or image, to a page of programmer
credits or a small videogame hidden inside an otherwise serious piece of software. Videogame cheat
codes are a specific type of Easter egg, in which entering a secret command will unlock special powers
or new levels for the player.

Many personal computers have much more elaborate eggs hidden in ROM, including lists of the
developers' names, political exhortations, snatches of music, or images of the entire development team.
Easter eggs in the 1997 version of Microsoft Office include a hidden flight simulator in Microsoft
Excel and a pinball game in Microsoft Word.

An Easter egg is found on all Microsoft Windows operating systems before XP. In the 3D Text screen
saver, entering the text "volcano" will display the names of all the volcanoesin the United States.
Microsoft removed this Easter egg in XP but added others. Microsoft Excel 95 contained a
hidden Doom-like action game called The Hall of Tortured Souls.

Some computer and video game secret levels are triggered by an Easter egg. In 1993's
acclaimed LucasArts video game Day of the Tentacle, the original game Maniac Mansionfrom 1987
can be played in its full version by using a home computer in one character's room.

For a time, Google Maps contained several Easter eggs whereby a user asking for directions
from Japan to China, from New York to Tokyo, or from Taiwan to China would be directed to
either jetski, kayak, or swim across the Pacific Ocean. Asking Google Maps for walking directions
from the Shire to Mordor produced "One does not simply walk into Mordor", a warning that replicates
a line from The Lord of the Rings. Google search responds to "Do A Barrel Roll" in the search box by
tilting the page 360°, as if a pilot were maneuvering an aircraft. This is a reference to the popular video
game series Star Fox, where the phrase became famous. In December 2011, Google introduced an
Easter egg that was triggered by typing "let it snow" into the search box, which caused snow to fall and
the screen to frost over.

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Hardware

While computer-related Easter eggs are often found in software, occasionally they exist
in hardware or firmware of certain devices. On some home computers, the BIOS ROM contains Easter
eggs. Notable examples include some errant 1993 AMI BIOS that on November 13, 1993, proceeded to
play "Happy Birthday" via the PC speaker over and over again instead of booting, and several
early Apple Macintosh models which had pictures of the development team in the ROM (accessible by
pressing the programmer's switch and jumping to a specific memory address, or other equally obscure
means).

Many integrated circuit (chip) designers have included hidden graphic elements termed chip art,
including images, phrases, developer initials, logos, and so on. This artwork, like the rest of the chip, is
reproduced in each copy by lithography and etching. These are visible only when the chip package is
opened and examined under magnification, so they are, in a sense, more of an inside joke than most of
the Easter eggs included in software.

Home media

Easter eggs are found on film DVDs and Blu-rays, often as deleted scenes or bonus special features. [38]
[39][40]
 Klinger states that their presence is "another signifier of artistry in the world of DVD
supplements."

The TV series Doctor Who has an episode using Easter eggs as a major part of the plot; the episode in
question even has an Easter egg on the chapter selection for that episode on the disc release, showing
the full in-episode Easter egg.

Broadcast media

Unlike DVDs and computer games, broadcast radio and television programmes contain no executable
code. Easter eggs may still appear in the content itself, such as a hidden Mickey Mouse in a Disney film
or a real telephone number instead of a 555 fictitious telephone number. One 2014 Super
Bowl advertisement was leaked on-line in which a lady gives a man a real telephone number which the
advertiser had hidden as a marketing ploy; the first caller to the number received a pair of tickets to the
game. 

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Security concerns

Security author Michel E. Kabay discussed security concerns in 2000, saying that software quality
assurance requires that all code be tested, but it is not known if Easter eggs are tested. He said that
because they tend to be held as programming secrets from the rest of the product testing process, a
"logic bomb" could also bypass testing. Kabay asserts that this undermined the Trusted Computing
Base, a paradigm of trustworthy hardware and software, in place since the 1980s, and is of concern
wherever personal or confidential information is stored, which may then be vulnerable to damage or
manipulation.

Some Easter eggs may be intentional tools used to detect illegal copying, others are clearly examples
of unauthorized functionality that has slipped through the quality-control tests at the vendor". While
hidden Easter eggs themselves are harmless, it may be possible for malware to be hidden in similar
ways in voting machines or other computers.

Chapter Summary

Intellectual property (IP) refers to creations of the intellect for which a monopoly is assigned to

designated owners by law. Intellectual property rights (IPRs) are the protections granted to the creators
of IP, and include trademarks, copyright, patents, industrial design rights, and in some
jurisdictions trade secrets. Artistic works including music and literature, as well as discoveries,
inventions, words, phrases, symbols, and designs can all be protected as intellectual property.

Intellectual property rights include patents, copyright, industrial design rights, trademarks, plant

variety rights, trade dress, and in some jurisdictions trade secrets. There are also more specialized or
derived varieties of sui generis exclusive rights, such as circuit design rights (called mask work rights
in the US) and supplementary protection certificates for pharmaceutical products (after expiry of a
patent protecting them) and database rights (in European law).

Violation of intellectual property rights, called "infringement" with respect to patents, copyright, and
trademarks, and "misappropriation" with respect to trade secrets, may be a breach of civil law or
criminal law, depending on the type of intellectual property involved, jurisdiction, and the nature of the
action. The stated objective of most intellectual property law (with the exception of trademarks) is to
"Promote progress." 

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Reliability is an attribute of any computer-related component (software, or hardware, or a network, for
example) that consistently performs according to its specifications. Reliability is a major concern for
companies. There can be serious consequences, including:

 Loss of revenue
 Dissatisfied customers
 Damage to reputation
 Fines for breaking the law

One way of making systems reliable is by backing up data. Redundancy means having extra or
duplicate resources available to support the main system. It is a backup or reserve system that can
step in if the primary system fails.

Risk is the possibility of loss. Software risk management is a software engineering practice with
processes, methods, and tools for managing risks in a project.

Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility (CPSR) was a global organization promoting the
responsible use of computer technology. CPSR was incorporated in 1983 (following discussions and
organizing that began in 1981).

An Easter egg is an intentional inside joke, hidden message, or feature in an interactive work such as

a computer program, video game or DVD menu screen. The name is used to evoke the idea of a
traditional Easter egg hunt.

s Self Assessment

1. Define Intellectual property.

2. What are the different forms of IP rights? Define each in short.
3. What is reliability?
4. Discuss the model for software risk management.

s Exercise

1. List .down the advantage and disadvantage of each Intellectual property rights.
2. What are Easter Eggs?
3. Why the organization Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility (CPSR) established?
4. Discuss the different kinds of violation of Intellectual property rights.
5. Differentiate what are complex computer systems and what are not complex systems?
6. How can we make a given system more reliable? Describe different methods that can be used to
make a system more reliable and less prone to failure.

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 CHAPTER THREE

Social issues and criminality in computing Technology

Unit objectives:-

Learners, when you finish reading this unit are expected to:

Define the Social issues in Computing

Discuss Criminality in computing

Distinguish theft, cybercrime, computer crime

3.1. Social issues in Computing Technology

Activity 3.1:-

Dear learners, before you start reading the paragraphs below take a moment to write about the
social issues of computing technology?

Social Issues in Computing:-

The growth in the availability of affordable computing technology has caused a number of major shifts
in the way that society operates. The majority of these have been for the better, with home computers
and the internet providing unlimited access to all of the information ever created and discovered by
humanity.

Fig:-Exploring the ways Computers Affect Our Lives

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There are some social issues generated as a direct result of technological advances. Some of them are:-

3.1.1. Social Inclusion in the Age of ICT

Rapid developments in ICT increasingly means that to utilize many everyday services, one has to have
access to ICT and the requisite skills and motivation to use the technology in order to fully participate
in today’s society. Digital inclusion is fast becoming a prerequisite for social inclusion. It is a matter of
concern that despite the great strides made in creating the information society, there remains a ‘digital
divide’ where due to age, gender, geographical location or socioeconomic status, there is unequal
access to and use of ICT.

A large proportion of Internet users are young people, who are often not fully aware of the
implications that may arise from their use of ICT. The commercial nature of social networks and the
complexity of privacy protection, the difficulty of erasing data (including pictures and videos or
participation in blogs) or the possible uncontrolled diffusion of data originally addressed to another
cyberuser are all examples of possible risks confronting Internet users.

There is a list of possible digital gaps. All gaps can be described with regard to the capacity of using
ICT in everyday life, but also with regard to having fewer educational or financial resources to compete
with those who up to now successfully have used ICT to pursue their political, commercial, scientific or
other goals.

3.1.2. Government
Society experiences rapid, continuous and incessant change. The drive to invent, reinvent and discard
almost continuously is a unique human pursuit in an effort to deliver progress and prosperity for human
kind. E-Government is aimed at facilitating this change without ‘leaving anyone behind’ who wishes
to participate in public social and/or political affairs. ICT are certainly welcome on all the different
levels of individual and cultural expression, social interaction and political participation, but from the
perspective of governments it is imperative that the rights of those who wish to not take part in the ICT
revolution must be respected. While these citizens’ rights are certainly not to be interpreted as trumping
innovation and progress in ICT, a responsible implementation means that their needs are as good as
possible accommodated. As a consequence of not choosing to incorporate ICT into their daily lives, it
is likely that individuals will increasingly see their choices limited in the digital age. Therefore, it is
important that in areas where society places obligations on such individuals e.g. submitting tax returns,
mechanisms unrelated to ICT are in place to help all citizens to meet their obligations.

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3.1.3. Education
In the domain of education, E-learningtools need to be carefully assessed in the way they transform
traditional face-to-face communication between teachers and students. The style of learning and
communicating information seems to be changing through the influence of ICT, especially web based
information and educational tools. Searching rather than reading becomes the method of choice for
building up literacy skills. Educational regimes and institutions will have to improve access to
information and build a literate identity for individuals but also for communities and for organizations.
It seems clear that we are facing profound transformations in our patterns of processing information
and shaping our educational infrastructure.

3.1.4. Culture
ICT is a domain where every culture may express itself. In a globalised world, every culture may
communicate through ICT with any other, in a very rapid way; everyone has the chance to take part in
multicultural life. The free flow of information gives an opportunity for increasing intercultural
dialogue, and boosts individuals’ chances of sharing trans-cultural knowledge and broadening their
own outlook beyond cultural boundaries. ICT may enable the protection of minority languages and
cultures where efforts are made for those within the cultures to interact with one another. On the other
hand ICT may tend to make cultures more uniform, assimilating the differences (e.g. using one
language, English) and aligning the standard of communication in all countries of the world, with the
risk of affecting cultural diversity.

3.1.5. E-Health
The growth of new health information technology opportunities brings a responsibility to design
interoperable, easy to use, engaging, and accessible E-Health applications that communicate the right
information needed to guide health care and health promotion for diverse audiences. Moreover, the
wider deployment of E-Health raises certain ethical and regulatory concerns. One of the fundamental
challenges lies in ensuring that patient data remain confidential and secure in order to build trust and
confidence in E-Health systems. Appropriate measures should be put in place that can be reasonably
expected to safeguard the security and integrity of personal medical information.

Heretofore the clinical encounter between doctor and patient has been physical and concerns have been
expressed that the move to a virtual environment could undermine the doctor-patient relationship,
especially amongst older populations. Other commentators have pointed to the positive collaborative
aspects of this sort of interaction, with patients developing a greater sense of responsibility,
accountability and knowledge allowing them to participate in medical decisionmaking.There are

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however variations in patient preferences and many patients are happy to defer to their doctors’
decisions. The relationship between doctor and patient is embedded in values of commitment, trust,
privacy, confidentiality and responsibility, and it is vital that E-Health should facilitate the realization
of these principles.

The distribution of the benefits and risks of E-Health must be carefully considered. It is well
established that those with lower educational and income levels have worse health. If more healthcare
services are shifted to new media, we could leave behind those with limited health literacy or access to
technology. Ensuring that new technologies empower people, rather than exacerbate health inequalities,
needs to be at the forefront of the exciting developments in this area.

3.1.6. E-environment
The influence of the use of ICT on the environment is complex and may have positive and negative
consequences. ICT may provide tools for the protection of environment: monitoring environmental
issues, managing urban environment systems, communicating environmental knowledge, disseminating
information to the public, stimulating active participation of citizens, enabling efficient use of
resources, reducing the consumption of energy and essential natural resources (reducing the
consumption of paper through electronic and paperless communication), bettering the use of natural
resources. At the same time, the sustainability of these technologies must be managed to avoid
unintended consequences such as increased consumption of scarce resources and a very large increase
in energy usage and environmental damage from electronic waste.

ICT may improve environmental performances and may offer tools for the protection of the
environment in many different ways:-

Direct effects: - which arise from the design, production, distribution, maintenance and disposal of ICT
goods and services by the ICT industry.

Indirect effects: - which arise from the application and use of ICTs in society, in government and
public institutions, in research and scientific communities. ICTs may offer promising solutions for
enhancing our capacity to give warning of, predict and track environmental changes and disasters,
developing appropriate management that are able to minimize risks and maximize adaptation strategies.

Systemic effects: - which arise from changes in social and organizational structures enabling the
availability, accessibility, application and use of ICT goods and services. In this aspect ICTs may
contribute to reducing pollution and the consumption of energy. In this sense, the choices of
organizations and communities about how to use ICTs to change their structures will play a potentially

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significant role in determining whether there is a successful global response to the challenge of
environmental issues.

At the same time, ICTs may have a negative impact on the environment: consumption of energy, not
fully recyclable apparatus’ and technology (toxic e-waste pollution). Electronic waste has become
a major issue of digital ethics. It deals with the ICT devices (hardware waste and recycling of old
computers) that already today have devastating consequences on the environment.

3.1.7. Political Dimension

Blogs, social networks and online video platforms are now widely available for everyone with access
to the Internet. The opportunities provided by technology are rightly considered of key importance for
facilitating political participation, thereby strengthening democracy.

The Internet provides a new input into the political domain and it is possible that the Internet enables
a new kind of ‘digital citizenship’ with specific rights: the right to connection; the right to net neutrality
(which excludes the content control powers and duties of network operators); the right to freedom of
expression with the subsequent exclusion of forms of censorship; the right of access to web content.
This new dimension should not be seen as a category that replaces the traditional forms of citizenship
but as an expansion of the concept of citizenship, understood as a set of rights and powers belonging to
every person, wherever they may be in the world.

Another impact these technologies have on shaping the political culture is the claim of transparency.
Civil societies groups, the community of hackers and up-and-coming political parties focusing on web
activities are strongly in favor of ensuring that political decision-making processes become more
transparent than they have traditionally been. Established political parties, national and international
authorities are challenged to cope with the emerging claim for transparency if they are willing to meet
expectations to build and sustain trust in the results and procedures of their work. It is also claimed that
the blog culture and social networks bring about more participation and therefore more diversity in
a media driven world.

3.1.8. E-Commerce
Some suggest that the first beneficiary of a better functioning Internal Market for e-commerce would
be European consumers who would benefit from a wider range of goods and services and lower prices
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(in particular to online price and quality comparisons). A better functioning Internal Market for
e-commerce could also create jobs, and help people to look for jobs or work from home. It could bring
environmental benefits because it could reduce the need for physical production methods (e.g. through
more purchases of digital music or online newspapers) and cut the frequency of certain journeys (e.g.
more working from home or provision of advice online).

But a better e-commerce system in the nation (e.g.:- EU) would also respond to specific ethical
concerns that may be identified by Internet users. For example, ‘Notice-and-action’ procedures refer to
rules on removal or blocking of access to illegal content by an online company, after it has received
a request to do so. Internet users can submit a notification of illegal content that they have found
displayed on the website of an online intermediary (such as a social network, an online vendor or
a search engine). To avoid liability, the e-commerce Directive obliges the online intermediary to take
action as soon as it becomes aware of the illegal content. Such action can take the form of takedown
(removing content) or blocking (disabling access to content). In responses to the public consultation on
e-commerce, stakeholders complained that it is not clear how these procedures are meant to work. As
a result, illegal content stays online for too long, companies face legal uncertainty and the rights of
content providers (like individuals who upload content on the Internet) are not always respected.

3.1.8.1. Data Mining

Financial and insurance companies have mined their data for several years, in order to detect patterns of
fraudulent credit card use or in identifying behavior patterns of customers that pose risks to the
industry. Thus, data mining is not new, but is a technique that is being developed and deployed on an
increasingly large scale. The mining of data in individual databases in order to identify new information
is simple; cross correlation of the information in multiple databases poses serious issues.

Commercial organizations have become active in using data mining in order to design effective sales
campaigns, target marketing plans in an effort to match products with customers, and design new
products to increase sales and profitability. Data mining is also being used by law enforcement agencies
to investigate criminal activities and in an effort to avert terrorist actions.

Data mining practices that involve the use of personal data raise a number of privacy concerns. When
data relating to activities and characteristics of individuals are mined, they can reveal large amounts of
previously unknown personal information that the subject of the data never intended to be disclosed,
even though the separate pieces of data may have each been gathered with their consent. This concern
is exacerbated by the fact that data subjects are often unaware that their data are being used in this way,
thereby limiting their ability to seek access to the data generated. As it is not possible to predict what

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kind of patterns or information will be revealed, it is not possible to clearly specify the exact purpose
for which the data are being used.

The fundamental problem of privacy violation is further amplified if data sets used in data mining are
incomplete or incorrect, thereby rendering the process inaccurate. Data are gathered from many
different sources, not all of commensurate quality.

3.1.8.2. Internet of Things (IoT)

The Internet of things is a promising ICT sector (think of the smart meter, smart grid and electric cars).
Potential uses of IoT include the home environment, smart city and health monitor devices. The use of
IoT changes radically the relationship between humans and the interconnected autonomous objects,
giving to the last ones autonomy towards the interaction with human beings. This new use of
technological mediums therefore opens a number of ethics questions related to autonomy (of things and
humans); Security (dual use; freedom, liberty); equity/ equality / justice / fairness (access; treatment;
discrimination / discriminatory interfaces). Similarly the encoding of data concerning the human users
of IoT and their transmission to IoT control centralized systems open issues related to data profiling,
confidentiality and autonomy.

3.1.8.3. E-advertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to encourage or persuade an audience (viewers, readers or
listeners) to continue or take some new action. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer
behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also
common. Advertising messages are usually paid for by sponsors and viewed via various traditional
media; including mass media such as newspaper, magazines, television commercial, radio
advertisement, outdoor advertising or direct mail; or new media such as websites and text messages.

Clearly the volume of Internet users has induced ICT to massive use this commercial tool for financing
the services provide to their users. Although this mechanism does not open new ethical considerations
on fair trade and business, some use of advertising may be ethically problematic in particular when
concerned with porn, bestiality and divulgation of political views which contravene human rights and
human dignity.

Generally, Social interactions are linked by the common interests. It includes:-

 Sharing of thoughts, ideas, information, knowledge and experience through discussion and
debate.
 Conducting commerce
 Sharing emotional support
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  Making plans
 Finding friends
 Political discussions
 Educational discussions
 Playing games, etc.

The interaction is made through online network such as Web including E-mail, Discussion forums (list
of messages are available on the internet and people interact by replying the messages), News groups
and Chat rooms (chat room' is simply a web page which can display typed messages in real time), etc.

Nature of computer mediated interaction includes:-

Absence of physical: - There is no need to meet in real life. As a result of absence of physical presence
the cost of transmission, dissemination and reproduction of information is highly reduced

The interaction brings together people geographically and sociologically unrelated to each other. Due to
this The language may vary , The moral and ethical nature of behavior may also vary

Communication through an electronic medium flattens social rank and governance – remove
individuals from the center of power: Loss of power, rank and title. If everyone has equal access to
computer network, we pay more attention to what people say rather than to how important they look.
This creates a field of competition based on ideas, not position/status. The ability to transmit
information across great distance and at an increasingly faster speed allows for a larger set of
connections that can be maintained for longer periods.

Some of the disadvantages are:-

 Problems due to loss of face-to-face communication

 Problems related to the absence of vision
 Loss of emotional solidarity
 Less confidence in judging someone’s characteristics
 Limited ability to make positive and emotionally basedevaluationabout the person.
 Lack of understanding about feelings that contribute to the strength of group ties.
 Individual isolation

Computer mediated interaction isolate individuals from normal social interaction. It alienates the
individual from the social group.

Activity 3.2:
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Dear learners, before you start reading the paragraphs below take a moment to write about
Computer crime and types of computer crime. After you are complete reading compare your
notes with the discussion given below. Use the space provided below.

Computer Crime:-

Types of computer :-

3.2. Criminality in Computing

The progress of information technologyfield has created a framework of high potential for producing
some antisocialactions called “criminal”, both for international criminology and for informatics. 

The current computing  systems  are  offering  an  adequate  frame  in order  to  commit  the  crimes 
concerning  the  information criminality,  where  most  of  social  life  services,  such  as controlling
the flight traffic, trains traffic, coordination of medical  services  or  international  security,  have 
been developed upon basis of informational programs.

The  transnational  expansions,  extremely  fast  as concerns  the  computer  networks,  and  extending 
the access to these networks, by means of mobile telephony, have  brought  the  increasing  of  these 
systems’ vulnerability  and  the  creating  of  opportunities  of breaking the law.

3.2.1. What is computer Crime?

Computer crime is an act performed by a knowledgeable computer user, sometimes referred to as a

hacker that illegally browses or steals a company's or individuals private information. In some cases,
this person or group of individuals may be malicious and destroy or otherwise corrupt the computer or
data files.

Computer crime is any crime that is committed with a computer over a network. The computer or
network may be the target of the crime. Computer crimes can falls into two as that target computer
networks or devices and that merely use a computer network to target individuals.

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Types of Computer Crimes

Computer crimes are criminal activities which involve the use of information technology to gain an
illegal or unauthorized access to a computer system with the intent of damaging, deleting, or altering
computer data. They also include activities such as electronic frauds, misuse of devices, identity theft,
and data as well as system interference.

Computer crimes may not necessarily involve damage to physical property. They rather include the
manipulation of confidential data and critical information. They involve activities like software theft,
wherein the privacy of users is hampered. These criminal activities involve the breach of human and
information privacy, as also the theft and illegal alteration of system-critical information. The different
types of computer crimes are:-

Hacking: - It is the activity of breaking into a computer system to gain unauthorized access to data, or
the act of defeating the security capabilities of a computer system to obtain illegal access to the
information stored on it. Examples include, an unauthorized revelation of passwords with the intent to
gain unauthorized access to the private communication of an organization or user, or the use of IP
addresses to hack a computer and transact with a false identity, thus remaining anonymous.

Phishing: - Phishing is the act of attempting to acquire sensitive information like usernames,
passwords, and credit card details by disguising as a trustworthy source. Phishing is carried out through
emails or by luring the users to enter personal information through fake websites.

Computer Viruses: - They are computer programs that can replicate and harm computer systems on a
network without the knowledge of system users. They spread to other computers through the network
file system, the network, Internet, or via removable devices like USB drives and CDs. Computer
viruses are forms of malicious codes written with an aim to harm a computer system and destroy
information. Writing computer viruses is a criminal activity as virus infections can crash computer
systems and destroy critical data.

Cyberstalking: - The use of communication technology, mainly the Internet, to torture (make suffer)
individuals is known as cyberstalking. False accusations, transmission of threats, and damage to data
and equipment fall under this. Cyberstalkers often target users over chat rooms, online forums, and
social networking websites to gather user information and harass them on the basis of what's gathered.
Obscene emails, abusive phone calls, and other such serious effects of cyberstalking have made it a
type of computer crime.

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Identity Theft: - It is one of the most serious frauds as it involves stealing money and obtaining other
benefits with the use of a false identity. It is the act of pretending to be someone else by using someone
else's identity as one's own. Illegal migration, terrorism, and blackmail are often made possible by
means of identity theft.

Financial identity theft involves the use of a false identity to obtain goods and services. A commercial
identity theft is the use of someone else's business name or credit card details for commercial purposes.
Identity cloning is the use of another user's information to pose as a false user.

Cyber extortion: -When hackers threaten or harm a website, server, or a computer system using denial
of service (DOS) or other attacks, the affected system is said to be under cyber extortion. Many
corporate websites and networks are being attacked by cyber extortionists.

Cyber warfare: - Security expert Richard A. Clarke defines cyber warfare as actions by a nation-state
to penetrate another nation's computers or networks for the purposes of causing damage or disruption. It
can be in the form of cyber espionage, wherein computer systems or networks are used to obtain secrets
critical to a nation's security. The motive behind obtaining confidential information could be political,
military, or economic. Disrupting transport or communication systems in a nation or state by exploiting
computer or satellite technology is also a form of cyber warfare. Cyber attacks may be used to cripple
financial transactions in a country, thus threatening its economy. Recognized as the fourth-generation
warfare, many countries have included defense from cyber warfare in their military strategy.

Electronic Spamming

It refers to the use of electronic messaging systems to send unsolicited messages to users. Malicious
websites send repeated messages to multiple users, over email, instant messengers, newsgroups,
forums, blogs, etc. The messages may contain malware in the form of executable files or scripts, or
clicking on the emails may direct a user to suspicious websites.

3.2.2. Denial of Service Attacks (DoS)

Activity 3.3:Dear learners, before you start reading the paragraphs below take a moment to write
about Denial of service Attacks(DoS), Types of DoS, Targets of DoS and Challenges of DoS.
After you are complete reading compare your notes with the discussion given below. Use the
space provided below.
3.2.2.1. Introduction
As Internet is increasingly being used in almost every aspect of our lives, it is becoming a critical
resource whose disruption has serious implications. Blocking availability of an Internet service may
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imply large financial losses, as in the case of an attack that prevented users from having steady
connectivity to major e-commerce Web sites such as Yahoo, Amazon, eBay.

Such attacks that aimed at blocking availability of computer systems or services are generally referred
to as denial of service (DoS) attacks. As more and more essential services become reliant on the
Internet as part of their communication infrastructure, the consequences of denial of service attacks can
be very damaging. Therefore, it is crucial to deter, or otherwise minimize, the damage caused by denial
of service attacks.

The original aim of the Internet was to provide an open and scalable network among research and
educational communities. In this environment, security issues were less of a concern. Unfortunately,
with the rapid growth of the Internet over the past decade, the number of attacks on the Internet has also
increased rapidly.

Preventing denial of service attacks can be very challenging, as they can take place even in the absence
of software vulnerabilities in a system. Meanwhile, it is extremely hard, if not impossible, to precisely
differentiate all attacker's requests from other benign requests. Thus, solutions that rely on detecting
and filtering attacker's requests have limited effectiveness.

3.2.2.2. What is Denial-of-Service Attack (DoS)?

A denial-of-service (DoS) is any type of attack where the attackers (hackers) attempt to prevent
legitimate users from accessing the service. In a DoS attack, the attacker usually sends excessive
messages asking the network or server to authenticate requests that have invalid return addresses. The
network or server will not be able to find the return address of the attacker when sending the
authentication approval, causing the server to wait before closing the connection. When the server
closes the connection, the attacker sends more authentication messages with invalid return addresses.
Hence, the process of authentication and server wait will begin again, keeping the network or server
busy.

A Denial-of-Service (DoS) attack is an attack meant to shut down a machine or network, making it
inaccessible to its intended users. DoS attacks accomplish this by flooding the target with traffic, or
sending it information that triggers a crash.

Victims of DoS attacks often target the web servers of high-profile organizations such as banking,
commerce, and media companies, or government and trade organizations. Though DoS attacks do not
typically result in the theft or loss of significant information or other assets, they can cost the victim a
great deal of time and money to handle.

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3.2.2.3. Types of DoS Attacks
1. Vulnerability-based and Flooding Attacks

The different types of denial of service attacks can be broadly classified into vulnerability attacks (also
called semantic attacks) and Flooding attacks (also called brute-force attacks).

1.1Vulnerability-based Attacks:- A DoS vulnerability attack exploits one or more flaws in a policy or
in the mechanism that enforces the policy, or a bug in the software that implements the target system,
and aims to consume excessive amount of resources of the target by sending it a few carefully crafted
requests. For example, in the Ping-of-Death (POD) attack, an attacker cause certain operating systems
to crash or reboot by sending a fragmented oversized ICMP (Internet Control Message Protocol).

1.2. Flooding Attacks

A DoS brute-force attack, on the other hand, aims to deny service to legitimate users of a service by
invoking vast amount of seemingly valid service requests and trying to exhaust a key resource of the
target. For example, in a User Datagram Protocol (UDP) flood attack, an attacker sends excessively
high number of UDP segments to random ports on a target host to saturate its bandwidth, rendering the
target unreachable by other hosts.

Flood attacks occur when the system receives too much traffic for the server to buffer, causing them
to slow down and eventually stop. Popular flood attacks include:-

Buffer overflow attacks – the most common DoS attack. The concept is to send more traffic to a
network address than the programmers have built the system to handle. It includes the attacks listed
below, in addition to others that are designed to exploit bugs specific to certain applications or
networks

ICMP flood – leverages misconfigured network devices by sending spoofed packets that ping every
computer on the targeted network, instead of just one specific machine. The network is then triggered
to amplify the traffic. This attack is also known as the smurf attack or ping of death.

SYN flood – sends a request to connect to a server, but never completes the handshake. Continues until
all open ports are saturated with requests and none are available for legitimate users to connect to.

2. Single –source Attack and Distributed Attacks

In a denial of service attack, attackers may launch their attacks from a single host or from multiple
hosts that they control. When attacker's attack messages are originated from multiple hosts that are
distributed in the network, it is called a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack. In contrast, when
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attacker's attack messages are generated from a single host, we call it a single-source denial of service
(SDoS) attack.

A DDoS attack occurs when multiple systems orchestrate(coordinating) a synchronized DoS attack to a
single target. The essential difference is that instead of being attacked from one location, the target is
attacked from many locations at once. The distribution of hosts that defines a DDoS provide the
attacker multiple advantages:

He can leverage the greater volume of machine to execute a seriously disruptive attack

The location of the attack is difficult to detect due to the random distribution of attacking systems
(often worldwide)

It is more difficult to shut down multiple machines than one

The true attacking party is very difficult to identify, as they disguised behind many (mostly
compromised) systems

Generally speaking, DDoS attacks are more powerful than SDoS attacks, since the amount of
bandwidth, CPU, memory that can be packed into a single attack computer hardly surpasses the

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combined resources of hundreds or thousands of compromised machines. In practice, defending against
DDoS attacks is proven to be harder than defending against SDoS attacks.

Modern security technologies have developed mechanisms to defend most forms of DoS attacks, but
due to the unique characteristics of DDoS, it is still regarded as an elevated threat and is of higher
concern to organizations that fear being targeted by such an attack.

As Summary, DoS attack can be done in a several ways. Some of them are:-

 Flooding the network to prevent legitimate network traffic

 Disrupting the connections between two machines, thus preventing access to a service
 Preventing a particular individual from accessing a service.
 Disrupting a service to a specific system or individual
 Disrupting the state of information, such resetting of TCP sessions

DoS attacks can cause the following problems:-

 Ineffective services
 Inaccessible services
 Interruption of network traffic
 Connection interference

3.2.2.4. Targets of DoS

The targeted victim of a DoS attack can be an end system (a computer that implements all layers of OSI
reference model), a router, an ongoing communication, a link or an entire network, an infrastructure, or
any combination of or variant on these. In the case of an end system, the targeted victim can be an
application, or an operating system.

3.2.2.4.1 DoS on application. In application DoS attacks, an attacker attempts to prevent the
application from performing its intended tasks by causing the application to exhaust the finite supply of
a specific resource.

3.2.2.4.2 DoS on operating system. Operating system DoS attacks are very similar to application DoS
attacks. However, in application DoS attacks, the operating system may be able to protect other
applications from being effected; whereas the problem can be more catastrophic in the case of operating
system DoS attacks.

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3.2.2.4.3 DoS on router. Many of the DoS attacks against an end system can also be launched against an
IP router. Additionally, routing protocols can be used to stage a DoS attack on a router or a network of
routers. This requires the ability to send traffic from addresses that might plausibly have generated the
relevant routing messages.

3.2.2.4.4 DoS on ongoing communication . Instead of attacking the end system, an attacker may attempt
to disrupt an ongoing communication. If an attacker can observe a TCP connection, then it is relatively
easy to spoof packets to either reset that connection or to de-synchronize it so that no further progress
can be made.

3.2.2.4.5 DoS on links . The simplest form of DoS attack on links is to send enough non-congestion-
controlled traffic (e.g., UDP traffic) such that a link becomes excessively congested, and legitimate
traffic suffers unacceptably high packet loss. Congesting a link might also cause a routing protocol to
drop an adjacency if sufficient routing packets are lost, potentially amplifying the effects of the attack.
Moreover, it may be possible for an attacker to deny access to a link by causing the router to generate
sufficient monitoring or report traffic such that the link is filled.

3.2.2.4.6 DoS on infrastructure. Many communication systems depend on some underlying

infrastructure for their normal operations. Such an infrastructure can be as large as a global domain
name system or a global public key infrastructure, or can be as small as a local area Ethernet
infrastructure or a wireless access point. Effects of infrastructure attacks on the users of that
infrastructure can be enormous.

3.2.2.4.7. DoS on firewalls and IDS . Firewalls are intended to defend the systems behind them against
outside threats by restricting data communication traffic to and from the protected systems. Firewalls
may also be used in defending against denial of service attacks. Meanwhile, firewalls themselves may
become the targets of DoS attacks. Firewalls can be categorized as stateful and stateless, based on
whether the firewall holds state for the active flows traversing it, where a flow is a stream of packets
sharing IP source and destination addresses, protocol field, and source and destination port numbers.

3.2.2.5. DENIAL OF SERVICE DEFENSE CHALLENGES

There are various technical and non-technical challenges that need to be well understood in order to
design solutions that fundamentally address the problems of denial of service attackers. Some of the
design principles of the Internet and their implication to the denial of service problems are:-

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3.2.2.5.1 Internet Architecture Related Challenges
The architecture of the Internet is based on a number of principles, including the packet switching,
multipath routing, end-to-end argument, distributed management of resources etc.

 On-demand resource sharing

 Simple core and complex edge
 Multi-path routing
 Decentralized management

Accountability: - Accountability is defined as “the property that ensures that the actions of a system
entity may be uniquely traced back to that entity".

Variation in link capacity: - The provisioning of link bandwidth in modern Internet varies significantly
from core networks to edge networks. As core networks need to accommodate heavy traffic from many
sources to many destinations, their links are highly provisioned.

3.2.2.5.2 Other Challenges

In addition to the architectural challenges described above, there are several other challenges that make
the Internet DoS hard to defend against. A brief description of these challenges is:-

Difficulty of distinguishing malicious requests: - It is difficult to distinguish between malicious

requests and legitimate ones.

Asymmetry of request and response overhead: - Asymmetry of request and response overhead refers to
the asymmetry in the amount of consumed resources for generating a request at the client and creating
its corresponding response at the server. In most cases, a client spends trivial amount of CPU and
memory resources to generate a requests, and the operations carried out by the server to produce the
corresponding response incurs significantly more resource overhead in comparison.

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DoS research challenges: - the absence of standardized Evaluation, and the difficulty of large-scale
testing.

3.2.3. Identity Theft

Activity 3.4:

Dear learners, before you start reading the paragraphs below take a moment to write about
Identity theft and Types of Identity Theft. After you are complete reading compare your notes
with the discussion given below. Use the space provided below.

In today's world, people must keep up with technology in order to conduct their daily routines. They
are required to adapt daily to new knowledge and exciting discoveries that are constantly changing the
way they live and do business. Today, everything from saying hello to a friend down the street to
videoconferencing with someone around the world can be done electronically, from home.
Technological advances now allow people to carry out the most mundane of tasks, such as ordering
groceries from the store, to the most complex activities, such as performing complicated surgery, all
from a separate, remote location: a computer connected to the Internet.

Every day we exchange personal information with colleagues, friends and unknown people with no
idea how they are treated and for what use they will be managed. Telephone number, email address or
driver’s license number are example of the data we provide ordinary using new media channels like
internet and the social networks.

3.2.3.1. Common Types of Identity Theft

When people think of identity theft, more often than not they assume that it only happens to wealthy
people. Who would bother stealing the identity of a college student who can barely make ends meet?
The harsh reality of the matter is that anyone can be a victim.

College students are particularly vulnerable, because they are most likely to be careless or unaware
where their credit reports are concerned. The fact that they don’t expect to be targeted by identity
thieves is an important factor. The more you know, the more you are able to prevent identity
theft from happening to you.

To understand the scope of Identity Theft, let we see about the following types of Identity Theft.

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Financial Identity Theft: -When people hear the words “identity theft”, often times they immediately
think of this type. Financial identity theft can mean two things. First, the victim’s bank accounts and
credit cards are accessed and used illegally. The thief can withdraw money or max out credit cards.
Second, the victim’s identity is used to take on loans and get new credit cards. The effect of this type of
theft on a college student’s credit report, for example, can be devastating and difficult to remedy. There
are steps you can take, however, to recover from identity theft.

Driver’s License Identity Theft:-This type requires very little sophistication. Once a person’s driver’s
license is stolen, the criminals can find ways to use the ID. It may even be sold off to someone who
looks passably similar to the real ID owner. If the criminal is caught for a traffic violation, drunk
driving charge or drug-related charged, they will give the stolen ID name. Now they don't have to show
up in court and the police will be looking for the name of the person on the driver's license. The
victim's driving record now includes these driving related offenses which can lead to having a revoked
or suspended driver’s license. These offenses can effect current car insurance rates, or any attempt
to obtain new car insurance.

While you should always have your driver's license on you, there are other things that you can remove
from your wallet to that might otherwise put you at risk for ID theft.

Criminal Identity Theft:-Obviously, the instance with the driver’s license is just the tip of the iceberg,
and traffic violations are just the beginning. If the “new” owner of the ID commits a crime and is cited
or arrested, he or she can make use of the stolen ID to give policemen a fake identity, resulting in a
criminal record being created in that person's name. When that happens, the victim of criminal identity
theft can have problems with law enforcement or be unable to gain employment. It is a serious, but rare,
problem.

This form of ID Theft occurs when someone uses another person’s ID when charges with a crime,
arrested or given a traffic ticket.

Social Security Identity Theft: -The Social Security Number (SSN) is very important, and people
should learn not to be cavalier about this information. Identity thieves can make use of the SSN to
defraud the government and steal off benefits meant for the victim. Another thing to take note of: your
SSN contains valuable personal information. A thief can make use of this information to falsify
documents (such as getting a passport, for example) or to take out loans and credit cards.

Medical Identity Theft: -Why would anyone want to steal someone else’s medical identity? The simple
answer is that this can be used to commit fraud involving health insurance and medical coverage.
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Thieves can use the victim’s identity to make false claims. The hidden danger of medical identity theft,
as the World Health Organization (WHO) points out, is that this could lead to incorrect entries in the
victim’s medical history. Erroneous entries could lead to incorrect diagnosis and other complications.

Generally, the use of another person’s identifying information to obtain medical services, prescriptions
or any other medical, psychiatric or substance abuse treatment.

Insurance Identity Theft: - This is related to the medical identity theft. Once the crime is committed, the
victim is left holding the bag. Effects of identity insurance include difficulties in settling payments,
potentially higher insurance premiums, and quite possibly trouble in acquiring medical coverage later
on. Ironically, there are identity theft insurance policies to protect against this, and many other kinds
of ID theft.

Child Identity Theft/At-Risk Adult Identity Theft: - Just as with college students, children are not
likely to be concerned about their credit reports at all. What most parents don’t realize is that their
child’s information and SSN can be used by thieves to defraud the government, create documents,
commit crimes, and apply for loans.

Any form of Identity Theft that is perpetrated using the ID of a minor child or of an older adult or
person with a disability.

Synthetic Identity Theft: -In this type of identity theft, the thieves use information from several
different victims to create a new identity. Although the primary victim here is the lender, it can still
negatively affect the person whose name or Social Security ID is used. For example, the thieves will
use one person's Social Security number and combine it with a different name, address and phone
number. They can then open new accounts, acquires credit cards, cell phones and other goods and
services not in your name but because of your social security number.

Domestic Violence/Stalking ID Theft: Any ID Theft that is committed as part of a domestic violence

or stalking incident. This form of ID Theft is often used by the perpetrator to intimidate and control the
victim.

Tax Related Identity Theft: The use of someone’s social security number to file fraudulent tax returns
and obtain fraudulent tax refunds.

Business Identity Theft: The theft of a business by changing listings with the Secretary of State. This
form of ID Theft is committed to obtain credit, sell the business or set up fraudulent websites to divert
business and online payments or to obtain personal information from customers.

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3.2.4. Fraud
Activity 3.5:
Dear learners, before you start reading the paragraphs below take a moment to write about fraud
and Misrepresentation. After you are complete reading compare your notes with the discussion
given below. Use the space provided below.
Fraud_________________________________.

Misrepresentation_____________.

All forms of fraud have a common theme (idea). The scam artist wants to get money or personal
identifying information from their target. Scams can be attempted with phone calls, letters, emails or
text messages. While there are a countless number of scams out there, most fall into several categories
of fraud.

Money Wiring Scams: The scam artist tries to scare or intimidate the victim into sending money
immediately through a wire service (like Western Union or Money Gram), by an electronic funds
transfer or through the purchase of a pre-paid credit card. This includes calling and pretending to be a
loved one in distress and needing money, contacting the victim and claiming to be with a government
or law enforcement agency collecting a fine or debt, or representing one’s self as an IRS agent calling
about past due tax debt. Another way this scam is committed is through online sales or offers of jobs
like personal assistant or mystery shoppers. What they all have in common is that the victim is asked to
send money to another person. Once the victim sends the money, additional requests for finds will
follow, with the callers becoming more aggressive and even threatening.

Romance Scams: Millions of Americans participate in online dating. So do a large number of scam

artists. In this scam, the criminal poses as the target’s ideal love match. Once the victim has fallen in
love with the criminal, there will be requests for money to help with a crisis. The scam artist will claim
that he or she would love to catch a plane and meet the victim and marry, but there is just this one
problem. Again, once money has been sent, the need for more money will follow. This scam not only
breaks the bank, it also potentially breaks the heart.

Lottery Scams: You have won $2 million! And all you have to do to claim your prize is pay taxes and
some processing fees. Many people will send these criminals thousands of dollars in the hopes of
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getting millions. But in the end, it is just a scam. Sometimes, the criminals in this scam will ask for the
victim’s bank account information so that they can transfer funds into the account. What they will
really do is use the information to wipe out the account.

3.2.5. Misrepresentation
A misrepresentation is an assertion that is not in accord with the truth. When a person enters a contract
because of his justifiable reliance on a misrepresentation about some important fact, the contract is
voidable.

An untrue statement of fact or law made by Party A (or its agent) to Party B, which induces Party B to
enter a contract with Party A thereby causing Party B loss. An action for misrepresentation can be
brought in respect of a misrepresentation of fact or law.

There are three types of misrepresentation:-

Fraudulent misrepresentation: where a false representation has been made knowingly, or without
belief in its truth, or recklessly as to its truth.

Negligent misrepresentation: a representation made carelessly and in breach of duty owed by Party A
to Party B to take reasonable care that the representation is accurate.

Innocent misrepresentation: a representation that is neither fraudulent nor negligent.The remedies for
misrepresentation are rescission and/or damages. For fraudulent and negligent misrepresentation, the
claimant may claim rescission and damages.

3.2.6. Cyber terrorism

Activity 3.6:
Dear learners, before you start reading the paragraphs below take a moment to write about Cyber
Space, Cyber security, Cyber Terrorism and attraction of cyber Terrorism. After you are
complete reading compare your notes with the discussion given below. Use the space provided
below.
Cyber Space_________________________.

Cyber Security____________________________.
Cyber Terrorism _____.
Attraction of Cyber terrorism __________________________.

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1.1. What is Cyber Space?
Cyberspace can be defined as an intricate environment that involves interactions between people,
software, and services. It is maintained by the worldwide distribution of information and
communication technology devices and networks.

Because of the technological advancements, the cyberspace today has become a common pool used
by citizens, businesses, critical information infrastructure, military and governments in a fashion that
makes it hard to induce clear boundaries among these different groups. The cyberspace is anticipated to
become even more complex in the upcoming years, with the increase in networks and devices
connected to it.

1.2. What is Cyber security?

Cyber security denotes the technologies and procedures intended to safeguard computers,
networks, and data from unlawful admittance, weaknesses, and attacks transported through the
Internet by cyber delinquents.

ISO 27001 (ISO27001) is the international Cyber security Standard that delivers a model for creating,
applying, functioning, monitoring, reviewing, preserving, and improving an Information Security
Management System.

The Ministry of Communication and Information Technology under the government of India
provides a strategy outline called the National Cyber security Policy. The purpose of this government
body is to protect the public and private infrastructure from cyber-attacks.

1.3. The Changing Landscape of Cybercrime

Among the most serious challenges of the 21st century are the prevailing and possible threats in the
sphere of cyber security. Threats originate from all kinds of sources, and mark themselves in disruptive
activities that target individuals, businesses, national infrastructures, and governments alike.

In the last two decades, we have witnessed the rapid growth of the Internet, mobile technology and the
correspondingly rapid growth of online crimes, or cybercrimes. With this growth, there has been a
spike in the rate of cyber-crimes committed over the Internet. This has resulted into some people
condemning the Internet and partner technologies as responsible for creating new crimes and the root
causes of these crimes. However, there is hardly any new crime resulting from these new technologies.
What has changed, as a result of these new technologies, is the enabling environment. Technology is
helping in the initiation and propagation of most known crimes. As we get rapid changes in
technological advances, we are correspondingly witnessing waves of cybercrimes evolving.

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Fig: the Changing Nature of Cybercrimes

The period before 1980 was an experimental period. Then, the Internet was new and required
sophisticated and specialized knowledge that very few people back then had. There was very little
valuable information and data stored in online databases as there is today, and there were no free online
hacking tools available. If one wanted to hack, one had to develop the tools to do the job a daunting
task that required expertise. The easiest way to do it was to join hacking groups.

The effects of Cyber security threats transmit significant risk for the following:-

 Public safety
 Security of nations
 Stability of the globally linked international community
 Threat actors can operate with considerable freedom from virtually anywhere. The motives for
disruption can be anything such as:-
 Simply demonstrating technical prowess
 Theft of money or information
 Extension of state conflict, etc.

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Criminals, terrorists, and sometimes the State themselves act as the source of these threats. Criminals
and hackers use different kinds of malicious tools and approaches. With the criminal activities taking
new shapes every day, the possibility for harmful actions propagates.

1.4 What Is Cyber terrorism?

There have been several tentative blocks to creating a clear and consistent definition of the term
“cyber terrorism”.

First, much of explanation of cyber terrorism has been conducted in the popular media, where
journalists typically strive for drama and sensation rather than for good operational definitions of new
terms.

Second, it has been especially common when dealing with computers to coin new words simply by
placing the words “cyber,” “computer,” or “information” before another word. Thus, an entire arsenal
of words—cybercrime, cyber war, info war, net war, cyber terrorism, cyber harassment, virtual-
warfare, digital terrorism, cyber tactics, computer warfare, information warfare, cyber attack, cyber
war, and cyber break-ins is used to describe what some military and political strategists describe as the
“new terrorism” of these times.

According to some professor of computer science:-“Cyber terrorism is the convergence of cyberspace

and terrorism. It refers to unlawful attacks and threats of attacks against computers, networks and the
information stored therein when done to intimidate or coerce a government or its people in furtherance
of political or social objectives. Further, to qualify as cyber terrorism, an attack should result in
violence against persons or property, or at least cause enough harm to generate fear. Attacks that lead to
death or bodily injury, explosions, or severe economic loss would be examples. Serious attacks against
critical infrastructures could be acts of cyber terrorism, depending on their impact. Attacks that disrupt
nonessential services or that are mainly a costly nuisance would not.”

According to The Department of Defense (DOD),FBI and State department of USA:-terrorism is “the
calculated use of unlawful violence or threat of unlawful violence to inculcate fear, intended to coerce
or to intimidate governments or societies in the pursuit of goals that are generally political,
religious, or ideological”. cyber terrorism is a computer based attack or threat of attack intended to
intimidate or coerce governments or societies in pursuit of goals that are political, religious, or
ideological. The attack should be sufficiently destructive or disruptive to generate fear comparable to
that from physical acts of terrorism. Attacks that lead to death or bodily injury, extended power
outages, plane crashes, water contamination, or major economic losses would be.

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Cyber terrorism is the use of computer network tools to harm or shut down critical national
infrastructures (such as energy, transportation, government operations). The premise of cyber terrorism
is that as nations and critical infrastructure became more dependent on computer networks for their
operation. Cyber terrorism is an attractive option for modern terrorists, who value its anonymity, its
potential to inflict massive damage, its psychological impact, and its media appeal. The threat posed by
cyber terrorism has grabbed the attention of the mass media, the security community, and the
information technology (IT) industry. Journalists, politicians, and experts in a variety of fields have
popularized a scenario in which sophisticated cyber-terrorists electronically break into computers that
control dams or air traffic control systems, wreaking havoc and endangering not only millions of lives
but national security itself.

Just how real is the threat that cyber terrorism poses? Because most critical infrastructure in Western
societies is networked through computers, the potential threat from cyber terrorism is, to be sure, very
alarming. Hackers, although not motivated by the same goals that inspire terrorists, have demonstrated
that individuals can gain access to sensitive information and to the operation of crucial services.
Terrorists could thus follow the hackers’ lead, and then, having broken into government and private
computer systems, could cripple or at least disable the military, financial, and service sectors of
advanced economies. The growing dependence of our societies on information technology has created a
new form of vulnerability, giving terrorists the chance to approach targets that would otherwise be
utterly unassailable, such as national defense systems and air traffic control systems. The more
technologically developed a country is, the more vulnerable it becomes to cyber attacks against its
infrastructure.

Concern about the potential danger posed by cyber terrorism is thus well founded. That does not mean
that all the fears that have been voiced in the media, in Congress, and in other public forums are
rational and reasonable. Some fears are simply unjustified, whereas others are highly exaggerated. In
addition, the distinction between the potential and the actual damage inflicted by cyber terrorists has
too often been ignored, and the relatively benign activities of most hackers have been conflated with
specter of pure cyber terrorism.

The reasons for the popularity of cyber terrorism worry are many. Psychological, political, and
economic forces have combined to promote the fear of cyber terrorism.

1st from a psychological perspective, two of the greatest fears of modern time are combined in the term
“cyber terrorism”. The fear of random, violent victimization segues well with the distrust and outright
fear of computer technology. An unknown threat is perceived as more threatening than a known threat.
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Although cyber terrorism does not entail a direct threat of violence, its psychological impact on anxious
societies can be as powerful as the effect of terrorist bombs. Moreover, the most destructive forces
working against an understanding of the actual threat of cyber terrorism are a fear of the unknown and a
lack of information or, worse, too much misinformation.

2nd, the mass media have added their voice to the fearful chorus, trumpeting the threat with front-page
headlines.

2.1. The Attraction of Cyber terrorism for Terrorists

Cyber terrorism is an attractive option for modern terrorists for several reasons:-

First, it is cheaper than traditional terrorist methods. All that the terrorist needs is a personal computer
and an online connection. Terrorists do not need to buy weapons such as guns and explosives; instead,
they can create and deliver computer viruses through a telephone line, a cable, or a wireless connection.

Second, cyber terrorism is more anonymous than traditional terrorist methods. Like many Internet
surfers, terrorists use online nicknames—“screen names”—or log on to a website as an unidentified
“guest user,” making it very hard for security agencies and police forces to track down the terrorists’
real identity. In cyberspace there are no physical barriers such as checkpoints to navigate, no borders to
cross, no customs agents to outsmart.

Third, the variety and number of targets are enormous. The cyber terrorist could target the computers
and computer networks of governments, individuals, public utilities, private airlines, and so on. The
sheer number and complexity of potential targets guarantees that terrorists can find weaknesses and
vulnerabilities to exploit. Several studies have shown that critical infrastructures, such as electric power
grids and emergency services, are vulnerable to a cyber terrorist attack because the infrastructures and
the computer systems that run them are highly complex, making it effectively impossible to eliminate
all weaknesses.

Fourth, cyber terrorism can be conducted remotely, a feature that is especially appealing to terrorists.
Cyber terrorism requires less physical training, psychological investment, risk of mortality, and travel
than conventional forms of terrorism, making it easier for terrorist organizations to recruit and retain
followers.

Fifth, cyber terrorism has the potential to affect directly a larger number of people than traditional
terrorist methods, thereby generating greater media coverage, which is ultimately what terrorists want.

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2.2. The Growing Vulnerabilities
The Future of Cyber terrorism is describes in some scenarios:

A cyber terrorist will disrupt the banks, the international financial transactions, the stock exchanges.
The people of a country will lose all confidence in the economic system. Destabilization will be
achieved.

A cyber terrorist will attack the next generation of air traffic control systems, and collide two large
civilian aircraft. This is a realistic scenario, since the cyber terrorist will also crack the aircraft’s in-
cockpit sensors. Much of the same can be done to the rail lines.

A cyber terrorist will remotely alter the formulas of medication at pharmaceutical manufacturers. The
potential loss of life is unfathomable.

The cyber terrorist may then decide to remotely change the pressure in the gas lines, causing a valve
failure, and a block of a sleepy suburb detonates and burns. Likewise, the electrical grid is becoming
steadily more vulnerable.

3.2.7. Websites, e-commerce and data: rights to access and to privacy

3.2.7.1. What is Website?

Activity 3.7:
Dear learners, before you start reading the paragraphs below take a moment to write about
Website and different types of website. After you are complete reading compare your notes with
the discussion given below. Use the space provided below.
Website____________________________________________.

Types of website ______________.

A website is a collection of web pages (documents that are accessed through the Internet). A web page
can contain any type of information, and can include text, color, graphics, animation and sound.

A website is a collection of Web pages, images, videos or other digital assets that is hosted on one or
several Web server(s), usually accessible via the Internet, cell phone or a LAN.

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When someone gives you their web address, it generally takes you to their website's home page, which
should introduce you to what that site offers in terms of information or other services. From the home
page, you can click on links to reach other sections of the site. A website can consist of one page, or of
tens or of thousands of pages, depending on what the site owner is trying to accomplish.

Why Do People Visit Websites?

Generally, people look at websites for two primary reasons:-

To find information they need. This could be anything from a student looking for pictures of frogs for a
school project, to finding the latest stock quotes, to getting the address of the nearest.

To complete a task. Visitors may want to buy the latest best-seller, download a software program, or
participate in an online discussion about a favorite hobby.

The main thing to remember in creating a website is that you're not creating the website for you; you
already know about the information or service you have to offer. You're creating the site for your
visitors, so it should contain the content they want, and be organized in a way that makes sense, even to
an outsider.

A website is a means of communication, and it is only successful when its message is received by the
intended user. The Internet has forever changed the way we do business.  Businesses are networking
better than they ever could before due to social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. 

Today we can easily identify different types of websites available on the Internet based on the basic
informational website:-

Informational Websites: - informational based websites were the first versions to hit the Internet. 
They are as they sound, sites which enable readers to find information on a particular business or topic.

Brochure/Catalogue Style Websites:- This kind of website goes further in depth than an
informational site and provides general information about a store as well as the stock they carry and the
prices.

A simple brochure website will let you notify customers of the type of work you provide, without
getting into the complexities of creating online sale facilities. Adding a simple booking form is a great
way for those in the electrical industry to encourage leads, in particular if it creates an afterhours
booking facility.This type of website is a great starting point for businesses that do not currently have a
website. With simple navigation and relatively few pages, a simple brochure website creates an online

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presence that could connect your business with new customers. Be sure to include your business name,
telephone number and physical address.

E-Commerce Websites: - E-Commerce websites take brochure websites a step further by allowing you
to shop directly from your computer.  The main difference between a brochure site and an e-commerce
site is that the latter features a checkout system to enable you to order directly from the online store.

Blogs: - Blog websites (traditionally known as web logs) did not hit the mainstream until the early to
mid 2000s.  However since then blogging has become very popular for both business and personal use.

Personal Websites: - Personal websites are similar to that of a personal blog where an individual in all
likelihood will have their own personal domain.  These are created by friends and families to share their
information and pictures online with each other allowing for people to keep in contact.

Social Media and Networking Websites :- More popular than ever, online forums and social
networking sites like Facebook and MySpace are used on a daily basis to spread the word about
businesses and keep in touch with family and friends.

Photo Sharing Websites: - Great for those in the photographic industry, these sites allow for
individuals to upload and share photographs online.

Mobile Device Websites: - As technology develops, so is the variety of new websites appearing
online.  The latest is the creation of websites for viewing on mobile devices and mobile phones.

Knowing the types of websites available will help identify your web development requirements and
define the one most suitable for your business needs.

3.2.7.2. E-Commerce
Activity 3.8:
Dear learners, before you start reading the paragraphs below take a moment to write about E-
commerce, issues of implementing E-commerce, and Driving force of E-commerce. After you
are complete reading compare your notes with the discussion given below. Use the space
provided below.
E-commerce ____________________________________________.
Issues of implementing E-commerce_____________.
Driving force of E-commerce______________________.
Advantages and disadvantages of E-commerce ________________________________

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Internet has become an important medium for doing global business based on the state of the art
technology. Electronic commerce has two major aspects: economical and technological. The stress of
this course will show you how to get started in the complex and exciting world of Electronic
Commerce. New standards and new facilities are constantly emerging and their proper understanding is
essential for the success of an operation, and especially for those who are assigned a duty to select,
establish, and maintain the necessary infrastructure.

3.2.7.2.1. What is E-Commerce?

E-commerce is an emerging concept that describes the process of buying and selling or exchanging of
products, services, and information via computer networks including the internet.

Traditional physical trading of goods and currency is becoming increasingly unpopular and more
businesses are jumping on the e-commerce bandwagon. Today, the line between e-commerce and
traditional commerce is becoming more blurred as more businesses start and continue to integrate the
Internet and e-commerce technologies into their business processes.

The e-commerce can be defined as a modern business methodology that addresses the needs of
organizations, merchants, and consumers to cut costs while improving thequality of goods and services
and increasing the speed of service delivery, by using Internet.

It differs from the traditional electronic commerce (e-commerce) in the way that it enables the trading
of goods, money and information electronically from computer to computer. Business is done
electronically and there is no longer a need for physical currency or goods to conduct business.

Doing business online is electronic commerce. There are four main areas in which companies conduct
business online today:-

 Direct marketing, selling, and services.

 Online banking and billing.
 Secure distribution of information.
 Value-chain trading and
 Corporate purchasing.

3.2.7.2.2. Issues in Implementing Electronic Commerce

It is simple to describe their benefits, it is not nearly as easy to develop and deploy commerce systems.
Companies can face significant implementation issues:-

Cost: - Electronic commerce requires significant investments in new technologies that can touch many
of a company’s core business processes. As with all major business systems, electronic commerce
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systems require significant investments in hardware, software, staffing, and training. Businesses need
comprehensive solutions with greater ease-of-use to help foster cost-effective deployment.

Value: - Businesses want to know that their investments in electronic commerce systems will produce
a return. Business objectives such as lead generation, business-process automation, and cost reduction
must be met. Systems used to reach these goals need to be flexible enough to change when the business
changes.

Security: - The Internet provides universal access, but companies must protect their assets against
accidental or malicious misuse. System security, however, must not create prohibitive complexity or
reduce flexibility. Customer information also needs to be protected from internal and external misuse.
Privacy systems should safeguard the personal information critical to building sites that satisfy
customer and business needs.

Leveraging Existing Systems: - Most companies already use information technology (IT) to conduct
business in non-Internet environments, such as marketing, order management, billing, inventory,
distribution, and customer service. The Internet represents an alternative and complementary way to do
business, but it is imperative that electronic commerce systems integrate existing systems in a manner
that avoids duplicating functionality and maintains usability, performance, and reliability.

Interoperability: -When systems from two or more businesses are able to exchange documents
without manual intervention, businesses achieve cost reduction, improved performance, and more
dynamic value chains. Failing to address any of these issues can spell failure for a system’s
implementation effort. Therefore, your company’s commerce strategy should be designed to address all
these issues to help customers achieve the benefits of electronic commerce.

3.2.7.2.3. Driving Forces Behind E-commerce

The various driving forces behind e-commerce can be listed as below:

Global Customers: Customers are people who may travel anywhere or companies with global
operations. Global IT can help provide fast, convenient service.

Global Products: Products are the same throughout the world or are assembled by subsidiaries
throughout the world. Global IT can help manage worldwide marketing and quality control.

Global Operations: Parts of a production or assembly process are assigned to subsidiaries based on
changing economic or other conditions. Only global IT can support such geographic flexibilities.

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Global Resources: The use and cost of common equipment, facilities, and people are shared by
subsidiaries of a global company. Global IT can keep track of such shared resources.

Global Collaborations: The knowledge and expertise of colleagues in a global company can be
quickly accessed, shared, and organized to support individual or group efforts. Only global IT can
support such enterprise collaboration.

3.2.7.2.4. Advantages and Disadvantages of E-commerce

These are the advantages of Internet and e-commerce in general:

Speed: The Internet and World Wide Web give businesses opportunities to exchange messages or
complete transactions almost instantaneously. Even with the slowest connections, doing business
electronically is much faster than traditional modes. With increased speeds of communication, the
delivery time is expedited and that makes the whole transaction from start to finish more efficient. This
gives business owners the ability to inform customers of any changes to the service that you are
offering. This also allows for you to update marketing and promotional materials as often and as
frequently as you would like.

Cost Saving: By using the Internet, marketing, distribution, personnel, phone, postage and printing
costs, among many others, can be reduced. You can start doing business in cyberspace for as little as
thousand of rupees. Most businesses will spend more than this but compared to the cost of opening a
physical store, the savings are tremendous. These funds can then be diverted to marketing and
advertising of your product or service.

No Boundaries: Cyberspace does not know any national boundary. That means you can do business all
over the world as easily as you can in your own neighborhood. Since the Internet connects everyone in
cyberspace, information is transmitted at the speed of sound or the speed of light, depending on your
connection. Either way, distance becomes meaningless, which makes you able to link to anyone on the
globe and anyone on the globe can link to you. The ability to provide links makes doing business on the
Internet attractive to customers in any part of the world.

Ease of Networking: One advantage of the Internet is that is allowing people to easily meet, gather
data/information and stay in touch with others at a very low cost. Now almost everyone can
automatically expose his/her business to the international market. The web will enable firms to build on
the assets that they already possess, like brand name recognition, operational infrastructure,
information, and customer relationships in order to develop new markets and distribution channels.
Meeting with new network locally and from other countries can be done anytime and anywhere now.

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E-commerce Disadvantages

Some of the e-commerce disadvantages cause both consumers and businesses to suffer considerable
misfortune. Although cost savings are usually mentioned, there are hidden costs that can quickly turn a
credit into a debit. In addition, the technology is not perfect, for example, the network unreliability is a
continuing concern. Moreover, some other concerns involve security, the loss of privacy, low and
remote service levels, and complex legal issues. Let us discuss these disadvantages one by one.

Hidden Costs:-Although buying on-line is convenient, the cost of this convenience is not always clear
at the front end. For example, on-line purchases are often accompanied by high shipping and re-
stocking fees, a lack of warranty coverage, and unacceptable delivery times. The online purchases must
be shipped and the shipping charges may be considerable.

In fact, too many e-commerce companies have developed a reputation of overcharging for shipping and
handling.

Network Unreliability: - With a user population of well over 100 million in North America alone, the
Internet is a very busy information highway. Although the Internet is designed to overcome the single
point of failure problem, there have been several well-publicized incidents of network failures during
the past few years. An e-commerce website that cannot serve its customers loses sales, credibility, and
even customers. In effect, a network failure can be compared to having a location at an exclusive mall
that is in middle of nowhere and has no access roads that lead to it. Network reliability problems may
be generated by such factors as:

Equipment failure in the network connection provider or ISP.

Long response time due to increased network traffic or inadequate bandwidth.

Accidental problems caused by nature—such as lightning, floods, earthquakes that affect

communication lines—or by human error—such as a road construction worker severing a network line
by accident.

The Cost of Staying in Business:- We included operational cost savings and lower barriers of entry in
the list of ecommerce advantages. That is, getting into business is relatively easier in an e-commerce
environment. Unfortunately, the flip side of the coin is that staying in business may be more difficult.
Remember that the easy access means increased competition, thus causing businesses to operate with
very thin profit margins. To be profitable, e-businesses must maintain high sales volumes, which in turn
mean developing and maintaining a big and loyal customer base. Attracting customers and

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transforming them into repeat buyers is the key to profitability. To survive and remain competitive,
businesses must invest heavily in often-costly technology. The introduction of computer technology
within a business not only automates the business process but it also changes the way the company
does business internally and externally. Such synergy between technology and business operations
makes the company more dependent on technology, therefore making it more vulnerable to the pace
and network failures.

Lack of Security: -One of the main roadblocks to the wide acceptance of e-commerce by businesses
and consumers alike is the perceived lack of adequate security for on-line transactions. For example,
consumers are growing increasingly wary about providing credit card information over the Internet.
During the past few years, the press has been filled with reports about hackers breaking into e-business
websites and stealing credit card information. In many cases, the break-ins passed inadvertently for
several months before either the seller or the buyer discovered the problem.

Securing on-line transaction data during its generation and then safeguarding it after it has been stored
in the database are critical issues to be faced. For example, in June of 2001, a small computer retailer
exposed credit card information through its website. The problem, caused by a coding error in a web
page, allowed unauthorized access to stored order and credit card information for thousands of
customers, dating as far back as one year.

Lack of Privacy:- Ensuring the security of the data is of paramount importance to customers and to the
credibility of the business. Customers also worry about the privacy implications of data gathered by
organizations of all types and sizes. The incredible data collection process is a mixed blessing to
customers. Even at the simplest data level, sales information is stored in databases connected to web
servers, thus exposing the information to cybercriminals. Because data gathering on the web is so easy,
databases routinely contain information about customer purchasing habits, demographic data, credit
information, and so on.

In many cases, companies sell customer database information to marketing companies. In turn, the
marketing companies engage in massive e-mail campaigns to attract new customers. It doesn’t take
long for the customer’s e-mail box to be filled with unwanted and unsolicited e-mail (also known as
“spam”). The growing sales of personal firewall sand the large number of “hits” on websites that deal
with privacy issues are testimony to the fact that customers are growing increasingly worried about
their online privacy, and that they are seeking ways to protect themselves from cyber attackers.

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Low Service Levels:-Another common complaint about doing business online is the low level of
customer service that online companies tend to provide. Although technology has automated business
transactions to a large extent, there remains a real need for the human touch. Therefore, customer
service has become a major differentiating factor. Because the web buying experience is much more
impersonal than the traditional one, providing good customer service is critical to the survival of any e-
business. Therefore, e-commerce websites must provide

a pleasant and problem-free pre-ordering and ordering experience. The website design is an important
interface.

Readily available easily used feedback options. Major customer complaints include the lack of contact
information on websites and the difficulty of contacting a customer service representative.

Quick and courteous complaint resolution.

Timely and low-cost shipping and prompt delivery of merchandise to customers.

Legal Issues:-Legal problems encountered in the e-commerce environment include

Software and copyright infringements. The amount of illegal content flowing freely on the Internet is
illustrated by the so-called Napster case. Napster, a popular music website, was sued by the Recording
Industry Association because it hosted millions of illegal digital copies of copyrighted songs that were
freely downloaded by millions of users worldwide. After court action, Napster was forced to change its
business model and to eliminate all illegal material from its website.

Credit card fraud and stolen identities: The lack of security we mentioned earlier has put credit card
fraud on the proverbial front burner. In addition, lack of security makes it relatively easy to assume
another person’s identity in order to make fraudulent transactions. Loss of confidence in the security of
online transactions is a brake on the e-business train.

Business fraud: Online fraud also takes the form of companies that fail to deliver products and/or
services to the customers who paid for them.

3.2.7.3. Right to access and Privacy

Activity 3.9:
Dear learners, before you start reading the paragraphs below take a moment to write about
Privacy and privacy in ICT. After you are complete reading compare your notes with the
discussion given below. Use the space provided below.
Privacy____________________________________________.
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Privacy and ICT ____________________________________________

A. What is privacy?

Various definitions have been given by different scholars

The right of an individual to be secured from unauthorized disclosure of information about oneself that
is contained in documents or database

Freedom from unauthorized intrusion.

The ability of an individual to protect information about himself or herself

The protection of the collection, storage and dissemination of personal information.

Individuals have the right to privacy of data held about themselves and to be anonymous in their
interaction with others. Privacy is important because 1st) Individuals can maintain their autonomy and
individuality. People define themselves by exercising power over information about them. 2nd)it has a
functional benefit like

Safeguarding safety and peace of mind. This is good for mental health & creativity

Development of interpersonal relationships

Maintenance of democratic society, etc.

B. ICT & privacy

ICT is used to invade privacy. This is because:-

The development of ICT is causing exponential growth of personal information collected and stored by
the government and the private sector. Personal information is usually provided to the government,
employers, insurers, product advertisers, banks, schools, universities, etc.

Private or personal information like income / any financial information, age, height, weight, family
members, marriage status, health information and genetic information became increasingly public as a
result of the technology. The technology also made this personal information easily accessible and
exposed it to misuse.

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With the development of Internet:

Unauthorized parties can easily monitor one’s activity.

Personal information can easily be disclosed without the permission of the individual.

More and more database can easily be accessed from the Internet.

In general ICT is a cause for increased invasion of privacy. It has a negative impact on:-

 Personal autonomy
 People suffer from
 Humiliation
 Economic harm
 Discrimination

Companies are still making money by selling customer/ personal information.

C. Factors that contribute to the Invasion of privacy

Online communication: - are communications over telephone, cable networks, or Wireless systems.
Public activities in cyberspace cause invasion of privacy. Examples of public activities are
Newsgroups, Listservsmeans, and Subscriber directories.

Technologies that record virtually all online activities:-are

Cookies: - are small text files that Web sites place in your computer to help your browsers remember
specific information. For example, they might store your passwords and user IDs.

Cookies are used so that a Website can "remember" you the next time you visit it and present you with
a customized page, such as one containing your name.

Web Bugs: - is a graphic in a web site or an "enhanced" e-mail message that enables a third party to
monitor who is reading the page or message. The graphic may be a standard size image that is easily
seen, or it may be a nearly invisible one-pixel graphic.

The web bug can confirm when the message or web page is viewed and record the IP address of the
viewer. The IP address is a multi-digit number that uniquely identifies a computer or other hardware
device (such as a printer) attached to the Internet

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Spyware: - is a technology that assists in gathering information about a person or organization without
their knowledge. On the Internet, "spyware is a program that is put in someone's computer to secretly
gather information about the user and relay it to advertisers or other interested parties." Spyware is a
cause for public concern about privacy on the Internet.

Browsers: - Information is transmitted to remote computers by the software you use to browse
websites. Most web browsers invisibly provide web site operators with information about your ISP as
well as information about other web sites you have visited.

The data gathering and processing practices of commercial firms be can done through:-

Electronic communication in trading can be done through credit card purchasing and online
shopping or communication by mobile phone.

Details of these communications are recorded that allows collection of data at on unprecedented level
of detail.

Detailed pictures of customers’ activities can be built using the current technology. For example as it is
stated above: On the Internet:

Files like Cookies, Web bugs, Spyware programs

User’s e-mail address, details of website visited or online purchases can be easily captured.

The Government's power to access personal information.

Government is also becoming a potential threat to one's privacy. Government has many tools for
extracting private information from the population and many government employees have access to this
valuable information. A corrupted government employee could easily misuse the information E.g. -
Unauthorized queries in to taxpayer databases, Employees of the social security administration may sell
confidential government records.

Methods of protecting privacy in cyberspace

Password:

Creating passwords with senseless combinations of upper and lower case letters, numbers and symbols,

Change your password often.

Take steps to secure your password.

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Privacy-enhancing technologies (PET)

Using encryption programs

The privacy advantage of encryption is that anything encrypted is virtually inaccessible to anyone other
than the designated recipient.

Thus, private information may be encrypted and then transmitted, stored, or distributed without fear
that it will be read by others. Strong encryption programs such as PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) are
available online.

Anonymous remailers:

Anonymous remailers are intermediaries that receive e-mail, strip off all identifying information, and
then forward the mail to the appropriate address.

Anonymous surfing services:

These ISP services mask your identity by acting as an agent to transfer data between an Internet website
and your browser.

Storage security and protection software:

Software securities programs help prevent unauthorized access to files on your personal computer.

For example, one program encrypts every directory with a different password so only the person who
knows the password can open it.

Privacy policy: - Most Internet Service Providers (ISP) has adopted privacy policies that they post on
their web sites. If you are not satisfied with the policy or if there is no policy, avoid using the site.

Cookie settings: - Now you may accept or reject all cookies, or you may allow only those cookies
generated by the website you are visiting. You can set a security level for trusted websites while
blocking cookie activity for all others.

Investigate new services before using them. Ways to be followed:

Post a question about a new service in a dependable forum or newsgroup.

Use a search engine such as http://groups.google.com to find archived discussions and newsgroup
postings about the service that you are considering.

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Bad reputations get around quickly in cyberspace. If others have had negative experiences with a
service, you should get the message.

Use only secure web sites when you transmit sensitive personal information over the Internet. When
you provide your credit card account number to a shopping site for example, be sure that the
transmission is secure. Look for the unbroken padlock at the bottom right of the screen.

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Chapter Summery

The growth in the availability of affordable computing technology has caused a number of major shifts
in the way that society lives and operations. The majority of these have been for the better, with home
computers and the internet providing unlimited access to all of the information ever created and
discovered by humanity. Cyber terrorism is the convergence of cyberspace and terrorism. It refers to
unlawful attacks and threats of attacks against computers, networks and the information stored therein
when done to intimidate or intimidate a government or its people in furtherance of political or social
objectives. Further, to qualify as cyber terrorism, an attack should result in violence against persons or
property, or at least cause enough harm to generate fear. Attacks that lead to death or bodily injury,
explosions, or severe economic loss would be examples. Serious attacks against critical infrastructures
could be acts of cyber terrorism, depending on their impact. Attacks that disrupt nonessential services
or that are mainly a costly nuisance would not.”

Check List

Dear Learner, by now you should have a clear understanding of the points discussed in unit three, to
check whether you are capable of describing the points from the unit this check list is prepared, if you
can describe each point listed below thick/check the box under the option ‘yes’ if not check the
box available under the ‘no’ option and go back to revise the topic.

Topic Yes No

 Social issues in Computing  

 Computer Crime  
 Denial of Service Attacks (DoS)  
 Identity Theft  
 Fraud  
 Misrepresentation  
 Cyber terrorism  
 Websites, e-commerce and data: rights to

Access and to privacy  

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Self Assessment

1. Explain in detail about Internet of thing (IOT) and its advantage?

2. Explain in detail about DoS?
3. Describe about Target of DoS?
4. What is website and what are the common attacks of it?

Exercise

1. List the social issues in Computing?

2. Describe types of Computer Crime?
3. Explain in detail about Cyber Terrorism?
4. Explain in detail about identity theft?

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 Chapter Four

Commentary on Legal Frameworks and Enforcement of computing Technology

Unit objectives:-

Learners, when you finish reading this unit are expected to:

Understand about Privacy Act, Copyright Act, Industrial design Act

Define Rights and Freedoms

Discuss Electronic Commerce Act in Ethiopia

Discuss Computer Crime proclamation in Ethiopia

1.1 Federal cybercrime Legislation

Activity 3.1:-
Dear learners, before you start reading the paragraphs below take a moment to write about the
Federal Cyber Crime Legislation related with computing technology. After you are complete
reading compare your notes with the discussion given below. Use the space provided below.
Privacy Act

Right and Freedom Act

______________________
Copyright Act
_____________________
Industrial Design Act
____________________
Personal information Act
_______________

E-commerce Act
_________

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1.2 Privacy Act
1.2.1 What is Privacy?
There are many definitions of about privacy. A useful one definition, privacy is an informational self-
determination. This means that you get to control information about you. You Control means many
things like:-

Who gets to see it?

Who gets to use it?

For what they can use it for?

Who they can give it to and, etc.

Privacy is the condition of being secluded or isolated from view of or from contact with others. In
another word, Privacy is the interest that individuals have in sustaining a personal space, free from
interference by other people and organizations.

Privacy enables us to create barriers and manage boundaries to protect ourselves from unwarranted
interference in our lives, which allows us to negotiate who we are and how we want to interact with the
world around us. Privacy helps us establish boundaries to limit who has access to our bodies, places
and things, as well as our communications and our information.

Privacy can simply be defined as the right to be left alone. 'It is a comprehensive right and it is the right
most valued by a free people. It is a fundamental human right.  A society in which there was a total lack
of privacy would be intolerable; but then again a society in which there was a total privacy would be no
society at all’. Privacy is the right of people to make personal decisions regarding their own intimate
matters, it is the right of people to lead their lives in a manner that is reasonably secluded from public
scrutiny, and it is the right of people to be free from such things as unwarranted drug testing or
electronic surveillance.

In General, privacy may be divided into four categories:-

Physical: restriction on others to experience a person or situation through one or more of the human
senses;

Informational: restriction on searching for or revealing facts that are unknown or unknowable to others;

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Decisional: restriction on interfering in decisions that are exclusive to an entity;

Dispositional: restriction on attempts to know an individual’s state of mind.

Why does it matter?

In modern society, the deliberation around privacy is a debate about modern freedoms. As we consider
how we establish and protect the boundaries around the individual, and the ability of the individual to
have a say in what happens to him or her, we are equally trying to decide:

The ethics of modern life;

The rules governing the conduct of commerce; and,

The restraints we place upon the power of the state.

Technology has always been intertwined with this right. For instance, our capabilities to protect privacy
are greater today than ever before, yet the capabilities that now exist for surveillance are without
precedent.

1.2.2 Is privacy a right?

Privacy is a fundamental right serving as the foundation upon which many other human rights are built.

Privacy is a qualified, fundamental human right. The right to privacy is articulated in all of the major
international and regional human rights instruments, including: United Nations Declaration of Human
Rights (UDHR) 1948, Article 12: “No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy,
family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honors and reputation. Everyone has the right
to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.”

1.2.3 What is information privacy? 

Information privacy is the ability of an individual or group to stop information about themselves from
becoming known to people other than those they choose to give the information. Privacy is sometimes
related to anonymity although it is often most highly valued by people who are publicly known.

Information privacy is involves the establishment of rules governing the collection and handling of
personal data such as credit information, and medical and government records? It is also known as
"data protection".

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Privacy of communications: which covers the security and privacy of mail, telephones, e-mail and
other forms of communication; and Territorial privacy: This concerns the setting of limits on intrusion
into the domestic and other environments such as the workplace or public space.

1.3 The Impact of Technology on Privacy

We live in a society in which information technology is accelerating rapidly. Because of the
technology there has been steady growth in the use and manipulation of vast quantities and varieties of
personal data. As the information based societies have gradually become more dependent on computers
and new technologies of communication, privacy have been at stake more than ever. Audio and video
surveillance technologies, identification and tracking technologies, data processing technologies,
internet and computer technologies (privacy invasive technologies) have been offering many new
opportunities for capturing and processing data. While the growth of information technologies is
critical to governments, public services, business, and the livelihood of many individuals, it can also
facilitate unobtrusive access to, manipulation of, and presentation of private data of individuals.

1.4 Case Study: The Legal Framework for Privacy Protection in Ethiopia
According to Ethiopian Constitution 1987:-

Article 26

Right to Privacy

Everyone has the right to privacy. This right shall include the right not to be subjected to searches of his
home, person or property, or the seizure of any property under /his personal possession.

Everyone has the right to the inviolability of his notes and correspondence including postal letters, and
communications made by means of telephone, telecommunications and electronic devices.

Public officials shall respect and protect these rights. No restrictions may be placed on the enjoyment of
such rights except in compelling circumstances and in accordance with specific laws whose purposes
shall be the safeguarding of national security or public peace, the prevention of crimes or the protection
of health, public morality or the rights and freedoms of others.

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1.5 Charter of Rights and Freedoms Act
What is Right and Freedom?

The interests of society must always be balanced against the interests of individuals to see if limits on
individual rights can be justified.

All provinces and territories also have human rights legislation which prohibits discrimination in
employment, housing and in providing goods, services, and facilities to the public. Some provincial and
territorial laws protect a broader range of rights and freedoms. But like any legislation, these laws can
be repealed or changed, so their protection can be limited. It was only with the Canadian charter of
Rights and Freedoms.

A right is a legal, moral, or social expectation from the government. For example:- a person accused of
committing an offence is entitled to a lawyer and a fair trial within a reasonable amount of time.

A freedom is a right to live your life without interference from the government unless you impinge on
the freedoms of others. Some of the common freedoms are:-

Freedom of conscience and religion

Freedom of thought, belief, and expression

Freedom of peaceful assembly

Freedom of association

Rights and freedoms are not without limits. Sometimes they have to be limited in order to protect the
rights and freedoms of others. For example, prisoners have some of their rights and freedoms taken
away because they have broken the law.

What is the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms?

The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is one part of the Canadian Constitution. The
Constitution is a set of laws containing the basic rules about how our country operates. For example, it
contains the powers of the federal government and those of the provincial governments in Canada.

The Charter sets out those rights and freedoms that Canadians believe are necessary in a free and
democratic society. Some of the rights and freedoms contained in the Charter are:

 Freedom of expression
 The right to a democratic government
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  The right to live and to seek employment anywhere in Canada
 Legal rights of persons accused of crimes

Aboriginal peoples' rights

The right to equality, including the equality of men and women

The right to use either of Canada's official languages

The right of French and English linguistic minorities to an education in their language

The protection of Canada's multicultural heritage.

1.6 Case Study the Legal Framework for Rights and Freedoms in Ethiopia
According to Ethiopian Constitution 1987:-

Article 14

Rights to life, the Security of Person and Liberty Every person have the inviolable and inalienable right
to life, the security of person and liberty.

Article 15

Right to Life

Every person has the right to life. No person may be deprived of his life except as a punishment for a
serious criminal offence determined by law.

Article 16

The Right of the Security of Person

Everyone has the right to protection against bodily harm

Article 17

Right to Liberty

No one shall be deprived of his or her liberty except on such grounds and in accordance with such
procedure as are established by law.

No person may be subjected to arbitrary arrest, and no person may be detained without a charge or
conviction against him.

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Article 18

Prohibition against Inhuman Treatment

Everyone has the right to protection against cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

No one shall be held in slavery or servitude. Trafficking in human beings for whatever purpose is
prohibited.

No one shall be required to perform forced or compulsory labour.

For the purpose of sub-Article 3 of this Article the phrase "forced or compulsory labour" shall not
include:

Any work or service normally required of a person who is under detention in consequence of a lawful
order, or of a person during conditional release from such detention;

In the case of conscientious objectors, any service exacted in lieu of compulsory military service;

Any service exacted in cases of emergency or calamity threatening the life or well-being of the
community;

Any economic and social development activity voluntarily performed by a community within its
locality.

Article 27

Freedom of Religion, Belief and Opinion

1. Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. This right shall include the
freedom to hold or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice, and the freedom, either individually or in
community with others, and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in worship,
observance, practice and teaching.

2. Without prejudice to the provisions of sub-Article 2 of Article 90, believers may establish
institutions of religious education and administration in order to propagate and organize their religion.

3. No one shall be subject to coercion or other means which would restrict or prevent his freedom to
hold a belief of his choice.

4. Parents and legal guardians have the right to bring up their children ensuring their religious and
moral education in conformity with their own convictions.
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5. Freedom to express or manifest one's religion or belief may be subject only to such limitations as are
prescribed by law and are necessary to protect public safety, peace, health, education, public morality
or the fundamental rights and freedoms of others, and to ensure the independence of the state from
religion.

Article 31

Freedom of Association

Every person has the right to freedom of association for any cause or purpose. Organizations formed, in
violation of appropriate laws, or to illegally subvert the constitutional order, or which promote such
activities are prohibited.

Article 32

Freedom of Movement

Any Ethiopian or foreign national lawfully in Ethiopia has, within the national territory, the right to
liberty of movement and freedom to choose his residence, as well as the freedom to leave the country at
any time he wishes to.

Any Ethiopian national has the right to return to his country.

3.7 Copyright Act

What is copyright?

Copyright is a form of legal protection given to content creators through the assignment of specific
rights to works that qualify for protection.

The main goals of copyrights are:-

 To encourage the development of culture, science and innovation

 To provide a financial benefit to copyright holders for their works
 To facilitate access to knowledge and entertainment for the public.

Copyright provides a framework for relationships between the different players in the content
industries, as well as for relationships between rights holders and the consumers of content. Copyright
is a form of Intellectual Property, along with trademarks and patents in all countries, and other creations
that may vary from country to country.

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Copyright is a form of protection provided by governments to the creators of "original works" including
computer programmers, literary works, movies, musical works, sound recordings, paintings,
photographs, software, live performances, and television or sound broadcasts. This protection is
available to both published and unpublished works.

Generally, the author of a copyright work has the right to reproduce, publish, perform, communicate
and adapt his work. These exclusive rights form the bundle of rights that we call copyright and enable
the owner to control the commercial exploitation of his work.

The Copy right Act generally gives the owner of copyrights the exclusive right to:

 Reproduce the work;

 Prepare other works based upon the work ("derivative works");
 Distribute copies of the work by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by lease;
 Perform the work publicly; and
 Display the copyrighted work publicly.

The copyright owner also can authorize others to do all of the above. Copyright law only covers the
particular form or manner in which ideas or information have been manifested, the "form of material
expression". It does not cover the actual idea, concepts, facts, or techniques contained in the copy right
work.

What is protected by copyright?

Copyright protects the expression of ideas (e.g. words and illustrations). Ideas alone are not protected.
The following may be protected under copyright law:-

 Literary works (e.g., written works, source codes of computer programs)

 Dramatic works (e.g.,. scripts for films and dramas)
 Musical works (e.g., melodies)
 Artistic works (e.g., paintings, photographs)
 Published editions of the above works
 Sound recordings and Films
 Television and radio broadcasts
 Cable programmes
 Performances

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What is not protected by copyright?

 Subject matter not protected by copyright include:-

 Ideas or concepts
 Discoveries
 Procedures
 Methods

Works or other subject matter that have not be made in a tangible form in a recording or writing

Subject matter that is not of original authorship

Different types of rights

Most national copyright laws recognize two different types of rights within copyright:-

Economic rights

Moral rights

Economic or exploitation rights: - recognize the right of the holder to use, to authorize use of, or to
prohibit the use of, a work, and to set the conditions for its use. Different specific uses of a work can be
treated separately, meaning that the rights holder can deal with each right (including using, transferring,
licensing or selling the right) on an individual type-of-use basis. Economic rights typically include:

The right of reproduction (for instance, making copies by digital or analogue means),

The right of distribution by way of tangible copies (for example, selling, renting or lending of copies),

The right of communication to the public (including public performance, public display and
dissemination over digital networks like the Internet), and

The right of transformation (including the adaptation or translation of a text work).

Moral rights refer to the idea that a copyrighted work is an expression of the personality and humanity
of its author or creator. They include:

The right to be identified as the author of a work,

The right of integrity (that is, the right to forbid alteration, mutilation or distortion of the work),and

The right of first divulgation (that is, making public) of the work.

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Moral rights cannot always be transferred by the creator to a third party, and some of them do not
expire in certain countries.

3.8 Case Study: The Legal Framework for Copyright in Canada

 Copyright Act R.S.C., 1985, c. C-42
 Copyright
 (1) For the purposes of this Act, copyright means the sole right to produce or reproduce the
work or any substantial part thereof in any material form whatever, to perform the work or any
substantial part thereof in public or, if the work is unpublished, to publish the work or any
substantial part thereof, and includes the sole right:-
 To produce, reproduce, perform or publish any translation of the work,
 In the case of a dramatic work, to convert it into a novel or other non-dramatic work,
 In the case of a novel or other non-dramatic work, or of an artistic work, to convert it into a
dramatic work, by way of performance in public or otherwise,
 In the case of a literary, dramatic or musical work, to make any sound recording, cinematograph
film or other contrivance by means of which the work may be mechanically reproduced or
performed,
 In the case of any literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work, to reproduce, adapt and publicly
present the work as a cinematographic work,
 In the case of any literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work, to communicate the work to the
public by telecommunication,
 To present at a public exhibition, for a purpose other than sale or hire, an artistic work created
after june 7, 1988, other than a map, chart or plan,
 In the case of a computer program that can be reproduced in the ordinary course of its use, other
than by a reproduction during its execution in conjunction with a machine, device or computer,
to rent out the computer program,
 In the case of a musical work, to rent out a sound recording in which the work is embodied, and
 In the case of a work that is in the form of a tangible object, to sell or otherwise transfer
ownership of the tangible object, as long as that ownership has never previously been
transferred in or outside canada with the authorization of the copyright owner, and to authorize
any such acts.

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3.9 Industrial Design Act
What is an Industrial Designer?

Industrial designers are the specialists who determine the features, appearance, materials and
ergonomics of many products we use daily from toasters and cell phones to sporting goods and tools.
Industrial designers play a vital role on product development teams to ensure the connection between a
product and its end user.

What is Industrial Design?

Industrial Design (ID) is the professional service of creating products and systems that optimize
function, value and appearance for the mutual benefit of user and manufacturer.

Industrial designers develop products and systems through collection analysis and synthesis of data
guided by the special requirements of their client and manufacturer. They prepare clear and concise
recommendations through drawings, models and descriptions. Industrial designers improve as well as
create, and they often work within multi-disciplinary groups that include management, marketing,
engineering and manufacturing specialists.

Industrial design is a process of design applied to products that are to be manufactured through
techniques of mass production. Its key characteristic is that design is separated from manufacture: the
creative act of determining and defining a product's form and features takes place in advance of the
physical act of making a product, which consists purely of repeated, often automated, replication. This
distinguishes industrial design from craft-based design, where the form of the product is determined by
the product's creator at the time of its creation.

All manufactured products are the result of a design process, but the nature of this process can take
many forms: it can be conducted by an individual or a large team; it can emphasize intuitive creativity
or calculated scientific decision-making, and often emphasizes both at the same time; and it can be
influenced by factors as varied as materials, production processes, business strategy and prevailing
social, commercial or aesthetic attitudes. The role of an industrial designer is to create and execute
design solutions for problems of form, function, usability, physical ergonomics, marketing, brand
development, and sales.

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3.9.1 Case study: Legal Framework for Industrial design in Ethiopia

This Act is declared as “ETHIOPIA A PROCLAMATION CONCERNING INVENTIONS, MINOR

INVENTIONS AND INDUSTRIAL DESIGNS PROCLAMATION NO. 123/1995”

46. Protection of Industrial Designs

1. An industrial design shall be protected under this proclamation if it is new and possesses practical
applicability.

2. In accordance with the provision of sub-article (1) of this article an industrial design shall be:

considered new when the sum total of its essential features is different from that of another design
known either in Ethiopia or abroad and has not been disclosed for more than one year before the date
of filing of the application for registration or, where appropriate, before the priority date. Designs shall
be deemed to be identical if their specific features differ only in immaterial details.

Deemed to possess practical applicability if it is capable of serving as a model for repeated manufacture
of products.

3. An industrial design that is contrary to public order or morality shall not be registered.

4. The protection under this chapter shall not extend to anything in an industrial design which serves
solely to obtain a technical result.

47. Application

1. An application for registration of an industrial design shall be filed with the Commission.

2. The application shall contain a request, a specimen of the article embodying the industrial design or
a pictorial presentation thereof and an indication of the kind of products for which the industrial design
is to be used.

3. The application shall relate to one design incorporated in one product or two or more designs
incorporated in products belonging to the same class and sold or used in sets.

4. The application shall be accompanied by payment of the prescribed fees.

48. Examination and Registration

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1. The Commission shall examine whether the application complies with the requirements of Articles 2
(2) and 47 of this proclamation and the regulations issued there under.

2. When the Commission is satisfied that the requirements of the above sub-article (1) are fulfilled, a
certificate of registration of an industrial design shall be issued and shall certify:

the recognition of the design as an industrial design,

the priority of the industrial design,

The authorship of the industrial design and the exclusive right of the owner of the certificate thereof.

49. Rights Conferred by Registration

The owner of your certificate of registration of an industrial design shall have the exclusive right to
make, use or otherwise exploit the industrial design.

50. Duration of Industrial Design Protection

1. The protection granted to an industrial design shall be valid for a period of five years from the filing
date of the application for registration. Such period may be extended for two extensions of five years
each if proof is furnished that the industrial design is being used in Ethiopia.

2. Application for renewal of protection shall be filed with the Commission within 90 days prior to the
expiration of the period of protection upon payment of the prescribed fees.

E. Integrated Circuit Topography ACT

What is integrated circuit topography?

Integrated circuit topographies are the three dimensional circuit designs that are used in many electrical
and computerized products. Integrated circuit topographies are made of complex layers of semi-
conductors, metals, insulators, and other materials. Some examples of products which incorporate
integrated circuit topographies are computers, automobiles and robots.

Why register integrated circuit topography?

If you are the manufacturer or creator of integrated circuits, you will receive protection and exclusive
rights to the production and reproduction of the topography, as well as the commercialization of
circuits. This confers an added protection to a patent you may hold for the circuit itself.

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Registration of your ICT gives you exclusive legal rights. With your registration, you can exclude
others from reproducing your topography, and from manufacturing an integrated circuit product that
incorporates your topography, or a substantial part of it.

Integrated circuit topographies must be registered with the Office of the Registrar of Topographies
(example: - the Canadian Intellectual Property Office) for the owner or creator to have legal ownership
rights. By registering the design, the owner has the exclusive right to make, sell, import, lease or offer
to sell or lease the topography or products incorporating the topography. If others infringe on these
rights, the owner can ask the court to order them to stop and to pay compensation.

To qualify for legal protection, the design of topography must be original. It must be the result of
intellectual effort and not a copy of any other topography or design. Registration will legally protect the
design but not the function of topography.

How to register integrated circuit topography

There are four main steps in the registration process:-

1. First, your lawyer or patent agent must fill out an application form.
2. Second, they must prepare drawings or photographs of the design.
3. Third, you must pay a registration fee.
4. Fourth, the application form, the drawings or photographs, and the fee should be submitted to
the Office of the Registrar of Topographies.

How long does registration last?

Applications for registration of integrated circuit topography must be filed within two years of the
first commercial offer to sell or lease the topography. Registration provides legal protection for up-to
10 years. The term of protection begins on the day your lawyer or patent agent files the application.

3.9.2 Case study: Legal Framework for Integrated Circuit Topography in Canada

The Canadian Integrated Circuit Topography Act protects the original design of a registered
topography, whether it has been embodied in an integrated circuit product or not. Topography will be
original if it is developed through intellectual effort, and is not produced by mere reproduction of all or
a substantial part of topography.

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Owners of registered topographies have the right to exclude others from reproducing the same
topography or any substantial part of it for up to ten years from the year the application was filed. In
Canada, the application must be made within 2 years of commercial use of the topography.

According to Canada legal framework “Integrated Circuit Topography Act S.C. 1990, c. 37”, the
following Terms are defines as follow:-

Integrated circuit product means a product, in a final or intermediate form, that is intended to
perform an electronic function and in which the elements, at least one of which is an active element,
and some or all of the interconnections, are integrally formed in or on, or both in and on, a piece of
material;

Topography means the design of the disposition ofthe interconnections, if any, and the elements for
the making of an integrated circuit product, or

The elements, if any and the interconnections for the making of a customization layer or layers to be
added to an integrated circuit product in an intermediate form.

Exclusive Right

Exclusive right on registration

3 (1) Subject to this Act, the registration of a topography under this Act, unless shown to be invalid,
gives to the creator of the topography or, where the topography has been transferred, the successor in
title thereto, an exclusive right in the topography for the duration of the period referred to in section 5.

Scope of exclusive right

(2) The exclusive right in a registered topography consists of the exclusive right to

 reproduce the topography or any substantial part thereof;

 manufacture an integrated circuit product incorporating the topography or any substantial part thereof;
and

 Import or commercially exploit the topography or any substantial part thereof or an integrated circuit
product that incorporates the topography or any substantial part thereof.

Rights not conferred

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(3) Nothing in this section confers any rights in relation to any idea, concept, process, system,
technique or information that may be embodied in topography or an integrated circuit product.

D. Conditions of registration

4 (1) Subject to subsection (4), topography is registrable under this Act only if the following conditions
are met:

 The topography is original;

 An application for registration of the topography, containing the information and material
required by subsection 16(2) and accompanied by the fee required by subsection 16(3), is filed
with the registrar before the topography is first commercially exploited or within two years
thereafter; and
 The creator of the topography is, at the time of its creation or on the filing date of the
application,

a national of Canada or an individual or legal entity that has in Canada a real and effective
establishment for the creation of topographies or the manufacture of integrated circuit products,

a national of a country that, either directly or through its membership in an intergovernmental

organization, affords protection for topographies in accordance with a convention or treaty to which
that country or intergovernmental organization and Canada are contracting parties, or an individual or
legal entity that has in such a country or in the territory of a member state of such an intergovernmental
organization an establishment of the kind referred to in subparagraph (i),

a national of a country or of a member state of an intergovernmental organization that the Minister has
certified by notice published in the Canada Gazette to be a country or intergovernmental organization
that confers protection on nationals of Canada or legal entities that have an establishment of the kind
referred to in subparagraph (i) that is substantially equal to the protection conferred by this Act, or an
individual or legal entity that has in such a country or in the territory of a member state of such an
intergovernmental organization an establishment of that kind, or

a national of a WTO Member.

E. Originality

(2) For the purposes of subsection (1), topography is original if the following conditions are met:

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 i. It has not been produced by the mere reproduction of another topography or of any substantial
part thereof; and
ii. It is the result of an intellectual effort and is not, at the time of its creation, commonplace among
creators of topographies or manufacturers of integrated circuit products.

F. combinations of elements or interconnections

(3) Where topography consists of a combination of elements or interconnections that are commonplace

among creators of topographies or manufacturers of integrated circuit products, the topography shall be
considered to be original only if the combination, considered as a whole, meets the conditions referred
to in subsection (2).

G. Exception

(4) A topography that is not registrable by reason that the condition set out in paragraph (1)(c) cannot
be met is registrable if the topography is first commercially exploited in Canada.

H. Duration of exclusive right

(5) The exclusive right in a registered topography shall subsist for a period

Commencing on the filing date of the application for registration of the topography; and

Terminating at the end of the tenth calendar year after the earlier of the calendar year in which the
topography is first commercially exploited and the calendar year of the filing date of the application.

I. Infringement

6 (1) The exclusive right in a registered topography is infringed by any person who does any act
referred to in subsection 3(2) without the consent of the owner of the registered topography.

J. No infringement

(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), it is not an infringement of the exclusive right in a registered

topography for any person

 to do any act referred to in paragraph 3(2)(a) or (b) in relation to that registered topography for
the sole purpose of analysis or evaluation or of research or teaching with respect to
topographies;

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  to do any act referred to in subsection 3(2) in relation to another topography that is created on
the basis of the analysis, evaluation or research referred to in paragraph (a) and that is original
within the meaning of subsection 4(2) or (3);
 to do any act referred to in paragraph 3(2)(c) in relation to a particular integrated circuit product
that incorporates that registered topography or a substantial part thereof, at any time after the
time at which that particular integrated circuit product is sold in any place by or with the
consent of the person who owned the right to sell that registered topography at that time and in
that place;
 to do any act referred to in subsection 3(2) where that act is done for a private and non-
commercial purpose; or
 to bring an integrated circuit product that incorporates that registered topography or a
substantial part thereof temporarily into Canada if that integrated circuit product forms part of a
vehicle, vessel, aircraft or spacecraft registered in a country other than Canada that enters
Canada temporarily or accidentally and is used for a purpose that is necessary or ancillary to
that vehicle, vessel, aircraft or spacecraft.

Registration

A. Register

15 (1) There shall be kept under the supervision of the Registrar a register for the registration of
topographies and of information and material relating to each registered topography.

B. Register to be evidence

(2) The register is evidence of the particulars entered therein and documents purporting to be copies of
entries therein or extracts there from, that are certified by the Registrar, are admissible in evidence in
any court without further proof or production of the originals.

C. Application for registration of topography

16 (1). The creator of topography or, where the topography has been transferred, the successor in title
thereto may apply to the Registrar for registration of the topography.

D. Content of application

(2) An application for registration of topography shall contain the following information and material:-

 One or more titles to identify the topography that conform to the prescribed requirements;
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  The date on which, and place at which, the topography was first commercially exploited or, if
the topography has not been commercially exploited, a statement to that effect;
 The name and address of the applicant;
 A statement describing the interest that the applicant holds in the topography; and

Such other information or material as may be prescribed.

E. Fee

(3) An application for registration of topography shall be accompanied by the prescribed fee or a fee
determined in the prescribed manner.

F. Filing date

17. (1) Subject to subsection (2), the filing date of an application for registration of a topography is the
date on which the Registrar has received, in respect of the application, the information and material
required by subsection 16(2) and the fee required by subsection 16(3).

G. Exception

(2) The Registrar may, in such circumstances as are prescribed, assign a filing date to an application
for registration of topography notwithstanding that the requirements of subsection (1) have not been
met.

H. Notice to applicant

(3) Where the Registrar assigns a filing date to an application for registration of topography pursuant
to subsection (2), the Registrar shall notify the applicant of that date, of any information or material that
is required to complete the application and the amount of the fee, if any, that remains unpaid.

I. Obligations of applicant

(4) An applicant to whom notice is given in accordance with subsection (3) shall, within the prescribed
period, file with the Registrar the information or material, if any, that is required to complete the
application and the amount of the fee, if any, that remains unpaid and, in default thereof, shall be
deemed to have abandoned the application.

J. Registration of topography

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18 (1) Subject to subsection (3), where the Registrar has received the information and material
required by subsection 16(2) and the fee required by subsection 16(3) in respect of an application for
registration of a topography, the Registrar shall register the topography by entering in the register the
following:-

the filing date of the application;

the title or titles of the topography that are contained in the application and that conform to the
prescribed requirements; and

Such other information or material as may be prescribed.

K. No inquiry

(2) The Registrar shall not inquire as to the accuracy of any information or material contained in an
application for registration of topography.

L. Registrar may refuse to register

(3) The Registrar may refuse to register a topography if it appears to the Registrar, on the basis of any
information or material contained in the application for registration, that the application was filed more
than two years after the topography was first commercially exploited or that neither the condition set
out in paragraph 4(1)(c) nor the condition set out in subsection 4(4) has been met.

M. Certificate of registration

19(1).The Registrar shall issue a certificate of registration in respect of each topography registered
under this Act.

N. Contents of certificate

(2) A certificate of registration issued in respect of topography shall include the filing date of the
application for registration of the topography, the date of expiration of the exclusive right therein and
such other particulars as may be prescribed.

O. Presumptions

(3) A certificate of registration issued in respect of a topography that purports to be signed by the
Registrar is, without proof of the signature, admissible in any court as evidence of the facts therein
alleged and is, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, proof that

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the topography was registrable under this Act at the time of the registration; and

the application for registration of the topography was correct in all material particulars and did not omit
any material information.

P. Correction of errors

(4) The Registrar may, for the purpose of correcting any typographical or clerical error in a certificate
of registration, amend the certificate or issue a new certificate in substitution therefor.

Q. Invalidity of registration

20. The registration of a topography is invalid if

The topography was not registrable under this Act at the time of the registration; or

The application for registration of the topography was incorrect in a material particular or omitted any
material information, unless the incorrectness or omission occurred by mistake.

R. Registration of other particulars

21. (1) The Registrar shall enter in the register particulars of any transfer of an interest or grant of a
license affecting a registered topography on being furnished with evidence of the transfer or grant that
is satisfactory to the Registrar.

S. Changes in information

(2). The Registrar may amend any entry in the register, or make new entries, for any of the following
purposes:-

to reflect any change in the name or address of an owner of a registered topography;

to reflect any change in a registered title of a topography or the use of a new title;

to reflect any prescribed change of information; and

to correct any typographical or clerical error.

T. Public inspection

22. Subject to the regulations, the register, applications for registration of topographies and material
filed with the Registrar in relation to any registered topography shall be made available for public
inspection during regular business hours.
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F.Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act

What is personal information?

Personal information or data is information or data that is linked or can be linked to individual persons.
Examples include date of birth, sexual preference, whereabouts, religion, but also the IP address of your
computer or metadata pertaining to these kinds of information. Personal data can be contrasted with
data that is considered sensitive, valuable or important for other reasons, such as secret recipes,
financial data, or military intelligence. Data that is used to secure other information, such as passwords,
are not considered here. Although such security measures may contribute to privacy, their protection is
only instrumental to the protection of other information, and the quality of such security measures is
therefore out of the scope of our considerations here.

Personal information including information like:

Age, name, income, ethnic origin, religion or blood type

Opinions, evaluation, comments, social status or disciplinary actions

Credit records, employment history and medical records.

Personal information does not include the name, title, business address or telephone number of an
employee of an organization.

For many organizations, this means that the information collected to establish eligibility for
membership, programs, donor histories, personnel files of staff and volunteers may be considered
personal information.

The Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) is federal legislation
passed in 2001 and fully implemented on January 1, 2004. Organizations and businesses rely on
personal information to connect with their customers and members. Respecting and protecting
customers' and members' privacy is part of good customer and member relations.

The purpose of the Act is "to establish, in an era in which technology increasingly facilitates the
circulation and exchange of information, rules to govern the collection, use and disclosure of personal
information in a manner that recognizes the right of privacy of individuals with respect to their personal
information and the need of organizations to collect, use or disclose personal information for purposes
that a reasonable person would consider appropriate in the circumstances."

PIPEDA requires that you:

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  Obtain the clear consent of an individual before you collect, use or disclose personal
information about that individual
 Use the information only for the purposes for which you have consent
 Protect the information from unauthorized access and use
 Keep the information up to date and correctly filed so that decisions are based on correct
information
 Destroy information when you no longer need it for the original purpose and

Implement accountability mechanisms in your organizations to ensure compliance with the above.

Principles of Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA)

The PIPEDA is based on the following principles that are applied to an organization's activities:-

Accountability: An organization is responsible for the personal information under its control and shall
designate an individual who is responsible for the organization's compliance. This Chief Privacy
Officer will understand the policies and procedures and deal with complaints.

Identify Purposes: The purposes for which the information is collected should be identified on or at
the time of collection. Organizations should develop "purpose statements."

Consent: The knowledge and consent of the individual are required for collection, use or disclosure of
personal information in a commercial activity. Consent can be expressed or implied.

Limiting Collection: Information is to be collected for specific purposes and can only be used for
those purposes. Information cannot be collected by misleading or deceiving the individuals about the
purpose for which it is intended.

Limiting Use, Disclosure and Retention of Personal Information: Organizations can only use,
disclose and retain personal information for the specific purposes it was collected for and must not
retain it longer than needed for those specific purposes.

Accuracy: Personal information shall be accurate, complete and up to date.

Safeguards: The organization must protect personal information against loss or theft as well as
unauthorized access, disclosure, copying, use or modification. The level of security should be
appropriate to the sensitivity of the information. People with access should sign confidentiality
agreements.

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Openness: The organization's privacy policies must be readily available to anyone.

Individual Access: Individuals have the right to know what personal information about them has been
collected, how it is being used, to whom it has been disclosed, and to challenge the accuracy and
completeness and to have errors corrected.

Challenging Compliance: Individuals should be able to address any challenges concerning compliance
to the organizations.

Moral reasons for protecting personal data

The following types of moral reasons for the protection of personal data and for providing direct or
indirect control over access to those data by others can be distinguished:-

Prevention of harm: Unrestricted access by others to one's passwords, characteristics, and

whereabouts can be used to harm the data subject in a variety of ways.

Informational inequality: Personal data have become commodities. Individuals are usually not in a
good position to negotiate contracts about the use of their data and do not have the means to check
whether partners live up to the terms of the contract. Data protection laws, regulation and governance
aim at establishing fair conditions for drafting contracts about personal data transmission and exchange
and providing data subjects with checks and balances, guarantees for redress.

Informational injustice and discrimination: Personal information provided in one sphere or context
(for example, health care) may change its meaning when used in another sphere or context (such as
commercial transactions) and may lead to discrimination and disadvantages for the individual.

Encroachment on moral autonomy: Lack of privacy may expose individuals to outside forces that
influence their choices.

1.9.2 Case study:Legal Framework for Personal Information Protection

and Electronic Documents Act S.C. 2000, c. 5in Canada

Many countries have their own legal framework for the protection of personal information. Like other
country Canada also has their own Acts.

An Act of Canada that protect the privacy of individuals and that provide individuals with a right of
access to personal information about themselves.

What is Personal information?

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Personal information means information about an identifiable individual that is recorded in any form
including:-

 Information relating to the race, national or ethnic origin, color, religion, age or marital status of
the individual,
 Information relating to the education or the medical, criminal or employment history of the
individual or information relating to financial transactions in which the individual has been
involved,
 Any identifying number, symbol or other particular assigned to the individual,
 The address, fingerprints or blood type of the individual,
 The personal opinions or views of the individual except where they are about another individual
or about a proposal for a grant, an award or a prize to be made to another individual by a
government institution or a part of a government institution specified in the regulations,
 Correspondence sent to a government institution by the individual that is implicitly or explicitly
of a private or confidential nature, and replies to such correspondence that would reveal the
contents of the original correspondence,
 The views or opinions of another individual about the individual,
 The views or opinions of another individual about a proposal for a grant, an award or a prize to
be made to the individual by an institution or a part of an institution referred to in paragraph (e),
but excluding the name of the other individual where it appears with the views or opinions of
the other individual, and
 The name of the individual where it appears with other personal information relating to the
individual or where the disclosure of the name itself would reveal information about the
individual,

3.10 Protection of Personal Information

Use of personal information

7. Personal information under the control of a government institution shall not, without the consent of
the individual to whom it relates, be used by the institution except:-

 For the purpose for which the information was obtained or compiled by the institution or for a
use consistent with that purpose; or
 For a purpose for which the information may be disclosed to the institution under subsection
8(2).

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Disclosure of personal information

8. (1). Personal information under the control of a government institution shall not, without the consent
of the individual to whom it relates, be disclosed by the institution except in accordance with this
section.

Where personal information may be disclosed

(2) Subject to any other Act of Parliament, personal information under the control of a government
institution may be disclosed

 for the purpose for which the information was obtained or compiled by the institution or for a
use consistent with that purpose;
 for any purpose in accordance with any Act of Parliament or any regulation made there under
that authorizes its disclosure;
 for the purpose of complying with a subpoena or warrant issued or order made by a court,
person or body with jurisdiction to compel the production of information or for the purpose of
complying with rules of court relating to the production of information
 to the Attorney General of Canada for use in legal proceedings involving the Crown in right of
Canada or the Government of Canada;
 to an investigative body specified in the regulations, on the written request of the body, for the
purpose of enforcing any law of Canada or a province or carrying out a lawful investigation, if
the request specifies the purpose and describes the information to be disclosed;

under an agreement or arrangement between the Government of Canada or an institution thereof and
the government of a province, the council of the West bank First Nation, the council of a participating
First Nation as defined in subsection 2(1) of the First Nations Jurisdiction over Education in British
Columbia Act —, the government of a foreign state, an international organization of states or an
international organization established by the governments of states, or any institution of any such
government or organization, for the purpose of administering or enforcing any law or carrying out a
lawful investigation;

 To a member of Parliament for the purpose of assisting the individual to whom the information
relates in resolving a problem;
 To officers or employees of the institution for internal audit purposes, or to the office of the
Comptroller General or any other person or body specified in the regulations for audit purposes;
 To the Library and Archives of Canada for archival purposes;
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  To any person or body for research or statistical purposes if the head of the government
institution
 Is satisfied that the purpose for which the information is disclosed cannot reasonably be
accomplished unless the information is provided in a form that would identify the individual to
whom it relates, and
 Obtains from the person or body a written undertaking that no subsequent disclosure of the
information will be made in a form that could reasonably be expected to identify the individual
to whom it relates;
 To any aboriginal government, association of aboriginal people, Indian band, government
institution or part thereof, or to any person acting on behalf of such government, association,
band, institution or part thereof, for the purpose of researching or validating the claims, disputes
or grievances of any of the aboriginal peoples of Canada;
 To any government institution for the purpose of locating an individual in order to collect a debt
owing to Her Majesty in right of Canada by that individual or make a payment owing to that
individual by Her Majesty in right of Canada; and
 For any purpose where, in the opinion of the head of the institution,
 The public interest in disclosure clearly outweighs any invasion of privacy that could result
from the disclosure, or

Disclosure would clearly benefit the individual to whom the information relates.

Access to Personal Information

Right of Access

12. (1). Subject to this Act, every individual who is a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident within
the meaning of subsection 2(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act has a right to and shall,
on request, be given access to

 Any personal information about the individual contained in a personal information bank; and
 Any other personal information about the individual under the control of a government
institution with respect to which the individual is able to provide sufficiently specific
information on the location of the information as to render it reasonably retrievable by the
government institution.

(2). Every individual who is given access under paragraph (1)(a) to personal information that has been
used, is being used or is available for use for an administrative purpose is entitled to:-
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  Request correction of the personal information where the individual believes there is an error or
omission therein;
 Require that a notation be attached to the information reflecting any correction requested but not
made; and
 Require that any person or body to whom that information has been disclosed for use for an
administrative purpose within two years prior to the time a correction is requested or a notation
is required under this subsection in respect of that information
 Be notified of the correction or notation, and

Where the disclosure is to a government institution, the institution makes the correction or notation on
any copy of the information under its control.

G. Protection of children and other vulnerable persons Act

Child Protection consists of reducing risks to children’s holistic well-being, making children’s rights a
reality, restoring hope and a dignified living where abuse has occurred and creating an enabling
environment that supports children’s positive development.

Children are legally defined as young people under the age of 18.

Other Vulnerable person are defined as persons over the age of 16 who have a learning or physical
disability; a physical or mental illness, chronic or otherwise, including an addiction to alcohol or drugs;
or a reduction in physical or mental capacity.

Child protection refers to the protection of children from violence, exploitation, abuse and neglect.
Article 19 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child provides for the protection of children in
and out of the home.

Girls and boys are vulnerable because of gender, race, age, ethnic origin or socio-economic status.
Violence, exploitation and abuse are often practiced by someone known to the child, including parents,
other family members, caretakers, teachers, employers, law enforcement authorities, state and non-state
actors and other children. Only a small proportion of acts of violence, exploitation and abuse are
reported and investigated, and few perpetrators are held accountable.

There is significant evidence that violence, exploitation and abuse can affect the child’s physical and
mental health in the short and longer term, impairing their ability to learn and socialize, and impacting
their transition to adulthood with adverse consequences later in life.

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Abuse is behavior that can lead to harm or distress; for example hitting, pushing, bullying, stealing,
neglect, or sexual activity without consent.

Staff or students may suspect that a child or vulnerable adult is being abused, or have abuse disclosed to
them. Abuse can involve inflicting harm or failing to prevent harm and can include any of the
following:-

Physical Abuse: actual or likely physical harm, or failure to prevent physical injury.

Sexual Abuse: involves forcing or enticing an individual to take part in sexual activities, whether or
not they are aware of what is happening.

Emotional Abuse: severe or persistent, emotional ill treatment or rejection, likely to cause adverse
effects on the emotional and behavioral development of an individual.

Neglect: is the persistent failure to meet the basic physical and/or psychological needs likely to result in
serious impairment of health or development.

Indication that a child or vulnerable adult may be suffering abuse could include the following:

 Unexplained or suspicious injuries such as bruising, cuts or burns.

 Inconsistent explanations for injuries.
 The child/vulnerable adult describe what appears to be an abuse act involving themselves.
 Unexplained changes of behavior:- e.g. becoming withdrawn, sudden temper outbursts.
 Inappropriate sexual awareness.
 The child/vulnerable adult is distrustful of adults, where trust would normally be associated.

3.10.1 Case study: Legal Framework for Protection of children and other vulnerable persons in
Ethiopia
According to Ethiopian Constitution 1987:-

Article 36

Rights of Children

Every child has the right:

To life;

To a name and nationality;

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To know and be cared for by his or her parents or legal guardians;

Not to be subject to exploitative practices, neither to be required nor permitted to perform work which
may be hazardous or harmful to his or her education, health or well-being;

To be free of corporal punishment or cruel and inhumane treatment in schools and other institutions
responsible for the care of children.

In all actions concerning children undertaken by public and private welfare institutions, courts of law,
administrative authorities or legislative bodies, the primary consideration shall be the best interests of
the child.

Juvenile offenders admitted to corrective or rehabilitative institutions, and juveniles who become wards
of the State or who are placed in public or private orphanages, shall be kept separately from adults.

Children born out of wedlock shall have the same rights as children born of wedlock.

The State shall accord special protection to orphans and shall encourage the establishment of
institutions which ensure and promote their adoption and advance their welfare, and education.

2. Electronic Commerce Act in Ethiopia

The advent of open electronic networks such as the Internet has dramatically transformed the way of
doing business. The Internet has come to a new global marketplace and presents unique opportunities
for customers and business in all sectors. It creates new businesses, new channels of distribution and
new methods of reaching the customer.

E-commerce is rapidly growing worldwide and its potential to transform the landscape of the
economies of both the developed and developing countries has been recognized. Accordingly,
governments around the world have enthusiastically embraced e-commerce as a positive development
that should be encouraged; and numerous governments have pledged to foster e-commerce is a major
public policy objective.

As the full potential of the Internet is not explored by Ethiopian companies and consumers, e-
commerce in Ethiopia is at the early stage of development. Only banks and few other companies are
familiar with e-commerce.

Cash is still the most dominant medium of exchange in the country. Lack of conducive legal and
regulatory environment is identified among the barriers to the development of e-commerce in Ethiopia
by the relevant policy documents of the country such as the National ICT for Development (ICT4D),
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Five Years Action Plan for Ethiopia (2006–2010), National ICT Policy of 2009, National Information
Security Policy of 2011, and the Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP) (2010/11-2014/15).

At this time, Ethiopia has not yet set a comprehensive legal framework for e-commerce and related
legal matters.

1. Major legal challenges for e-commerce in Ethiopia

When parties to a transaction use electronic records to replace paper and employ an electronic medium
as the mode of communication, they face unique legal and security concerns. For instance, data
messages could be intercepted and manipulated, the validity of documents could be denied, and
personal data could be illicitly collected. In addition to the absence of new legislation commensurate
with new technological developments, existing legal traditions also create barrier to conducting
transactions in electronic form.

The first fundamental legal concern caused by online transaction concerns the legality and
enforceability of the transaction. This legal concern emanates from the fact that existing laws governing
business and evidentiary issues are designed primarily to facilitate paper-based transactions. For certain
transactions to be legally enforceable, existing Ethiopian legislation embodies formality requirements
such as “written form”, “signature” or “original document” requirements. Although all transactions are
not required to comply with specific form under the Ethiopian legal system, there are legal provisions
that oblige specific transactions to fulfill certain formality requirements.

The second major challenge to the e-commerce environment in Ethiopia relates to trust. While
fulfillment of legal requirements is one thing, to have a sufficient degree of trust in an electronic
transaction is something else. People do not do or at least hesitate to do business in an environment
they do not trust or with people they do not trust. Unlike the face-to-face nature of the paper-based
world, electronic transactions are conducted between strangers who have no prior contractual
relationships. It has become necessary to assure all e-commerce actors that their sensitive data are not
intercepted or illicitly collected, the documents they exchange are issued only by the person named
therein as the sender and contain all but only such information that the sender intends to send and
that any one of them cannot deny the validity of their undertakings. Having taken this into account,
ensuring that an electronic transaction is trustworthy requires consideration of four levels of trust.
These are: authenticity, integrity, confidentiality and non-repudiation. These four levels of trust remain
the primary issues of e-commerce before a party will enter into binding legal commitments with
significant economic consequences.

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The legal challenges of electronic transactions noted above have been the subject of extensive
legislative efforts at international, regional and national level. At the international level, for instance,
the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) developed Model Law on
Electronic Commerce in 1996, and Model Law on Electronic Signatures in 2001 which have served as
the basis for legislation enacted in several countries. The United Nations also approved the Convention
on the Use of Electronic Communications in International Contracts (UN E-Contracting Convention) in
2005. In the African context, the African Union (AU) adopted African Union Convention on Cyber
Security and Personal Data Protection which covers three major areas, including electronic
transactions. All these international and regional legislations are intended to remove obstacles and
enhance legal certainty in electronic transactions.

3.11 The Ethiopian legislative response

3.11.1 Electronic payment laws

The process of formulating e-commerce related legislation in Ethiopia goes back to 2007 when the
Ethiopia Commodity Exchange (ECX) was established by virtue of Proclamation No. 550/2007. ECX,
inter alia, provided a centralized trading mechanism in which offers to sell and bids to buy are
coordinated through electronic order matching system. The Proclamation recognizes the ‘validity’ of
electronic signature in relation to transfer of funds to and from ECX and its members’ accounts
established in these same institutions for the purposes of exchange transactions. Even though its
applicability is limited only to transfer of funds to and from ECX and its member’s accounts, this
proclamation is perhaps the first legislation to recognize electronic signature in Ethiopia. Arguably, the
validity and enforceability of electronic records is also implicitly recognized under this legislation.

Another important legislation is the National Payment System Proclamation No.718/2011 which
recognizes the legal validity and admissibility of electronic records and electronic signatures in relation
to transfer of funds. Article 21 (1) of the proclamation reads: “Where any law provides that
information or any other matter shall be in writing, such requirement shall be deemed to have
been satisfied if such information or matter is rendered or made available in an electronic form
and accessible so as to be usable for subsequent reference”.

The National Payment System Proclamation recognizes the ‘admissibility’ of electronic records and
electronic signatures in any court as evidence in relation to payment instructions, messages and funds
transfers. By recognizing the legal validity and admissibility of electronic records and electronic
signatures, this law removes legal obstacles and it enhances legal certainty and commercial

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predictability where electronic communications and electronic signatures are used in connection with
the payment system.

Although the instruments mentioned above could potentially play a crucial role in removing the barriers
to electronic transactions resulting from traditional writing and signature requirements, they have two
basic limitations.

The first problem is that their scope of application is limited only to payment system or transfer of
funds.

Secondly, they do not provide any standard as to what type of electronic signature meets the legal
requirement of “signature”.

The nomenclature ‘Electronic Signature’ is a generic, technology-neutral term that universally refers to
the various methods by which one can sign an electronic record. These methods vary from very simple
methods such as inserting a scanned image of handwritten signature in a word processing document,
personal identification numbers (PINs), and clicking an ‘OK-box’ to very advanced methods such as
using cryptology. As to the question of what type of electronic signature meets the legal requirement of
‘signature’, there is no common answer as most laws follow varying approaches that range from a
minimalist approach (that simply authorizes all electronic signatures satisfy legal signature
requirements), to approaches that dictate electronic signatures satisfying legal signature requirements
only when they possess certain security attributes, to a cryptography-based digital signature.

Nevertheless, the first approach has been criticized on the ground that it does not take into account
the fact that some types of electronic signatures are better than others. The third one is also less adopted
as it recognizes only one form of technology. The moderate approach provides that electronic
signatures satisfy legal signature requirements only when they possess certain security attributes, and it
is a progressive trend and widely recognized by most nations. International instruments such as the
UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Commerce (Art7), UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic
Signatures (Art 6), United Nations Convention on the Use of Electronic Communications in
International Contracts (Art 9(3)), and European Union’s Electronic Signature Directive (Art 5) have
also adopted this approach.

Current Ethiopian laws discussed earlier seem to adopt the minimalist approach. These laws define
electronic signature as “data in electronic form, affixed to or logically associated with, a data message,
which may be used to identify the signatory in relation to the data message and to indicate the
signatory's approval of the information contained in the data message”.
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Furthermore Art 25(8) of the ECX Proclamation provides that: ‘Not withstanding provisions of any
law, regulation, directive or customary practice that requires a signature to be handwritten in order to
have legal effect or enforceability, signature requirement is met if an electronic signature is used to
authorize fund transfers’.

According to these rules, any kind of electronic signature which is used to identify the signatory and to
indicate the signatory's approval of the content of an electronic record meets the ‘signature’
requirement equivalent to handwritten signature. Although these laws focus on identity of the signatory
as well as the approval of content, all types of electronic signatures cannot perform functions identified
as characteristic of handwritten signatures.

Furthermore, these laws ignore other fundamental legal issues of e-commerce such as integrity,
confidentiality and non-repudiation. Adopting this approach is also a significant deviation from the
international model laws noted above. In sum, it can fairly be concluded that the current legal
framework in Ethiopia is not fully responsive to the changing needs of the information society and
hence more comprehensive and conducive legal frameworks are needed.

3.11 Computer Crime Proclamation in Ethiopia

The Ministry of Communication and Information Technology (MCIT) is the principal government
organ in charge of ICTs in general. It has the powers and duties to initiate policies and laws in ICT
areas. The MCIT also sets and implements standards to ensure provision of quality, reliable and safe
ICT services. The Ministry is the principal policy organ concerning cyber security in general and
cybercrimes in particular.

The Ethiopian Information Network Security Agency (INSA) is a parallel organ with statutory powers
to formulate national policies, laws and standards to ensure security of information and computer based
key infrastructure and oversee its enforcement.

Whilst the Ministry is bestowed with the broader mandate in connection with ICTs regulation in
general, INSA is specifically dedicated to deal with information security. In so far as initiation of
legislation is concerned, the MCIT has so far drafted E-commerce legislation (in cooperation with UN
Economic Commission for Africa), and INSA has recently drafted comprehensive computer crime
legislation. Lawyers at INSA have played a key role in the crafting of the telecom fraud offence law.
Moreover, the Agency claims that it saved the country substantial costs over the past few years, in
particular by prosecuting telecoms fraudsters.

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With respect to cyber policing and enforcement, the Federal Police Commission has the primary
responsibility to investigate crimes relating to ‘information network and computer systems’. This no
doubt relates to investigation of cybercrimes committed against or through information networks and
computer systems. INSA also assumes significant powers in taking all the necessary ‘countermeasures’
to defend cyber or electromagnetic attacks on information and computer based infrastructures, or on
citizens’ psychology.

3.12. A PROCLAMATION FOR THE COMPUTER CRIME (/2008)

WHEREAS information and communication technology plays a vital role in the economic, social
and political development of the country;

WHEREAS unless appropriate protection and security measures are taken, the utilization of
information communication technology is vulnerable to various computer crimes and other security
threats that can impede the overall development of the country and endanger individual rights;

WHEREAS the existing laws are not adequately tuned with the technological changes and are not
sufficient to prevent, control, investigate and prosecute the suspects of computer crimes;

WHEREAS it has become necessary to incorporate new legal mechanisms and Procedures in order to
prevent, control, investigate and prosecute computer crimes and Facilitate the collection of electronic
evidences;

NOW, THEREFORE, in accordance with Article 55(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Democratic
Republic of Ethiopia, it is hereby proclaimed as follows:

PART ONE

GENERAL

1. Short Title

This Proclamation may be cited as the “Computer Crime Proclamation No. -------------/2016”.

2. Definitions

In this Proclamation unless the context otherwise requires:

“data processing service” means the service of reception, storage, processing, emission, routing or
transmission of data by means of computer system and includes networking services;

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 “computer or computer system” means any software and the microchips technology based data
processing, storage, analysis, dissemination and communication device or any device that is capable of
performing logical, arithmetic or routing function and includes accessories of that device;

“computer data” means any content data, traffic data, computer program, or any other subscriber
information in a form suitable for processing by means of a computer system;

“computer program” means a set of instructions or commands expressed in words, codes or schemes
which are capable of causing a computer system to perform or achieve a particular task or result;

“traffic data” means any computer generated data relating to a chain of communication by means of a
computer system indicating the communication’s origin, destination, route, time, date, duration, size or
types of underlying service;

“content data” means any computer data found in the form of audio, video, picture, arithmetic formula
or any other form that conveys the essence, substance, meaning or purpose of a stored or transmitted
computer data or computer communication;

“network” means the interconnection of two or more computer systems by which data processing
service can be provided or received;

“computer data security” means the protection of a computer data from deleting, changing, and
accessing by unauthorized person, compromising its confidentiality or any other damage;

“access” means to communicate with, to enter in, store in, store data in, retrieve, or obtain data from, to
view, to receive, move or copy data from a computer system, or otherwise make use of any data
processing service thereof;

“critical infrastructure” means a computer system, network or data where any of the crimes stipulated
under article 3 to 6 of this proclamation, is committed against it, would have a considerable damage on
public safety and the national interest;

“Interception” means real-time surveillance, recording, listening, acquisition, viewing, controlling or

any other similar act of data processing service or computer data;

“Spam” means unsolicited e-mails transmitted to multiple electronic accounts at a time;

“Service provider” means a person who provides technical data processing or communication service or
alternative infrastructure to users by means of computer system;

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“Ministry” or “Minister” means the Ministry or Minister of Justice, respectively;

“Public Prosecution Department” means federal public prosecutor department legally vested with the
power and function of prosecution or delegated regional state public prosecutor departments;

“Investigatory organ” mean a person legally invested with the power of investigation;

“Regional state” means any state referred to in Article 47(1) of the Constitution of the Federal
Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and for the purpose this Proclamation it includes Addis Ababa and
Dire Dawa city administrations;

“Police” mean Federal Police or Regional State Police to whom the power of the Federal Police is
delegated;

“Agency” mean Information Network Security Agency;

“Person” means a physical or juridical person;

Any expression in the masculine gender includes the feminine.

PART TWO

COMPUTER CRIMES

SECTION ONE

3.13 CRIMES AGAINST COMPUTER SYSTEM AND COMPUTER DATA

3. Illegal Access

Whosoever, without authorization or in excess of authorization, intentionally secures access to the

whole or any part of computer system, computer data or network shall be punishable with simple
imprisonment not exceeding three years or fine from Birr 30,000 to 50, 000 or both.

Where the crime stipulated under sub-article (1) of this Article is committed against:

a computer system, computer data or network that is exclusively destined for the use of a legal person,
the punishment shall be rigorous imprisonment from three to five years and fine from Birr 30,000 to
50,000;

a critical infrastructure, the punishment shall be rigorous imprisonment from five to 10 years and fine
from Birr 50,000 to 100,000.

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4. Illegal Interception

Whosoever, without authorization or in excess of authorization, intentionally intercepts non-public

computer data or data processing service shall be punishable with rigorous imprisonment not exceeding
five years and fine from Birr 10,000 to 50,000.

Where the crime stipulated under sub-article (1) of this Article is committed against:

a computer data or data processing service that is exclusively destined for the use of a legal person, the
punishment shall be rigorous imprisonment from five to 10 years and fine from Birr 50,000 to
100,000.

a critical infrastructure, the punishment shall be rigorous imprisonment from 10 to 15 years and fine
from Birr 100,000 to 200,000.

5. Interference with Computer System

Whosoever, without authorization or in excess of authorization, intentionally hinders, impairs,

interrupts or disrupts the proper functioning of the whole or any part of computer system by inputting,
transmitting, deleting or altering computer data shall be punishable with rigorous imprisonment from
three years to five years and fine not exceeding Birr 50,000.

where the crime stipulated under sub-article (1) of this Article is committed against:

a computer system that is exclusively destined for the use of a legal person, the punishment shall be
rigorous imprisonment from five to 10 years and fine from Birr 50,000 to 100,000;

a critical infrastructure, the punishment shall be rigorous imprisonment from 10 years to 20 years.

6. Causing Damage to Computer Data

Whosoever, without authorization or in excess of authorization, intentionally alters, deletes, suppresses

a computer data, renders it meaningless, useless or inaccessible to authorized users shall be punishable
with rigorous imprisonment not exceeding three years and fine not exceeding Birr 30,000.

Where the crime stipulated under sub-article (1) of this Article is committed against:

a computer data that is exclusively destined for the use of a legal person, the punishment shall be
rigorous imprisonment from three years to five years and fine from Birr 30,000 to 50,000;

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a critical infrastructure, the punishment shall be rigorous imprisonment from five to 10 years and fine
from Birr 50,000 to 100,000.

3.13.1. Criminal Acts Related to Usage of Computer Devices and Data

Whosoever, knowing that it can cause damage to computer system, computer data or network,
intentionally transmits any computer program exclusively designed or adapted for this purpose shall be
punishable with simple imprisonment not exceeding five years or fine not exceeding Birr 50,000.

Whosoever, knowing that it is to be used for the commission of unlawful act specified under Articles 3
to 6 of this Proclamation, intentionally imports, produces, offers for sale, distributes or makes available
any computer device or computer program designed or adapted exclusively for the purpose of
committing such crimes shall be punishable with rigorous imprisonment not exceeding five years and
fine from Birr 10,000 to 50,000.

Whosoever possesses any computer devices or data specified under sub-article (1) or (2) of this Article
with the intention to further the commission of any of the crimes specified under Articles 3 to 6 of this
Proclamation shall be punishable with simple imprisonment not exceeding three years or fine from Birr
5,000 to 30, 000.

Whosoever, without authorization or in excess of authorization, intentionally discloses or transfers any

computer program, secret code, key, password or any other similar data for gaining access to a
computer system, computer data or network shall be punishable with simple imprisonment not
exceeding five years or in serious cases with rigorous imprisonment not exceeding five years and fine
from Birr 10,000 to 50,000.

Where the crime stipulated under sub-article (4) of this Article is committed negligently, the
punishment shall be simple imprisonment not exceeding one year and fine.

8. Aggravated Cases

Where the crime stipulated under Article 3 to 6 of this Proclamation is committed against a computer
data or a computer system or network which is designated as top secrete by the concerned body for
military interest or international relation, and while the country is at a state of emergency or threat, the
punishment shall be rigorous imprisonment from 15 to 25 years.

SECTION TWO

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3.14 COMPUTER RELATED FORGERY, FRAUD AND THEFT
9. Computer Related Forgery

Whosoever falsifies a computer data, makes false computer data or makes use of such data to injure the
rights or interests of another or to procure for himself or for another person any undue right or
advantage shall be punishable with simple imprisonment not exceeding three years and fine not
exceeding Birr 30,000 or in a serious cases with rigorous imprisonment not exceeding 10 years and fine
from Birr 10,000 to 100,000.

10. Computer Related Fraud

Whosoever fraudulently causes a person to act in a manner prejudicial to his rights or those of third
person by distributing misleading computer data, misrepresenting his status, concealing facts which he
had a duty to reveal or taking advantage of the person’s erroneous beliefs, shall be punishable with
rigorous imprisonment not exceeding five years and fine not exceeding Birr 50,000.

Whosoever, with fraudulent intent of procuring any benefit for himself or for another person, causes
economic loss to another person by any change, deletion or any other damage of computer data shall be
punishable with rigorous imprisonment not exceeding five years and fine from Birr 10,000 to 50,000 or
in serious cases with rigorous imprisonment not exceeding 10 years and fine from Birr 10,000 to
100,000.

11. Electronic Identity Theft

Whosoever, with intent to commit criminal act specified under Article 10 of this Proclamation or for
any other purpose produces, obtains, sales, possesses or transfers any data identifying electronic
identity of another person without authorization of that person shall be punishable with simple
imprisonment not exceeding five years or fine not exceeding Birr 50,000.

SECTION THREE

3.15 ILLEGAL CONTENT DATA

12. Obscene or Indecent Crimes Committed Against Minors

Whosoever intentionally produces, transmits, sales, distributes, makes available or possesses without
authorization any picture, poster, video or image through a computer system that depicts:

a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct; or

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a person appearing to be a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct; shall be punishable with
rigorous imprisonment from three years to 10 years.

Whosoever entices or solicits a minor for sexual explicit conduct by transmitting or sending erotic
speeches, pictures, text messages or videos through computer system shall be punishable with rigorous
imprisonment from five to 10 years.

13. Crimes against Liberty and Reputation of Persons

Whosoever intentionally:

Intimidates or threatens another person or his families with serious danger or injury by disseminating
any writing, video, audio or any other image through a computer systems shall be punishable, with
simple imprisonment not exceeding three years or in a serious case with rigorous imprisonment not
exceeding five years.

causes fear, threat or psychological strain on another person by sending or by repeatedly transmitting
information about the victim or his families through computer system or by keeping the victim’s
computer communication under surveillance shall be punishable with simple imprisonment not
exceeding five years or in serious case with rigorous imprisonment not exceeding 10 years.

disseminates any writing, video, audio or any other image through a computer system that is
defamatory to the honor or reputation of another person shall be punishable, upon complaint, with
simple imprisonment not exceeding three years or fine or both.

14. Crimes against Public Security

Without prejudice to the provisions Article 257 of the Criminal Code of the Federal Democratic
Republic of Ethiopia, Whosoever intentionally disseminates through a computer system any written,
video, audio or any other picture that incites fear, violence, chaos or conflict among people shall be
punishable with rigorous imprisonment not exceeding three years.

15. Dissemination of Spam

Whosoever, with intent to advertise or sell any product or service, disseminates messages to multiple
e-mail addresses at a time shall be punishable with simple imprisonment not exceeding three years and
fine or, in serious case, with rigorous imprisonment not exceeding five years and fine not exceeding
Birr 50,000.

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Notwithstanding the provision of sub-article (1) of this Article, dissemination of commercial
advertisement through email account shall not be punishable provided that:

there is prior consent from the recipient;

the primary purpose of the advertisement is to introduce customers with new products or services and
the customers have willing; or

the advertisement contains valid identity and address of the sender, and valid and simple way for the
recipient to reject or unsubscribe receipt of further advertisement from the same source.

16. Criminal Liability of Service Providers

A service provider shall be criminally liable in accordance with Articles 12 to 14, of this Proclamation
for any illegal computer content data disseminated through its computer systems by third parties, if it
has:

Directly involved in the dissemination or edition of the content data;

Upon obtaining actual knowledge that the content data is illegal, failed to take any measure to remove
or to disable access to the content data; or

Failed to take appropriate measure to remove or to disable access to the content data upon obtaining
notice from competent administrative authorities.

SECTION FOUR

OTHER OFFENCES

3.16 Failure to Cooperate and Hindrance of Investigation

Who so ever: fails to comply with the obligations provided for under sub-article (2) of Article 23, sub-
article (6) of Article 24, sub-article (2) of Article 29, sub-article (2) of Article 30 or sub-article (4) of
Article 31 of this Proclamation, shall be punishable with simple imprisonment not exceeding one year
or fine;

intentionally hinders the investigation process of computer crimes conducted pursuant to this
Proclamation shall be punishable with rigorous imprisonment not exceeding five years and fine not
exceeding Birr 50,000.

18. Criminal Act Stipulated in Other Laws

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Where any crime other than those provided for under this Part is committed by means of a computer,
the relevant law shall apply.

19. Concurrent Crimes

Where any of the criminal acts provided for under this Part has resulted in the commission of another
crime punishable under any special law or criminal code, the relevant provision shall apply
concurrently.

20. Penalty Imposed on Juridical Person

Notwithstanding sub-article (1), (3) and (4) of Article 90 of the Criminal Code of the Federal
Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, where any offence stipulated under this Part is committed by
juridical person,

the penalty shall be fine from Birr 50,000 to 500,000 for a crime punishable with fine;

when the penalty provided for is imprisonment, the penalty shall be:

a fine not exceeding 50,000 Birr for a crime punishable with simple imprisonment not exceeding
three years,

a fine not exceeding 100,000 Birr for a crime punishable with simple imprisonment not exceeding five
years,

a fine not exceeding 150,000 Birr for a crime punishable with rigorous imprisonment not exceeding
five years,

a fine not exceeding 200,000 Birr for a crime punishable with rigorous imprisonment not exceeding
10 years,

a fine of up to the general maximum laid down in sub-article (1) of this Article for a crime punishable
with rigorous imprisonment exceeding 10 years.

Where fine is expressly provided as punishment for a crime, it shall be five fold.

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PART THREE

3.17 PREVENTIVE AND INVESTIGATIVE MEASURES

21. General

Computer crime prevention and investigation shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions of
this Part.

Without prejudice the provisions of this Part, for issues not clearly covered in this law, the provisions
of the Criminal Code and other relevant laws shall be applicable to computer crimes.

22. Investigative Power

The public prosecutor and police shall have joint power to investigate criminal acts provided for in this
Proclamation. And the public prosecutor shall lead the investigation process.

Where requested to support the investigation process, the Agency shall provide technical support,
conduct analysis on collected information, and provide evidences if necessary.

23. Retention of Computer Data

Without prejudice to any provision stipulated in other laws, any service provider shall retain the
computer data disseminated through its computer systems or data relating to data processing or
communication service for at least one year.

The data shall be kept in secret unless a court or public prosecutor orders for disclosure.

24. Real-time Collection of Computer Data

Without prejudice special provisions stipulated under other laws, to prevent computer crimes and
collect evidence related information, the investigatory organ may, request court warrant to intercept in
real-time or conduct surveillance, on computer data, data processing service, or internet and other
related communications of suspects, and the court shall decide and determine a relevant organ that
could execute interception or surveillance as necessary.

Sub-article (1) of this Article shall only be applicable when there is no other means readily available for
collecting such data and this is approved and decided by the Minister.

Notwithstanding the provisions of sub-article (1) and (2) of this Article, the Minister may give
permission to the investigatory organ to conduct interception or surveillance without court warrant

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where there are reasonable grounds and urgent cases to believe that a computer crime that can damage
critical infrastructure is or to be committed.

The Minister shall present the reasons for interception or surveillance without court warrant under sub-
article (3) of this Article to the President of the Federal High Court within 48 hours, and the president
shall give appropriate order immediately.

Unless believed that it is necessary to conduct other criminal investigation, any irrelevant information
collected pursuant to sub-articles (1) to (4) of this Article shall be destroyed immediately upon the
decision of the Minister.

Any service provider shall cooperate when requested to carry on activities specified under sub-articles
(1) and (3) of this Article.

Without prejudice sub-article (5) of this Article, any information collected in accordance with this
Article shall be kept confidential.

25. Protection of Computer, Computer System or Infrastructure from Danger

Where there are reasonable grounds to believe that a computer crime is to be committed and it is
necessary to prevent and control the crime, provide early warning to citizens, to minimize the risks or
for effectiveness of the investigation, the Agency in collaboration with the investigatory organ, may
conduct sudden searches, conduct digital forensic investigation, provide appropriate security
equipment or take other similar measures on computers, computer systems or infrastructures that are
suspected to be attacked or deemed to be the sources of attack.

For the implementation of the provision of sub-article (1) of this Article, as may be necessary and upon
request, concerned organs shall have duty to cooperate.

26. Duty to Report

Any service provider who has knowledge of the commission of the crimes stipulated in this
Proclamation or dissemination of any illegal content data by third parties through the computer system
it administers shall immediately notify the Agency, accordingly report to the police about the crime and
take appropriate measures.

The Agency may issue a directive as to the form and procedures of reporting.

27. Arrest and Detention

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Without prejudice the provisions stipulated in special laws,

Where there are reasonable grounds to believe that a computer crime is committed or under
commission, police may arrest suspects in accordance with the provisions of the Criminal Procedure
Code.

Where the investigation on the person arrested pursuant to sub-article (1) of this Article is not
completed, remand may be granted in accordance with the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code;
provided, however, the overall remand period may not exceed four months.

PART FOUR

3.18 EVIDENTIARY AND PROCEDURAL PROVISIONS

28. General

Computer crime proceedings and collection of evidence shall be conducted in accordance with the
provisions of this Part.

Without prejudice to the provisions of this Part, the General Part provisions of the Criminal Code and
the Criminal Procedure Code shall be applicable to computer Crimes.

29. Order for Preservation of Computer Data

Where there are reasonable grounds to believe that a computer data required for computer crime
investigation is vulnerable to loss or modification, the investigatory organ may order, in writing, a
person to preserve the specified data under his control or possession.

The person ordered under sub-article (1) of this Article shall immediately take necessary measures to
secure the specified computer data and preserve it for three months and keep such order confidential.

The investigatory organ may order only a one-time extension for another three months up on the expiry
of the period stipulated under sub-article (2) of this Article.

30. Order for Obtaining of Computer Data

Where a computer data under any person’s possession or control is reasonably required for purposes of
a computer crime investigation, the investigatory organ may apply to the court to obtain or gain access
to that computer data.

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If the court is satisfied, it may, without requiring the appearance of the person concerned, order the
person who is in possession or control of the specified computer data, to produce it to the investigatory
organ or give access to same.

31. Access, Search and Seizure

Where it is necessary for computer crime investigation, the investigatory organ may, upon getting court
warrant, search or access physically or virtually any computer system, network or computer data.

Where the investigatory organ reasonably believes that the computer data sought is stored in another
computer system and can be obtained by same computer system, the search or access may be extended
to that other computer system without requesting separate search warrant.

In the execution of search under sub-article (1) or (2) of this Article, the investigatory organ may:

 Seize any computer system or computer data;

 Make and retain a copy or photograph data obtained through search;
 Maintain the integrity of the relevant stored data by using any technology;
 Render inaccessible the stored data from the computer system on which search is conducted;
or

Recover deleted data.

4) In the execution of search, the investigatory organ may order any person who has knowledge in the
course of his duty about the functioning of the computer system or network or measures applied to
protect the data therein to provide the necessary information or computer data that can facilitate the
search or access..

5) Where the investigatory organ finds the functioning of a computer system or computer data is in
violation of the provisions this Proclamation or other relevant laws, it may request the court to order for
such computer data or computer system to be rendered inaccessible or restricted or blocked. The court
shall give the appropriate order within 48 hours after the request is presented.

6) Where the search process on juridical person requires the presence of the manager or his agent, the
investigatory organ shall take appropriate measure to do so.

32. Admissibility of Evidences

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Any document or a certified copy of the document or a certified printout of any electronic
record relating to computer data seized in accordance with this Proclamation may be produced as
evidence during court proceedings and shall be admissible.

Without prejudice to the admissibility of evidences to be produced in accordance with the Criminal
Procedure Code and other relevant laws, any digital or electronic evidence:

produced in accordance with this Proclamation; or

Obtained from foreign law enforcement bodies shall be admissible in court of law in relation to
computer crimes.

33. Authentication

Without prejudice to the authentication of written documents stipulated in other laws, any person who
produces evidences provided under Article 32 of this Proclamation in a court proceeding has the burden
to prove its authenticity.

34. Original Electronic Document

Any electronic record which is obtained upon proof of the authenticity of the electronic records system
or by which the data was recorded or stored shall be presumed original electronic document

Without prejudice to sub-article (1) of this Article, the electronic printout which is obtained using a
secured system under regular operation shall be considered original electronic evidence.

Where the authenticity of an electronic record is not proved, any evidence that shows the following fact
shall be admissible.

the computer system was operating properly or the fact of its not operating properly did not affect the
integrity of the electronic record; or

it is established that the electronic record was recorded or stored by a party to the proceedings who is
adverse in interest to the other litigant party seeking to introduce it; or

it is established that the electronic record was recorded or stored in the usual and ordinary course of
business by a person who is not a party to the proceedings and who did not record or store it under the
control of the party seeking to introduce the record.

35. Presumption of Courts

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When assessing the admissibility of evidence in accordance with this Proclamation, the court may
have regard to the procedure, standard or manner in which a similar computer system is functioning.

36. Burden of proof

Public prosecutor has the burden of proofing material facts regarding the cases brought to the court in
accordance with the standards stipulated in law.

Notwithstanding the provisions of sub-article (1) of this Article, upon proof of basic facts of the case
by the public prosecutor if the court believes necessary to shift the burden of proofing to the accused,
the court may do so.

PART FIVE

3.19 INSTITUTIONS THAT FOLLOW UP CASES OF COMPUTER CRIME

37. Public Prosecutor and Police Following up

Cases of Computer Crime

A public prosecutor or investigative officer empowered to follows up computer crime cases in

accordance with the powers conferred by law shall have the responsibility to enforce and cause to
enforce the provisions of this Proclamation.

Public prosecution office and Police empowered in this Proclamation may organize separate specialized
task units when necessary to follow up computer crimes

38. Duty of the Agency

The Agency shall have duty to establish online computer crimes investigation system and provide other
necessary investigation technologies.

39. Jurisdiction

The Federal High Court shall have first instance jurisdiction over computer crime stipulated under this
Proclamation.

The judicial jurisdictions stipulated under Article 13 and paragraph (b) of sub-article (1) of Article 17
of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia 2004 Criminal Code shall include computer crimes.

40. Establishment of Executing Task Force

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Without prejudice the power of the Agency to lead national cyber security operation as stipulated in
other relevant laws, a National Executing Task Force comprising the heads of the Ministry of
Justice, the Federal Police Commission and other relevant bodies shall be established in order to
prevent and control computer crimes.

The Minister of Ministry of Justice shall lead the Executing Task Force, identify other relevant
organizations to be incorporated in the Task Force and ensure their representation.

The Task Force shall, for the prevention and control computer crimes, develop national discussion
forum, discuss on occasional dangers materialized and provide recommendation thereof, design short
and long term plans to be performed by the respective institutions as well as put in place synchronized
system by coordinating various relevant organs.

PART SIX

3.20 MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

41. International Cooperation

The Ministry of Justice shall cooperate and may sign agreements with the competent authority of
another country in matters concerning computer crime, including the exchange of information, joint
investigations, extradition and other assistances in accordance with this Proclamation and agreements
to which Ethiopia is a party and within the limits of the country’s legal system.

For the implementation of this Proclamation, the investigatory organ, when necessary, may exchange
information, perform joint cooperation in other forms or sign agreement with institutions of another
country having similar mission.

Any information or evidence obtained pursuant to this Article shall apply for the purpose of prevention
or investigation of computer crimes.

42. Suspension, Confiscation or Blockage of Computer System or Asset

The court, in sentencing an offender under this Proclamation, may give additional order for the
suspension, confiscation or removal of any computer system, data or device or blockage of data
processing service used in the perpetration of the offence.

The property or proceedings of the accused that he directly or indirectly acquired through the computer
crime for which he has been convicted shall be confiscate if the accused is convicted through a final
decision;

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Unless they are contradictory to the provisions of this Proclamation, the relevant provisions of the
Revised Anti-Corruption Special Procedure and Rules of Evidence Proclamation No. 434/2005 (as
amended) shall be applicable with respect to restraining or forfeiture order of computer system, data,
equipment or other assets.

43. Repeal and Inapplicable Laws

Articles 706 to 711 of the Criminal Code of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and article 5
of Telecom Fraud Offence proclamation no. 761/2012 are hereby repealed.

No proclamation, regulations, directives or practices shall, in so far as they are inconsistent with this
Proclamation, be applicable with respect to matters provided for by this Proclamation.

Chapter Summery
Privacy enables us to create barriers and manage boundaries to protect ourselves from unwarranted
interference in our lives, which allows us to negotiate who we are and how we want to interact with the
world around us. Privacy helps us establish boundaries to limit who has access to our bodies, places
and things, as well as our communications and our information.

All provinces and territories also have human rights legislation which prohibits discrimination in
employment, housing and in providing goods, services, and facilities to the public. Some provincial and
territorial laws protect a broader range of rights and freedoms. But like any legislation, these laws can
be repealed or changed, so their protection can be limited. It was only with the Canadian charter of
Rights and Freedoms.

Copyright is a form of legal protection given to content creators through the assignment of specific
rights to works that qualify for protection.

Industrial Design (ID) is the professional service of creating products and systems that optimize
function, value and appearance for the mutual benefit of user and manufacturer.

Integrated circuit topographies are the three dimensional circuit designs that are used in many electrical
and computerized products. Integrated circuit topographies are made of complex layers of semi-
conductors, metals, insulators, and other materials. Some examples of products which incorporate
integrated circuit topographies are computers, automobiles and robots.

The Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) is federal legislation
passed in 2001 and fully implemented on January 1, 2004. Organizations and businesses rely on

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personal information to connect with their customers and members. Respecting and protecting
customers' and members' privacy is part of good customer and member relations.

Check List

Dear Learner, by now you should have a clear understanding of the points discussed in unit Four, to
check whether you are capable of describing the points from the unit this check list is prepared, if you
can describe each point listed below thick/check the box under the option ‘yes’ if not check the
box available under the ‘no’ option and go back to revise the topic.

Topic Yes No

Privacy Act  

Charter of Rights and Freedoms Act  

Copyright Act  

Industrial Design Act  

Integrated Circuit Topography ACT  

Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act 

Protection of children and other vulnerable persons Act  

Electronic Commerce Act in Ethiopia  

Computer Crime Proclamation in Ethiopia  

Self Assessment

1. What is privacy?
2. Explain about Right and Freedom?
3. Describe about Industrial Design?
4. Explain in detail about Electronic Ecommerce Act in Ethiopia?

Exercise

1. Define copy Right and Types of copyright.

2. What is Integrated Circuit Topography?
3. Explain about industrial Design Act in Ethiopia?
4. Explain in Detail about the Act “Crime against computer system and Computer Data” according
to Ethiopia Computer criminal Proclamation?

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 CHAPTER FIVE

Team Work Integration in Computing Technology Environment and Organizational

Communication

1. Introduction

An integrated information technology environment is an environment in which a virtual team does its

work. Such environments allow companies to realize a number of competitive advantages by using
their existing computers and network infrastructure for group and personal collaboration. These fully
featured environments combine the best features of web-based conferencing and collaboration, desktop
videoconferencing, and instant message into a single easy-to-use, intuitive environment. Recent
developments have allowed companies include streaming in real-time and archived modes.

Common applications found within organizations, sectors and companies:

1. Collaborative software designed to improve the performance of teams by supporting the

sharing and flow of information. It allows for real-time collaboration and conferencing.
2. Workflow systems facilitate the automation and management of business processes.
3. Documentation management systems manage a document through all the stages of its
processing.
4. Peer-to-peer collaboration software permits users to communicate in real time and share files
without going through a central server.
5. Knowledge management systems are information technology (IT) systems that support the
capture, organization, and distribution of knowledge (know-how).
6. Social network systems are IT systems that link people to others they know and, from there, to
people their contacts know. It is a way to leverage personal and professional contacts.

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 2. Team work in computing technology

Teamwork is a group of people working in collaboration or by cooperation towards a common goal

and information technology field is effective in team work in nature.

A team consists of a group of people, committed to a common goal that no one individual can
achieve alone. The focus of teams and teamwork is on mutual accountability and performance.

The concept of teamwork presents itself differently across the projects, programmes and portfolios
as the make-up and environment of the teams vary. Within the P3 environment there will be a
hierarchy of different teams. The obvious example is a project team within a programme, a
programme team within a portfolio and the overall portfolio team.

Regardless of whether they are involved in team selection, project managers should consider a
number of factors when developing a team. Individuals will have different skills and personalities.
They may come from different cultures and working environments. The team may be physically
co-located or work virtually across different time zones. The impact of all these factors on
teamworking needs to be considered.

The establishment of a team will initially involve the selection of individuals based on their skills,
behaviours and attitudes. Teamworking is most effective when people with complementary skills
and behaviours are committed to a common objective and method of working.

Models such as Belbin and Margerison-McCann illustrate how different personalities work
together to create a working team. Each personality has its strengths and weaknesses. Within the
team, one person’s strengths balance another’s weaknesses. Individuals will perform better in a
team context if they are given a role that plays to their strengths.The use of psychometric tools,
such as the Myers-Briggs Type Inventory, may also help the P3 manager and team members
understand and value the differences between individuals.

Once assembled, teams do not simply become high-performing because they have been given a
common objective. They go through a series of development stages as illustrated by Tuckman or
Katzenbach & Smith. The P3 manager must be aware of where a team is in the development cycle
and adjust the leadership style to suit.

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 Projects, programmes and portfolios evolve throughout their life-cycle phases. This changing
environment will alter the balance and dynamics of a team. Effective teamworking is a valuable
commodity and needs constant nurturing by the P3 manager.

Teamwork may be within a tightly integrated team or in a collaborative working group.

In integrated teams, the emphasis is on the team developing together as a unit and working jointly
on objectives. Collaborative groups share information, insights and perspectives, supporting each
other to do their job better, but the focus is on each individual’s performance and accountability.

Project

The project environment is where the most close-knit teams will be found. The nature of a
traditional project is that the ultimate deliverable is well defined and often broken down into a
series of well-specified products. This provides the focus for the team’s efforts.

The project manager must communicate details of the project deliverable to the team and how it
will be achieved. All team members must be committed to the end product and understand their
role in its development.

On larger projects, the project manager may delegate the development of component products to
team managers. By implication, the project manager is delegating responsibility for team
development as well, but must retain an overview of performance.

The project manager is responsible for the continued cohesion of the team and should strive to keep
individuals motivated and support them in their personal and career development aspirations.

While a common focus on a well-defined goal is an important tool for developing a team, it can
also be a weakness. All projects are susceptible to change. Sometimes this is due to unavoidable
external factors, but often it will be due to changing requirements from stakeholders. If the team is
focused on a well-defined goal, constant change can be demotivating.

In environments where change is frequent, or requirements need to be flexible, project managers

may choose an agile approach. This develops a team with a different mindset as teams are often
self-organizing and may use techniques such as ‘time boxes’ and ‘sprint planning’.

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 Programme

Within a programme there will be a number of sub-teams that the programme manager needs to
develop as well as the overall ‘team’. These could include, for example, the:

Team of project managers;

Team of business change managers;

Support team (risk manager, communications manager, administrators, etc.).

These sub-teams will be developed concurrently with the objective of achieving the programme’s
vision and component benefits. The levels of responsibility of the team members may mean that a
collaborative working group approach is more relevant. While individual managers will take
responsibility for the development of their own teams, the programme manager must create an
overall team ethos for the programme as a whole.

Inevitably there will be a significant turnover rate within the programme team as projects are
instigated and closed or as business-as-usual units go through the change management process.

Maintaining a team ethos across this broad, diverse and changing community will require excellent
communication and leadership skills on the part of the programme manager.

Portfolio

The concept of team working will not be as visible in the portfolio dimension. The intensity of
human interaction associated with integrated team working is not present, other than in the core
portfolio management team. The wider group of individuals with responsibility to deliver different
parts of the portfolio forms a collaborative team.

It is in the interest of the portfolio manager that the appropriate type of team working is encouraged
and exploited at all levels to maximize portfolio performance. Collaborative and cooperative
working within the portfolio with a shared vision of the strategic objectives should also be
encouraged.

(Reading assignment how you organization work related with computing Technology …?)

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References
1. Computing Curricula 2001, http://www.computer.org/education/cc2001/index.htm

2. Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) Engineering Criteria 2000 Third
Edition, http://www.ele.uri.edu/People/Faculty/daly/criteria.2000.html

3. Robert N. Barger, Is Computer Ethics Unique In Relation To Other Fields Of Ethics?,

http://www.nd.edu/~rbarger/ce-unique.html

4. A Framework for Ethical Decision Making,

http://www.scu.edu/ethics/practicing/decision/framework.html

5.Ethics in Engineering, Martin, M.W., Schinzinger, McGraw-Hill, 1996

6. http://www.asce.org/inside/codeofethics.cfm American Society of Civil Engineers Code of Ethics

7. http://www.acm.org/constitution/code.html ACM Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct

8. www.ieee.org/about/whatis/code.html IEEE Code of Ethics

9. http://www.computer.org/tab/seprof/code.htm Software Engineering Code Of Ethics And

Professional
Practice (Ieee-Cs/Acm Joint Task Force On Software Engineering Ethics And Professional Practices)

10. Davis, Michael. “Thinking like an Engineer: The Place of a Code of Ethics in the Practice of a
Profession".
Philosophy and Public Affairs 20.2 (1991)

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