Computer Crime? Computer Mistakes? Computer Waste? Internet Issues?

Security, Privacy & Ethical Issues in Information Systems and the Internet

‘Effective advertising is the key to keeping the Internet free, and personalized ads allow consumers to see information about goods and services that are relevant to their lives’- Josh Isay

Computer crime is a serious and rapidly growing area of concern requiring management attention (Chiu, 2000). Intentional computer crime is rapidly increasing throughout the world due to the advancement in the IT industry especially IT Finance industry. Many hackers intentionally create crime to steal the information from the IT Finance industry and sell to others to make high amount of profits. Intentional computer crime requires the attention of management and security specialists to prevent the loss of importance data and privacy of the clients.

The use of information systems and technology impacts individuals, groups, and societies. Technology must be used ethically and designed to avoid injuring humans. There are two common kind of ethical issues in information systems which are computer waste and computer mistakes.

Computer Waste and Mistakes

Computer waste and mistakes contribute to computer problems, high costs, lost profits, and angry customers.

What computer waste mean?

Computer waste refers to the inappropriate use of computer technology and services in an organization or community. Many employees inside the organizational have no idea what is computer waste.

What you understand about Computer Waste?

Computer waste represents 2 percent of American’s trash in landfills, but it equals to 70 percent of overall toxic waste. The extreme amount of lead in electronics alone causes damage in the central and peripheral nervous system, the blood and the kidneys. There are about 20 to 50 million metric tons of computer waste are disposed worldwide every year. It is a terrible amount of toxic produced by human. However, there are only 12.5 percent of total computer waste is currently recycled. The develop countries such as United States of America, United Kingdom, Canada and German are the leading countries in recycling the computer waste, four of the develop countries have 80 percent from the 12.5 percent.

Computer waste is widespread in the public and private sectors, and is usually caused by the improper management of information system technology. Some organizations discard usable hardware and software that could be used elsewhere in the organization, or sold or donated. Another example of computer waste occurs when significant resources are invested in the development of an information system, and then it is never used to its fullest extent. This happens for many reasons, but poor design and inadequate training are major causes. Employees playing computer games or surfing the Web at their desks on working time is also a source of waste, as are junk e-mail and junk faxes from other organizations or hackers. 

What Computer Mistake mean?

Computer mistakes include errors, failures, and related problems that cause computer output to be incorrect or not useful. Most of the computer related mistakes are caused by human error. There are few common mistakes that employees or normal households will involve such as clicking on advertisements. For example, a free iPod! Worth $500 gift card! From the famous website such as Amazon.com, Walmart.com and etc. which the design is 99.99% seem alike but not the official company promotion. The hackers will replicate and use the well-known company website to attract and make the individual believe on it. Then they will steal the data from the computer not only the personal data but also the clients’ data.

How to avoid computer waste and mistakes?

Policies and procedures must be established to avoid computer waste and mistakes. Although often unintentional, computer waste and mistake can be costly. Organizational policies and procedures can help to avoid losses. Many employees tend to make the unintentional computer waste and mistake that caused the organization to pay a high amount to settle and repair the waste and mistake.

Preventive policies and procedures typically address the issues listed above. Procedures relating to the acquisition and use of computers can avoid both waste and mistakes. For example, procedures could ensure that computers no longer needed in one part of the organization would be used in another part of the organization, rather than discarded the computers.

Employees and groups are less likely to make mistake of using the applications and technology if they have been properly trained with ethics and the proper usage of organization’s computers. Many organizations require that systems or applications meeting certain criteria must be approved by a committee or the Information System department before the manager of any department acquire d and implemented, to ensure they are compatible with the existing systems, database and technology. It also must be cost-effective. Besides that they also established procedures to ensure that all systems including those developed by end users, have adequate documentation.

Security and Privacy of Information Systems and the Internet

What is computer crime?

Computer crime us relatively risk free, compared to crimes such as bank robbery which might involve murdering of human. And yet it can often escape detection. Furthermore, due to computer processing speed and data communications, large amounts of money can be quickly stolen or diverted with the right know-how and equipment. Computer Crime in the recent world involve of wide range of categories, such as introducing Viruses, Stealing Credit Card Numbers from online systems, and crashing Websites. The computer crimes have causes more than 10 Billion USD lost in the European countries. Even with policies in place, computer crimes can occur in an organization.

How computer being as a Tool to Commit Crime?

Computers can be used to access valuable information or steal funds. Individuals need to know how to gain access to the target computer system and know what to do to the system to achieve their objectives. Often, criminals gain the critical computer passwords or access codes needed simply by talking to employees. This is what we called the “Social Engineering”.

How to Prevent from Computer Crime?

Installed Firewalls in the computer. Firewall can help secure an organization’s information system from unauthorized external access. It is very important for organizations to develop and enforce effective Internet Security policies for all the employees. Many companies have taken steps to fight computer crime such as BERJAYA University College of Hospitality (BERJAYA UCH) has banned some unauthorized websites such as high potential forum (Crack Code Forum USA).

Since preventing computer crime requires additional controls on information systems, organizations must identify potential computer-related crime, the consequences of that crime, and the cost and complexity of the controls needed to protect against loss from the crime.  Sometimes, the cost of the controls may outweigh the potential for loss.

What is Privacy?

Privacy is the right to be out of public view or to be left alone.  With today’s information systems and networks, the right to privacy has become a challenge (IBM, 2013).  Data is continually collected and stored about personal details and often transmitted over networks without the user knowledge. Data collected normally will store inside countless database throughout the world.

Right to Privacy

The Internet poses major privacy issues which majorly involve private data about individuals is easily accessible, sometimes without charge.  The European Union has enacted privacy legislation that applies to all firms doing business in Europe. Although there is legislation before the U.S. Congress addressing Internet privacy, US citizens and businesses are skeptical about government involvement. The Online Privacy Alliance, a group supported by large companies such as AT&T, Microsoft and Walt Disney, is developing a voluntary code of conduct for Internet businesses to employ (US Department of Justice, 2013).

In conclusion, government has to play an important role in preventing the computer crime as well as the computer waste. Government can impose the new cyber laws to regulate the problem. However, government has to be careful when dealing with the cyber laws because every countries have different rules and regulations. International laws are much suitable for any country government to in use as it more accepted by most countries in the world. 

References 

Chiu.A.S (2007). The ethics of Internet Privacy.

IBM (2013). Protect Data Privacy. [online]. Availabe at http://www-01.ibm.com/software/data/optim/protect-data-privacy/

Isay.J (2002). Director of Public Policy at DoubleClick, Inc. [online]. Available at http://www.doubleclick.net/company_info/press_kit/pr.00.03.02.htm

US Department of Justice. (2013). [online]. Available at http://www.justice.gov/

Child Labours???

When talk about business ethics, I will think about the child labors because the NIKE factory has been the news about using the child labors to manufacture the Sport Shoe. They are aims for the quantity but not the quality of the shoes. And yet they are producing the Sport shoes with unethical mind-set. Nevertheless, they are promoting the shoes with the charity events. They are really the ‘Money Mind –Set Organization’. 

For the child labors, I will think of the poem, ‘the cry of the child’. Some of the part of the poem that describes the heart suffers moment of the child as below:

‘Do ye hear the children weeping, O my brothers,

Ere the sorrow comes with years….

They are weeping in the playtime of the others

In the country of the free….

‘How long’, they say, ‘how long, O cruel nation,

Will you stand, to move the world, on a child’s heart?’

BY Elizabeth Barret Browning, 1843. In her poem, she expressed the bitter life of the child in the sense of being a child labor. 

According to U.S. Department of Labor’s (2012) stated that Child labor under international standards means all work performed by a person who is below the age of 15. However, some countries practice the law which the child labor is the workforce below the age of 18. In the context of International standards that the person who age below 18 and perform the following practice:

i.                     All forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery, such as the sale or trafficking of children, debt bondage and serfdom, or forced or compulsory labor, including forced or compulsory recruitment of children for use in armed conflict

ii.                   The use, procuring or offering of a child for prostitution, for the production of pornography or for pornographic purposes

iii.                  The use, procuring or offering of a child for illicit activities in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs

iv.                 Work which, by its nature or the circumstances in which it is carried out, is likely to harm the health, safety or morals of children

Developing nations and globalization has led to the consequent exploitation of labor especially with children. The work condition for the child labors is very bad and is normally below the safety standards, the job is insecure, low wages and low standards of living. The employer is unethical and they ignored the human right of the children.

In my view of the human right of children, the employer should not employ the child labors. Child labor is terribly harmful for children both physically and mentally as it stops them form receiving a decent of education. They will not have a fun and enjoying childhood period. The children will just know how to work and earn money with those terribly experiences since their young time. No one in the develop country will know their bitter and suffering childhood’s histories.

The causes and beginnings of the child labors started this process were enflamed from drastic change of economic situation; poverty and starvation were the primary result. For surviving in the change world, the little children have to stand out and work. As a matter of fact, child labor first began during the period of urbanization, industrialization and war during the early 1900’s. Industrialization caused child labor when power driven machines replaced hand labor for the making of manufactured items and a new source of labor to run the machines was needed. Children have the high potential because they learned the operation of the machines is faster than the old folk. The cost of hiring the child labor is far cheaper than hiring the skillful workers or adult workers. The unethical employers trained the child labors to be loyal to the company since their young time because the children are easy to be educated since they know nothing about the changing world.

In addition, wars occurred also bring the children into the dark side of the shadow where they have to take part directly in hostilities by being child soldiers. Child soldiers are normally used in the support roles such as spies and messengers. Due to the globalization, the percentage of child labors has been decrease in certain extends but in the developing countries, they still have increased in the percentage of child labors. There is millions of children work just to help their families but not in harmful or exploitative ways.

According to ILO (2012) states that about 150 million children aged 5 to 14 which is as high as 16 percent of all children in the age group, are being involved in child labor. This group of children is the group that not receiving proper nutrition or care due to most of them looks so sick. They are denied the chance to be children. The ILO estimates that 1.2 million children are trafficked each year, and this act has been internationally recognized as a major human right violation. It has been occurred throughout the region in the world.

The pity and helpless children are moved around the world as they are packed and ship through the Cargo. They are beings sold, bought and exchanged like the goods in the market. Then the people will send them to different regions or workplaces to work. Most of the child labors are working in the agriculture sector. Children working with the agriculture must face the longest hours of extreme temperatures as the workplace is under the direct exposure of sunlight. Besides that their health are at risk because they will be directed the exposure of the pesticides and insecticides. The child labors is that famous in the agriculture sector because they are cheap labor, the employers have just needed to pay little amount of salary or some even not paying a single cent. The child labors have inadequate food, water and sanitation.

The agriculture sector is not the worst sector to work because the child labors who work in the mining and quarrying will be more suffered. They have to be suffered from extremely high illness and injury during the work in progress. What they do in the mining or quarrying? They will require breaking up rocks, and wash, sieve and carrying ore. Many of the child labors are require working underground setting the explosives and carrying loads. It is really unfair to the children as the highly dangerous tasks are being carried by the children. The adults should be the one who responsible for this kind of task.

Last form of child labor is prostitution. This is the official and commercial sexual exploitation of children especially the female children. A minor group of child who are less than 18 years old performs the services of prostitution just for the self-financial benefit. Furthermore, there are situations in which the people travel to foreign countries in order to avoid law against the child prostitution which are present in their country. This is so called the child sex tourism.

As the conclusion of the blog, I would like to rise again how serious if the children has no childhood experiences. They will not know what fun is, what the enjoyable moment is and what the enjoyable experience is for their childhood. They will bring the sadness and hard work from suffer life into the end of their life even the coffin. So, the child protection association has to protect the human right of the children.  

References

U.S. Department of Labor’s (2012). List of Goods Produced By Child Labor or Forced Labor. Published by Department of Labor, USA

When most people think of ethics, they will most likely think of rules for distinguishing between right and wrong, such as the Golden Rule, a code of professional conduct like the Hippocratic Oath, a religious creed like the Ten Commandments, or a wise aphorism like the sayings of Confucius. This is the most common way of defining ethic as norms for conduct that distinguish between acceptable and unacceptable behaviour of the norms or mankind.

Most people in the world will learn ethical norms at home, at school, in church, or in other social settings. Although most people acquire their sense of right and wrong during childhood, moral development occurs throughout life and human beings pass through different stages of growth as they mature. Ethical norms are so ubiquitous that one might be tempted to regard them as simple common sense of behaviour. On the other hand, if morality were nothing more than common sense, then why are there so many ethical disputes and issues in our society?

According to the Ethics Resource Centre’s research report that non-unionized employees perceive stronger ethical cultures within their organizations than their unionized counterparts. The non-profit organization also reports that young workers are more likely to perceive weak ethical cultures within their companies than older ones. Managers also tend to value stronger ethical cultures than employees in non-management positions. It is the duty as a manager to incorporate and manage a strong ethical culture within the business. Workplace ethics are significant to your business and provide numerous benefits.

One plausible explanation of these disagreements is that all people recognize some common ethical norms but different individuals interpret, apply, and balance these norms in different ways in light of their own values and life experiences.

 Most societies have their legal rules that govern behaviour of their people but ethical norms tend to be broader and more informal than laws. Although most of the societies in the recent world use laws to enforce widely accepted moral standards and ethical and legal rules use similar concepts, it is important to remember that ethics and laws are total two different things. For example, an action may be legal to carry out but not mean that it is ethical or the action is illegal but ethical. As the knowledgeable societies appear in the neighbourhood, they tend to use ethical concepts and principles to criticize, evaluate, propose or interpret the right or wrong from the judgement of laws.

In addition, there is another way that most societies will define ethics as the disciplines that study standards of conduct. For me, I will rather define ethics as the method, procedure or perspective for deciding a complex issue like global warming and the environment pollution, an economical issue, ecological issue, political issue or an ethical perspective issue on the problem solving point of view. For example, the economist will examine the cost and benefits of various policies related to global warming while the environmental protectors will examine the ethical values and principles related to the cause of global warming.

In conclusion, action with ethics is much important than action with legal. However, if possible mankind must carry out the task or action with ethical and legal in the view of laws. The societies must take their responsibility in adapting the ethical change through the various codes of ethics such as openness, carefulness, social responsibility and honest. With those codes of ethics, we can have a harmony and better society. The codes can create the trust among the different societies. There are several ethical principles that I think it is widely addressed by philosopher through various codes:

Honesty: Strive for honesty in all scientific bias in experimental design, data analysis, data interpretation, peer review, personnel decisions, grant writing, expert testimony, and other aspects of research where objectivity is expected or required. Avoid or minimize bias or self-deception. While in the society point of view, one must know the objective to start a conversation to the others. It is really very important for us to own the objective of life before the new life start. Disclose personal or financial interests that may affect research on human experiment.

Carefulness: Avoid careless errors and negligence; carefully and critically examine our own work and the work with peers in the scientific field. Keep good records of research activities, such as data collection, research design, and correspondence with agencies or journals to avoid the previous careless mistake. While in the society point of view, one must careful what he/she said and what he/she did to avoid being involved in the social conflict which may be result in the law cases. Keep the good image and impression for other towards ourselves which correspondence to the future status in the society.

Social Responsibility: Strive to promote social good and prevent or mitigate social harms through research, public education, and advocacy. In the United States of America, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is the organization or government body that doing the research and respond to the social about everything the consumers might be used in the daily life. Once the product is examined and positive result then they will announce and take the action. The society must take the responsibility to protect other life especially those who have high education level because they know more information about contain of the products.

Openness: Share data, results, ideas tools, or resources to everyone if is not the private and confidential. The scientist must share the finding with the societies when they get the recent result from the research to update the mind-set of the society. On the point of view of the society towards the openness is that they have to accept the positive criticism from other for their own good.

Human subjects Protection: When conducting research on human subjects minimize harms and risks and maximize benefits; respect human dignity, privacy, and autonomy; take special precautions with vulnerable populations; and strive to distribute the benefits and burdens of research fairly. In the point of view of the social that the human subjects Protection have to be strongly encouraged in order to maximize the benefits and minimize the lost. The privacy has to be protected through the laws and rules of the society. Private and confidential must be used in this case.

 References

A Guide To Research Ethics, 2003. University of Minnesota Center For Bioethics. Available at http://www.ahc.umn.edu/img/assets/26104/Research_Ethics.pdf

Berg. K. 1993. The need for laws, rules and good practices to secure optimal disease control. In: Ethics and Human Genetics. Proceedings of the 2^nd Symposium of the Council of Europe on Bioethics, 30 November- 2 December 1993. Strasbourg: Council of Europe Press, 1994: 122-134

Berg.K. 2001. The Ethics of Benefits sharing. Clinical Genetics. Issn: 0009-9163

Ranuia, 2006. Business Ethics as competitive Advantage for Companies in the Globalization Era. Published by Alexandria University Article Press

Research ethcis committees: Basic Concepts for Capacity-building. World Health Organization. Available atr http://www.who.int/ethics/Ethics_basic_concepts_ENG.pdf

Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research involving Humans, 2010. Canadian Institutes of health research. Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada. Catalogue No: Mr21-18/2010E-PDF. ISBN 978-1-100-17237-81