Computer Ethics - An assignment given to students PDF

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An assignment given to students...

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Topic: Ethics in Computer Systems Introduction Ethics constitute principles of morality that define behavior of people towards a course or how they conduct a certain activity within a particular field. Computer ethics define the standards of moral conduct that people should ensure when using computers. This involves maintaining the security of the system and proper handling of the hardware systems. These ethics are either personal or defined in the workplace. Nowadays computers have been incorporated in many disciplines such as business, communication, education among other fields. These computers have brought about both positive and negative effects on the users and consequently to the education system, family life and also human relationships. To ensure better human service by computers, the users have to adhere to the moral principles recorded in computer ethics. Computer ethics focuses on the issue of accountability, liability, responsibility, obligation and the system quality as well as the quality of life. The code of conduct as pertaining to computer ethics has to be kept to the latter if humanity is to survive from the many threats and malicious codes that come along with computer systems (Moor, p.32). These computer ethics comprise guidelines to ensure proper handling and usage of the computer system. One of the guidelines is that a person must not access information or data meant for the other person. Many are the times people like to explore and get to know what others are doing with their computers. This behavior is very common to many, and it could result in the viewing of information which is critical to a person and therefore compromising the state of the person. Another guideline one should uphold the confidentiality of the data they handle especially in an organizational setup (Moor, p.32). Every worker has assignments which they work on and produces information and data concerning the work. Therefore maintaining the

privacy of data is paramount. Sharing of such information can comprise the organization in terms of susceptibility to hacking and theft. In addition, in the workplace, it is required that publishing unauthorized information through the internet should be avoided. Publishing such information may reach out to many people including hackers who have intentions to ruin an organization. With such information, the hackers can know how to maneuver around and get to the core data this compromising an entire organization. Again, it is ethical not to use software that is pirated (Moor, p.32). Many of the links we click in the websites contain ads which pop up that lure us into clicking on them. Hackers and potential criminals have designed malicious codes and software which they embed to commonly visited sites targeting potential victims. Also, pirated software has been common since it is free and humanity has had a tendency of loving free things. Once this software is downloaded and installed in our computers, the developers of the software manipulate the software to accessing data and information within those computers, and this could compromise the privacy of oneself and an organization. Moreover, a computer should not be used to carry out harmful acts on others. Some people write programs and malicious codes that can destroy or comprise their data on their computers. These programs interfere with the privacy of the other and may distort their data. Also, some people use computers to make bombs which could harm many people once launched. Therefore it is important to respect the privacy of others and uphold organization ethics through computer use. Computers have been used to perform malicious activity around the world with cybercrime being among such activity. Cybercrime has become a world-wide threat not only to people but also to nations (Gotterbarn, p.58). The internet has facilitated many of the crimes as

cybercrime evolve at a fast rate. Cybercrime involves activities such as hacking, inciting terrorism, spreading hate, identity theft, phishing and distributing pornography on children. Phishing entices internet users to download a particular harmful application which may make them provide personal details. All these aspects of cybercrime target certain bodies, people or states. Hacking has enabled access to personal information such as emails and identification documents which result in identity theft. The main objective of doers of cybercrime is financial gain although just others seek to destroy the reputation and products of targeted organizations. Attackers make malicious codes and programs which they run in victims’ computers enabling them to gain control to such computers. They spread these codes and programs across computers and machines to gain profit. The attackers seek for information about a potential target and even use workers within an organization to help in providing passwords and IP addresses of the computer to ensure a successful process. Conclusion Despite cybercrime threats around the world, measures have been taken to reduce the risks of cyber-attack. They include installation of an antivirus which blocks an untrusted application from installing into a computer. Again, using a VPN to hide a computer IP address helps prevent attackers from gaining access. Furthermore, the use of a password manager helps in storing passwords in an encrypted vault where attackers can't reach. Finally, it is important to understand that computers can destroy humanity and unless these ethics are upheld, then danger awaits us.

Works cited

"GEN 110: Computers And Society - An Introduction To Ethicalissues In Computing". Home.Adelphi.Edu, 2019, https://home.adelphi.edu/~siegfried/gen110/social.html. Gotterbarn, Donald. "The use and abuse of computer ethics." Computer Ethics. Routledge, 2017. 57-62. Retrieved from https://www.cloudwards.net/cybercrime/ Moor, James H. "What is Computer Ethics?." Computer Ethics. Routledge, 2017. 31-40. Retrived from http://www.infosectoday.com/Articles/Intro_Computer_Ethics.htm...