(paragraph 3) These questions demand that ethical principles be applied to their resolution because
without the consideration of ethics, these gray areas can easily become completely black.
To begin with, it seems that there are four big areas of computer ethics. They are "(1) computer crime;
(2) responsibility for computer failure; (3) protection of computer property, records, and software; and
(4) privacy of the company, workers, and customers”. (De George 338) This part of our discussion will
focus primarily on computer crime and privacy.
(paragraph 4) Computer Crime is intellectual, white-collar crime. Those that commit such crimes must
be intelligent enough to manipulate a computer system and in such a position to access it in the first
place. One example of computer crime is stealing funds via computer. Often the worst that can happen to
such a thief is that he/she is merely required to return the stolen money. Many times that person will be
fired, assuming he/she is an employee, but may be quickly hired by a competitor because of his/her skill.
This creates practically no deterrent to committing computer theft because legal action is not often taken
against the perpetrator.
(paragraph 5) Another example is unauthorized computer entry. In entering a computer unauthorized,
the perpetrator can steal a company's trade secrets and data. Such a crime could be committed by an
employee aiming to sell such secrets to a competitor or by an outside source wanting to steal such secrets
to promote his/her own well-being. This crime involves both an invasion of property and privacy and
also compromises the computer system itself.
(paragraph 6) This crime goes along with the idea of hacking. Hacking is defined as "any computerrelated
activity which is not sanctioned or approved of by an employer or owner of a system or network”
(Forester 44). Such an activity deals with the ethical dilemma of who actually owns information and who
should have access to that information. At many universities, Computer Science professors have their
students hack into the university's system to prove their skill and knowledge of computer systems.
(paragraph 7) Thisposes a serious ethical dilemma. Since the students are not causing any harm to the system, is such an action morally reprehensible or acceptable? Many computer professionals feel that this
act is not ethically sanctioned and the Computer Science professors must address the issue of computer
ethics more fervently in their classes.
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(paragraph 8) Computer technology brings about a whole new field of ethical dilemmas. From computer
crime to privacy to the power of computer professionals, this technology has shifted the way the business
world must think about ethical decisions. Yet this is difficult because there is no overarching positive
ethical force in the American business community. Combined with the fact that technology changes so
rapidly, it is hard to establish firm moral codes of conduct regarding computers and follow them strictly.