Posted: August 4th, 2022

IT professionals and ethical responsibility

Computer Sciences and Information Technology
Topic:
It professionals and ethical responsibility

Ace my homework – Write an original and cohesive argumentative research paper (suggested length of 8–10 pages).
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2. Provide an appropriate thesis statement that previews two to four main points.
3. Develop each of the previewed main points in effective paragraphs with support from a variety of
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4. Provide an effective conclusion.
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Note: More than seven sources may be used but are not required.
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IT professionals and ethical responsibility
Information Technology (IT) professionals are obligated to work and operate under strict ethical responsibilities and ethical principles to ensure that they effectively and sufficiently meet their professional duties and responsibilities in the common good’s interest. The ethical responsibility among IT professionals requires a wide range of aspects, considering that information technology is a sensitive field due to cybersecurity threats and risks (Adamson, 2015 – Research Paper Writing Help Service). Professional ethics entails a collection of values that professionals in different fields are obligated to abide by in their handling professional duties and obligations. The ethical responsibilities provide professionals with ethical consideration that needs to be adopted to make professional decisions or take professional actions when presented with ethical issues. Consequently, ethical considerations in IT have their sources in the laws, institutional policies, and guidelines. The ethics enhance ethical behavior as a professional responsibility in all official aspects of their organization. Furthermore, ethical responsibilities have a wide range of advantages to the IT professionals and the stakeholders to IT-based organizations. Organizations that observe high ethical considerations have high public trusts, and they ensure that their different professionals continually deliver in their professional obligations. Therefore, IT professionals need to incorporate professional ethics in their operations to meet the organizational goals and objectives in the common good’s interest. Ethical responsibility is a significant aspect for the IT professional in their normal operations due to its advantages in the field; thus, it needs to be effectively developed and updated by considering different ethical considerations in the interest of the IT professionals and related stakeholders.

Sources of ethics for IT professionals
IT professional professionals have different sources and resources for ethical guidance in their scope of duties. The ethical guidelines form a basis for the regulations and guidelines to implement different tasks and make decisions. The different ethical considerations are based on general principles such as maintenance of technical competency, avoidance of injury to others and property in the course of operations, and maintaining professionalism at all times (Kernaghan, 2014: 2024 – Essay Writing Service | Write My Essay For Me Without Delay). Different IT bodies in the field of IT have developed ethical guidelines to guide their professionals. For instance, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers have developed a code of ethics for members, AITP (Association of Information Technology Professionals) has its code of ethics and standard of conduct, and SANS (SysAdmin, Audit, Network, and Security) has a set of IT code of ethics for its members.
Different organizations and professionals have different IT ethical codes for their use. The general elements adopted in the determination and descriptions of ethical behavior in the professions include observation of integrity, competence, societal responsibilities, work responsibilities, and professional responsibilities (Kernaghan, 2014: 2024 – Essay Writing Service | Write My Essay For Me Without Delay). The IT codes from different organizations and bodies are presented in different documents regarding the specificity of character and organizational missions that create the various codes. For instance, the IEEE and SANS address honesty on limits to a professional capability while IEEE and AITP address commitments to respecting and adhering to professional responsibility to the society. The different ethical guidelines are depicted in IT codes, IT standards, missions, and visions of different IT professional organization to guide the operations and decision making.
Additionally, different IT professions need to set and develop customized professional ethics to guide their operations and functions. IT bodies and professions need to proactively create a set of professional ethics to enable them to navigate complex relations and interactions in the course of normal operations (Ferguson, Thornley and Gibb, 2016: 2024 – Do my homework – Help write my assignment online). The IT professional ethics are set and developed by considering relationships between different parties in the course of IT operations such as relations with co-workers, clients, customers, employers, and the community. The IT codes need to be developed based on different relationships due to the impacts of professional actions. Therefore, having customized IT codes and standards will be vital in enhancing organizational operations and maintaining a professional relationship between different parties through actions and decision making.
IT Ethical dilemmas
Information Technology is used in a different field such as education, scientific research, banking sector, industries, health, and business, and in the course of operation, security, and privacy issues arise. The security and privacy issues arising from IT adoption in different fields amount to ethical issues/dilemmas. In this regard, personal privacy is an ethical issue that involves disclosing confidential information and violating individuals and groups (Wright et al., 2014: 2024 – Essay Writing Service | Write My Essay For Me Without Delay). IT ensures that users use their hardware, software tools, and operating systems to access servers connected to each other and users using the network. The distribution of network and transfer of information and data incline some professionals to violate privacy rules in their interests and at the users’ expense. The accidental or intended disclosure of confidential data amounts to ethical privacy issues.
The ethical access rights issues arise in IT, where the network on the internet is not secure, thus enhancing unauthorized access. Access rights issues have increased with IT and cyberspace due to technological advancement (Wright et al., 2014: 2024 – Essay Writing Service | Write My Essay For Me Without Delay). For instance, electronic payment and e-commerce systems in corporate and government agencies have resulted in an increase in access rights issues as hackers and attackers gain unauthorized access to the network and confidential data concerning organizations and individuals. To counter the access right ethical issues, organizations use intrusion detection systems to evaluate if the user is an intruder or an appropriate user. The access right has become a significant ethical dilemma affecting people and organizations.
Harmful action has emerged as an ethical dilemma where there are negative and damaging consequences to the IT sector with a loss of vital information, property loss, undesirable impacts, and destruction of property (Wright et al., 2014: 2024 – Essay Writing Service | Write My Essay For Me Without Delay). Under harmful action, the IT professionals use IT in ways that result in losses to users, employers, employees, and the general public. For instance, harmful action can be implemented through the intentional destruction of programs or files, leading to a significant loss of resources.
Copyright protection issues arise in applying IT in different fields where a copyright breach occurs, leading to mishandling and misuse of data, documentation, computer programs, and other similar materials under copyright law (Millar, Udalov, and Millar, 2014: 2024 – Essay Writing Service. Custom Essay Services Cheap). The copyright law operates as a powerful legal tool to protect the computer software and programs before and after a security breach. The copyright law becomes a dilemma when IT professionals violate it leading to significant losses to different parties. Countries across the globe have amended and revised copyright law to protect and safeguard computer programs.
A trade secret is a major ethical issue in information technology that takes the unauthorized and illegal disclosing of trade secrets to third parties. Trade secrets are aspects of value and usefulness to businesses and organizations; thus, they need to be secured (Millar, Udalov, and Millar, 2014: 2024 – Essay Writing Service. Custom Essay Services Cheap). The law ensures that trade secrets are protected in the interest of the user. However, IT professionals engage in disclosing it, meaning the trade secret is lost. The loss of trade secrets in the cyber world, especially in the advancement of hardware or software, gives a significant competitive influence at the trade secret owner or holder’s expense. Therefore, the protection and handling of trade secrets is an ethical issue of concern in the IT field.
The liability dilemma is a significant issue in making ethical decisions among IT professionals. Software developers enter into promises and assertions with the user on the product’s nature and quality that can be restricted as an express warranty. The software or programmers and programmers own the right to make decisions on express warranties; thus, they need to be reasonable on aspects of nature, quality, and software or hardware (Millar, Udalov, and Millar, 2014: 2024 – Essay Writing Service. Custom Essay Services Cheap). This means that product description is legally valid, as stated in written form, and all the agreements are in writing to protect against liability. A disclaimer of express warranties can free suppliers from being responsible for speculative, informal statements and forecasting made at the agreement stage. In this regard, the issue of liability is in question when a disclaimer is raised on the party to be held liable among the suppliers, retailers, and programmers.
Additionally, piracy is an ethical issue in IT that takes the development of an illegal copy of the software is made. The owner of the software has the privilege of whether backup copies of the software can be made. Thus, it is illegal and unethical to make a duplicate software or program without the owner (Brey, 2014: 2024 – Essay Writing Service. Custom Essay Services Cheap). The issue of software protection has increased with different matters raised in court while the software industry is making arrangements to effectively counter against software piracy. Therefore, unauthorized use and duplication of software and programs raise ethical issues in information technology.
Professional Ethics in IT
Ethics are developed in Information technology to counter different ethical issues/dilemmas that arise in the course of operations in the information technology field. Ethics in IT ensures that there is general fair play in information technology between the different parties involved by setting and dictating the guideline to guide the IT professionals in taking actions and making significant decisions in their work (Floridi, 2013). In this case, integrity is a vital ethical consideration in information technology. IT professionals must maintain a high standard of integrity by maintaining consistency and trustworthiness of data, software, and programs. Integrity in IT calls for accuracy and completeness of data by preventing it from being misused or modified by unauthorized parties. Data integrity is maintained by ensuring that it is not changed while on transit, and effective precautionary steps are adopted to protect data from being altered by unauthorized parties. In this regard, IT professionals are tasked with adopting different security controls to uphold data integrity through approaches such as encryption, use of error detection software, backup and recovery procedures, and version control.
Confidentiality is a significant ethical consideration in IT that enhances the protection of information from being exposed to unauthorized parties because of insider threat and data breach issues. The IT professionals are required to enhance the adoption of preserving restrictions on accessing data to secure information and maintain the user (Floridi, 2013). Data breaches are costly occurrences; thus, IT professionals and organizations need to prevent them by implementing document security, establishing clear information security policies for internet and computing devices, and implementing security controls for sensitive files. Therefore, confidentiality is a significant ethical consideration regarding enhancing access controls and exercising measures to protect data from being misused by any unauthorized access.
Ethical competence is required among the IT professionals to ensure that they make conscious decio9ns and take appropriate actions in the users’ interest. Ethical competence requires IT professionals to apply their appropriate skills and knowledge in their normal operations (Floridi, 2013). Under the ethical competence, one must have moral principles and act responsibly in consideration of legal standards, social, ecological, and economic consequences of their actions and decisions. Therefore, ethical competence ensures that IT professionals have perfect skills and capabi8lities to implement their duties and responsibilities in IT.
Ethical professional responsibility among the IT professionals ensures that they operate within the framework of accountability and appropriateness to ensure they deliver their duties and obligations with effectiveness and efficiency (Tahat et al., 2014: 2024 – Essay Writing Service | Write My Essay For Me Without Delay). Professional responsibility ensures that IT professionals are obligated to observe a set of guidelines, values, rules, moral obligations, and standards to govern their actions and decisions making operations. Ethical professional responsibility ensures that IT professionals uphold high professionalism by applying competence in IT, skills, ethical behavior, and certification, thus attaining success in their different operations.
Ethical work responsibility among IT professionals ensures that they are able to meet their work obligations while maintaining work ethics. The IT professionals are obligated to perform their duties to their best ability while adhering to organizational protocols and policies (Tahat et al., 2014: 2024 – Essay Writing Service | Write My Essay For Me Without Delay). The ethical work responsibility defines employees’ conduct in their operations, such as personal performance accountability, managerial oversight, observing safety at the workplace, and observing general professional conduct and representation.
Additionally, IT professionals are obligated to adhere to ethical, societal responsibilities by being accountable to fulfill civic duties and actions in the whole society’s interest. IT professionals need to operate and make decisions while balancing economic growth, social welfare, and the environment (Tahat et al., 2014: 2024 – Essay Writing Service | Write My Essay For Me Without Delay). Equilibrium needs to be maintained between economic growth and societal welfare for ethical, social responsibilities to be ascertained.
Importance of ethical responsibilities in IT
Ethics in information technology plays a significant role in creating an appropriate culture and ensuring and IT operations are carried in the interest of all the stakeholders, especially the users. In this regard, IT ethics develop a culture of trust, excellence, integrity, and responsibility among the parties involved (Schwalbe, 2015 – Research Paper Writing Help Service). The IT field handles sensitive information since it is applied in different sectors such as banking and health, and failure to appropriately handle operations exposes such data, thus making the owners vulnerable to the attackers and related parties. Therefore, ethics should be emphasized to ensure that integrity and responsibility in handling data are maintained, thus upholding high trust levels.
Ethics upholds confidentiality, privacy and prevents unauthorized access to computer systems and networks, thus preventing dishonesty and conflict between different parties in the society. Information technology devices and systems handle sensitive and critical data that contain confidential information on matters such as personally identifiable information, bank details, health record, or insurance information that should be protected (Brey, 2014: 2024 – Essay Writing Service. Custom Essay Services Cheap). The adoption of ethics in IT operations ensures that confidential data and information are effectively protected, thus preventing security issues, lawsuits, conflicts, and dishonesty between individuals and organizations.
The adoption of codes of ethics in organizations policies provides the users’ ethical responsibilities, thus ensuring a comprehensive approach to protecting computer and network systems is adopted. The ethical codes ensure that IT resources are only used by authorized users (Brey, 2014: 2024 – Essay Writing Service. Custom Essay Services Cheap). In this regard, the information technology resources safety is enhanced by ethical codes that prevent sharing of access privileges, securing computer systems from malicious attacks, respect in the use of information technology, prevention of unauthorized deletion, prevention of copying or modification of private data, and prevent users from introducing malicious software such as viruses. Therefore, ethical code in IT ensures that the users participate in enhancing their safety together with the IT professionals.
Conclusion
Ethical responsibility among the IT professionals has been consistently developed with the changing environment, security, and privacy issues to handle different ethical dilemmas in the interest of the common good. IT fields have different stakeholders with different relationships, and thus their operation must be guided by ethics for effective relations and interactions. Information technology operations handled sensitive and confidential information, thus requiring the different players to abide by the different codes of ethics for IT security and well-being. In this regard, different ethical considerations have been developed to guide IT, professionals, and users in making decisions and taking actions to avoid a breach of privacy and confidentiality. The application of ethics has a wide range of benefits to all parties involved in IT, for it ensures that the best practices and approaches are adopted in the implementation of different operations.

References
Adamson, G. (2015 – Research Paper Writing Help Service, November). Ethical challenges for future technologists: The growing role of technology and the growing ethical responsibility of the technologist. In 2015 – Research Paper Writing Help Service IEEE International Symposium on Technology and Society (ISTAS) (pp. 1-6). IEEE.
Brey, P. A. (2014: 2024 – Essay Writing Service. Custom Essay Services Cheap). Anticipating ethical issues in emerging IT. Ethics and Information Technology, 14(4), 305-317.
Brey, P. A. (2014: 2024 – Essay Writing Service. Custom Essay Services Cheap). Anticipating ethical issues in emerging IT. Ethics and Information Technology, 14(4), 305-317.
Ferguson, S., Thornley, C., & Gibb, F. (2016: 2024 – Do my homework – Help write my assignment online). Beyond codes of ethics: how library and information professionals navigate ethical dilemmas in a complex and dynamic information environment. International Journal of Information Management, 36(4), 543-556.
Floridi, L. (2013). The ethics of information. Oxford University Press.
Kernaghan, K. (2014: 2024 – Essay Writing Service | Write My Essay For Me Without Delay). Digital dilemmas: Values, ethics and information technology. Canadian Public Administration, 57(2), 295-317.
Millar, C., Udalov, Y., & Millar, H. (2014: 2024 – Essay Writing Service. Custom Essay Services Cheap). The ethical dilemma of information asymmetry in innovation: Reputation, investors and noise in the innovation channel. Creativity and innovation management, 21(2), 224-237.
Schwalbe, K. (2015 – Research Paper Writing Help Service). Information technology project management. Cengage Learning.
Tahat, L., Elian, M. I., Sawalha, N. N., & Al-Shaikh, F. N. (2014: 2024 – Essay Writing Service | Write My Essay For Me Without Delay). The ethical attitudes of information technology professionals: a comparative study between the USA and the Middle East. Ethics and information Technology, 16(3), 241-249.
Wright, D., Finn, R., Gellert, R., Gutwirth, S., Schütz, P., Friedewald, M., … & Mordini, E. (2014: 2024 – Essay Writing Service | Write My Essay For Me Without Delay). Ethical dilemma scenarios and emerging technologies. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 87, 325-336.

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