Strictest Code Of Ethics Essay

In 1986, Richard Mason defined the necessary ethical guidelines for proper and moral handling of information, and the technology that supports that information. He defined these ethical guidelines as PAPA, which refers to Privacy, Accuracy, Property, and Accessibility (Mason, 1986). With the rapid expansion of information technology, these core ethical principles have become more important than ever, in both personal and professional environments. Unfortunately, the rapid expansion of information technology presents a host of new and unprecedented challenges to these ethical strategies. As an aspiring network administrator, adherence to this core code of values is imperative. Despite the fact that the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution

Furthermore, in an age where intellectual property is often far more valuable than physical property, ethical concerns regarding property must be analyzed, and addressed in a proper manner. Finally, as a network administrator, ensuring accessibility to resources is paramount for any organization. In spite of the fact that Mason defined these core ethical principles thirty years ago, they must be applied today as an individual, student, and professional, in the interest of maintaining the strictest code of ethical behavior and morality. Unquestionably, privacy is essential to every individual, whether a student, professional, or the average person at using the Internet. In a professional setting, the privacy of information is essential. In the era of industrial espionage and theft of intellectual property, the privacy organizational data must be protected at all costs. On a personal-use basis, most users are unaware that data is collected perpetually, invading the end user’s privacy on an everyday basis. Generally, this information is referred to as personally identifying information (Ciocchetti, 2007). For

Traditionally, informational accuracy refers to “the degree to which the reported value is in conformance with the actual or true value.” (Ballou & Pazer, 1995). As a student and aspiring information technology professional, accuracy is absolutely paramount. Misinformation can lead poor managerial decisions, unfounded accusations, or worse, in the case of safety critical information (Mason, 1986). As a network security professional, accuracy is possibly the most important of Mason’s ethical guidelines. A simple misstep regarding the accuracy of information could compromise an entire network, and in turn, organizational assets. For the personal Internet user, accuracy is necessary in order for the user to make educated and informed decisions. Unfortunately, in this case, it is often up to the user to determine which information is accurate, and which is not (Lucassen & Schraagen, 2011). As a student, the accuracy of information regarding research means a great deal to the quality of work submitted. For example, even though studies have shown that the accuracy of information on Wikipedia is extremely high, the community style nature of submissions combined with the overwhelming number of articles (greater than 3.2 million) creates an unreliable source for research (Lucassen & Schraagen, 2011). However, accuracy is paramount even in personal use situations, and