When Ethics and IT Collide

jcatcw writes "IT workers have access to confidential data, and they can see what other employees are doing on their computers or the networks. This can put a good worker in a bad predicament. Bryan, the IT director for the U.S. division of German company, discovered an employee using a company computer to view pornography of Asian women and of children. He reported it but the company ignored it. Subsequently the employee was promoted and moved to China to run a manufacturing plant. That was six years ago but Bryan still regrets not going to the FBI. Other IT workers admit using their admin passwords to snoop through company systems. In a Ponemon Institute poll of more than 16,000 U.S. IT practitioners, 62% said they had accessed another person's computer without permission, 50% read confidential or sensitive information without a legitimate reason, and 42% said they had knowingly violated their company's privacy, security or IT policies. But in the absence of a professional code of ethics, companies struggle to keep corporate policies up to date."

Comments

There *is* a code of ethics

[Anonymous Coward]

The ACM has done at least one thing right:

http://www.acm.org/about/code-of-ethics

There is no Absence!

[beheaderaswp]

There is a professional organization, of which I happen to be a member, Called "LOPSA"- "League of Professional System Administrators".

The code of ethics is found here:

http://lopsa.org/CodeOfEthics

While my IT department does not require membership in this organization, these rules of ethics are *posted* and violations of those rules are a fireable offense!

Are you willing to pay the increasing salaries?

[Colin Smith]

Because there are already professional certifications available for IT people. Speaking from personal experience they currently make bugger all difference to fees or salaries. If you were to require such certifications then the reduction in supply of IT personnel would cause the salaries of the certified to rocket... As it has for lawyers, doctors, accountants etc.

No? Not willing to pay up? Oh well then, you can't really complain.