These ethical principles are the opinions of leaders in computer science, business and technology. If they were put to use in Digital Businesses all around the world eg. ethic principles framed and hung on walls; surely employees would have a better sense of morality and maybe feel that Digital Business is a much more secure industry.
1. Informed consent. Try to make sure that the people affected by a decision are aware of your planned actions and that they either agree with your decision, or disagree but understand your intentions.
2. Higher ethic in the worst case. Think carefully about your possible alternative actions and select the beneficial necessary ones that will cause the least, or no, harm under the worst circumstances.
3. Change of scale test. Consider that an action you may take on a small scale, or by you alone, could result in significant harm if carried out on a larger scale or by many others.
4. Owners' conservation of ownership. As a person who owns or is responsible for information, always make sure that the information is reasonably protected and that ownership of it, and rights to it, are clear to users.
5. Users' conservation of ownership. As a person who uses information, always assume it is owned by others and their interests must be protected unless you explicitly know that you are free to use it in any way that you wish.
Five ethical principles (Parker [1998]).
PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY.
Another factor, which leads to the vulnerability of Digital Business, is the personal responsibility of computer users. ie. we, as the users of the computers. .
As we use computers for day to day Internet browsing, e-mail checking, homework; we sometimes forget that intruders may monitor the very networks which we use. And from this unknowingness we may perform actions which we feel are safe, but in actual fact may lead to stolen e-mail accounts and stolen vital information (Overly [1999]).
To enhance the safety of our computer's information; people, and most of all Digital Businesses, must ensure that the personal responsibility of all its computer users must be exercised.
