Ethics for IT

Professionals
and IT Users
by:

Jane Esteves
Consider the following questions ?

 What are the key characteristics that distinguish a

professional from other kinds of workers and what is
the role of an IT professional?

 What are the various professional relationships that

must be managed by the IT professional and what are
the key ethical issues that can arise in each?

 How do codes of ethics, professional organizations,

certifi cation, and licensing aff ect the ethical
behaviour of IT professionals?

 What are the common ethical issues that face IT

users?

 What approaches can be taken to support the ethical

practices of IT users?
Objectives
 Identify the key characteristics that distinguish a professional from other kinds
of workers.

 Understand various professional relationships and associated key ethical issues.

 Discuss how codes of ethics, professional organizations, and certifi cations and
licensing aff ect the ethical behavior of IT professionals.

 Identify the key tenets of 4 diff erent codes of ethics that provide guidance for
IT professionals.

 Identify the common ethical issues that face IT users.

 Discuss approaches for supporting the ethical practices of IT users.

What is a Professional?
 Profession is a calling requiring specialized knowledge and often long intensive
academic preparation.

 The United States Code of Federal Regulations defi nes a person “employed in a
professional capacity ” as one who meets these four criteria:

1.One’s primary duties consist of the performance of work requiring

knowledge of an advanced type in a fi eld of science or learning
customarily acquired by a prolonged course of specialized intellectual
instruction and study or work.

2.One’s instruction, study, or work is original and creative in character in

a recognized fi eld of artistic endeavor and the result of which depends
primarily on the invention, imagination, or talent of the employee.
What is a Professional?
3. One’s work requires the consistent exercise of discretion and judgment on its
performance.

4.One’s work is predominately intellectual and varied in character and is of such

character that the output produced or the result accomplished cannot be
standardized in relation to a given period of time.
Definition of an IT Professional
 Given the defi nition of “professional”, there are many business workers whose
duties, background and training, and work could qualify them to be classifi ed as
professionals.

 These people include marketing analysis, fi nancial consultants, and IT

specialists.

 A partial list of IT specialists includes programmers, systems analysts,

software engineers, database administrators, LAN administrators, and
chief information offi cers (CIOs).

 It could be argued that not every IT role requires “knowledge” of an

advanced type in a fi eld of science or learning customarily acquired by a
prolonged course of specialized intellectual instruction and study.
Definition of an IT Professional
 Eg. Does someone who completes a two-year, part-time training program
in LAN administration meet the criteria to be classifi ed as a professional?

 From a practical standpoint, the IT industry recognizes people from a wide

set of backgrounds, education, and personal experience in many diff erent
roles as IT professionals – provided they can do the job required by such a
role.
Information Technology Professionals
 Many workers in the IT industry are considered to be professionals. A
partial list includes:

 Programmers /Analysts

 Sof tware engineers

 Database administrators

 Network administrators

 Chief information offi cers

Professional Relationships
 IT professionals become involved in many diff erent types of relationships.

 Professional-employer

 Professional-client

 Professional-supplier

 Professional-professional

 Professional-IT user

 Professional-society
Stewards of IT Resources
 IT professionals must set the example and enforce the policies that
promote ethical use of IT resources.

 Sof tware piracy is the act of illegally making copies of sof tware.

 Trade secret is a piece of information that is generally not known to the

public that is held confi dential.
Professional Codes of Ethics
 A professional code of ethics states the principles and core values essential
to the work of a par ticular occupational group.

 Practitioners in many professions subscribe to a code of ethics that governs

their behaviour.

 Most codes of ethics created by professional organizations have two main

par ts.

 Outlines what the professional organization aspires to become

 Typically lists rules and /or principles by which members of the organization
are expected to abide

 Many codes also include a commitment to continuing education as a

fundamental tenet in recognition of need for life-long learning by those who
practice the profession.
Professional Codes of Ethics
 Laws do not provide a complete guide to ethical behaviour.

 Just because an activity is not defi ned as illegal does not mean that it is
ethical.

 We cannot expect a professional code of ethics to provide the complete

answer – no code can be the defi nitive collection of behavioral standards.

 Only by understanding and adopting the principles behind the code and
interpreting what is really intended can one achieve the intent.

 If one fully embraces and practices according to a professional code of

ethics, there are many benefi ts – for the individual, for the profession,
and for society as a whole.
Professional Codes of Ethics
 The following are the benefi ts of a code of ethics :

 Improves ethical decision-making

 Promotes high standards of practice and ethical behaviour

 Enhances trust and respect from the general public

 Provides an evaluation benchmark

Improves Ethical Decision-Making
 Adherence to a professional code of ethics means that practitioners will
use a common set of core values and beliefs to serve as a guideline for
ethical decision-making.
Promotes High Standards of Practice
 Adherence to a professional code of ethics reminds professionals of the
responsibilities and duties that they may be tempted to compromise to
meet the press of day-to-day business.

 The code also defi nes the behaviours that are acceptable and unacceptable
to guide professionals in their interactions with others.

 Strong codes of ethics actually have procedures for censuring

professionals for serious violations, with penalties up to and including the
loss of the right to continue to practice.
Promotes High Standards of Practice
 Such codes are the exception, and no such codes exist in the IT arena.

 Public trust is built on the expectation that a professional will behave

ethically.

 We of ten fi nd ourselves placed in a position where we must depend on the

integrity and good judgment of a professional to tell the truth, abstain
from giving self-serving advice, and off er warnings of the potential
negative side eff ects of our actions.

 Thus, adherence to a code of ethics enhances our trust and respect of the
professional and their profession.
Provides an Evaluation Benchmark
 A code of ethics provides an evaluation benchmark that can be used by the
professional as a means of self-assessment.

 Peers of the professional can also use the code for purposes of recognition
or censure of individuals.
IT Professional-Society
 IT professionals develop and support systems that interact with the world
around them.

 The public expects that the members of the IT profession will practice the
profession in a way that will not bring harm to society.
Association of Computing Machinery (ACM)
 A computing society founded in 1947

 The ACM serves more than 80,000 professionals in over 100 countries and
off ers more than 24 publications for technology professionals.

 The ACM has a code of ethics and professional conduct with supplemental
explanations and guidelines.

 The ACM code consists of 8 general moral imperatives, 8 specifi c

professional responsibilities, 6 organizational leadership imperatives, and
2 elements of compliance.
Association of Information Technology Professionals (AITP)

 The AITP was formed in the 1950 s to enable its members to keep ahead of
the rapid pace of change in information technology.

 Its mission is to provide superior leadership and education in information

technology.

 One of its goals is to help its members become more marketable in the
broad and rapidly changing career fi eld of information technology.

 The AITP also has a code of ethics and standards of conduct.

Co m p u tin g S ociet y o f th e In st itu t e of Elect rica l and Electro nics Eng ineers
(IEEE-CS)

 The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) covers the very
broad fi elds of electrical, electronic, and information technologies and
sciences.

 The IEEE-CS is one of the oldest and largest IT professional associations

with over 100,000 members.

 Nearly a third of its members live and work outside the United States.

 Founded in 1946, it is the largest of the 36 societies of the IEEE.

Co m p u tin g S ociet y o f th e In st itu t e of Elect rica l and Electro nics Eng ineers
(IEEE-CS)

 The IEEE-CS’s vision is to be the leading provider of technical information

and services to the world’s computing professionals.

 The society promotes an active exchange of information, ideas, and

technological innovation among its members through its many
conferences, applications-related and research-oriented journals, local and
student chapters, technical committees, and standards working group.
Certifi cation & Licensing
 Cer tifi cation is a process administered by a profession or organization
that one undertakes voluntarily to prove competency in a set of skills.

 Licensing is a process generally administered by the state that

professionals must undertake to prove that they can practice their
profession in a way that is ethical and safe to the public.
C e r t i fi c a t i o n & L i c e n s i n g
1 5 m o s t i n - d e m a n d c e r t i fi c a t i o n s
 AWS Certifi ed Cloud Practitioner  C i s c o C e r t i fi e d I n t e r ne t w o rk Ex p e r t
(C C I E )
 Certifi ed Cloud Security Professional
 C i s c o C e r t i fi e d N e t w o rk Pro fe s s i on al
(CCSP)
(C C N P)
 Certifi ed Data Privacy Solutions
 C o m p TI A (A + , C l o ud + , Se c ur i ty+ )
Engineer (CDPSE)
 Mi c ro s of t C e r t i fi e d A z u re Sol ut i on s
 Certifi ed Data Professional (CDP) A r c hi t e c t Ex p e r t

 Certifi ed Ethical Hacker (CEH)  I n for m at i o n Te c hno l o g y I nfras t ru c t u re

Li b rar y (I TI L)
 Certifi ed Information Security
 O rac l e MySQ L D at ab as e A d m i ni s t rat i on
Manager (CISM)
 Pro je c t Manag e m e nt Pro fe s s i on al (PMP)
 Certifi ed Information Systems
 Sal e s fo rc e C e r t i fi e d D e ve l o p m e n t
Security Professional (CISSP) Li fe c yc l e and D e p l oym e nt D e si g n e r
Issues Associated with Licensing IT Professionals
 No universally accepted core body of knowledge.

 It is unclear who should manage the content and administration of licensing

exams.

 No body to do accreditation of professional education programs.

 No body to assess and assure competence of individual professionals.

IT Professional-Employer
 The relationship between a professional and an employer requires ongoing
eff orts by both parties to keep it strong.

 Professionals and employers discuss many job aspects before employment

begins.
IT Professional-Client
 In this relationship, the professional and client each agree to provide
something of value to each other.

 The IT professional usually provides a hardware or software product and

the client provides compensation.
 IT Professional-Supplier
 IT professionals may have many diff erent relationships with many sof tware,
hardware, and service providers.

 The IT professional must be on guard to keep the relationships honest and

business related.
IT Professional-Professional
 Professionals feel a degree of loyalty to other members in the profession.

 Professionals help support each other publicly.

 Professionals owe one another an adherence to the profession’s code of

conduct.
IT Users Common IT users ethical issues: Software piracy.

 Inappropriate use of computing resources.

 Inappropriate sharing of information.

IT Professional-IT User
 An IT user is a person for whom the hardware or software is designed.

 Professionals have a duty to understand the needs and capabilities of users.

 Professionals have a responsibility to deliver their product or service on

time and within budget.
Supporting Ethical Practices of IT Users
 Defi ne and limit the appropriate use of IT resources.

 Establish guidelines for the use of company software.

 Structure information systems to protect data and information.

 Install and maintain a corporate fi rewall.

Summary A professional is someone:
 who requires advanced training and experience.

 who exercises discretion and judgment during work.

 whose work cannot be standardized.

 IT professionals have many diff erent relationships that have diff erent
ethical issues.