Computer ethics and law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Computer ethics and law - Essay Example To put the discussion into perspective, we’ll use a case study involving a computer professional and a client requiring a personnel management database system. The client chooses the least secure security system from among the list of systems provided. The computer professional clearly clarifies to the customer the security loopholes associated with the system, notable, the risk of unauthorised access to the sensitive personnel information, which might lead to compromise of personnel information by hackers, but the client insists on using it. As Bittner & Hornecker (2002, p. 1) notes, the daily routine of computer professionals provides them with unique opportunities to â€Å"do the right thing† as well as numerous obstacles to achieving this. However, as Norman (1988, p. 2) puts it, the â€Å"...design of technological artefacts should minimise risk and consequences of error.† All professional are obliged to act in such a way as to be worthy of the clientsâ€⠄¢ trust (Bayles 1989) and to ensure social responsibility in all their duties (Durbin 1992). Martin (2011) adds to this by using the words â€Å"pride, honor and self-respect† to describe the ideal conduct of computer professionals. In deciding the way to go, the computer professional in this case study should consider the ethical and professional provisions of the IEEE-CS/ACM Software Engineering Code of Ethics and Professional Practice as it is generally accepted as a standard documentation of software engineers’ ethical and professional requirements and responsibilities. The code has eight principles which Gotterbarn (2000) says are not to be considered as completely exhaustive since there is no way of telling what moral concerns may emerge in the future. They should instead act as a broad framework for professional ethics. Gotterbarn, Miller & Rogerson (1997) reiterate this saying that he IEEE-CS/ACM SECEPP is â€Å"not intended to be all inclusive, nor is it int ended that its individual parts be used in isolation to justify errors of omission or commission†. At the general scale, the IEEE-CS/ACM SECEPP stresses on the engineering profession’s obligation to the public whose health, welfare and safety should take precedence and indeed form the basis of the eight principles of the SECEPP. The â€Å"Public† principle is of particular relevance to our case study. Gotterbarn (1999) argues that computer professionals have substantial chances â€Å"†¦to do good or cause harm† and to aid and influence others to do the same. The principle of Public however requires software engineers to put the public interest first. Not only does this principle hold software engineers responsible for their decisions. In that context, they are required to balance the needs of all the parties (employer, customer, and themselves) with the welfare and safety of the public. This empowers the software engineers to disapprove any software o r component of an IT system that might threaten privacy, degrade the environment, compromise the quality of human life and is especially critical in the manufacture of safety-critical software; computer software whose failure or error can cause directly