Unethical Use Of Information Technology: Security Threats And Behavioral Issues Essay.

1. Explain information security and how it applies to the Microsoft Windows operating systems.
2. Describe native security features of the Microsoft Windows operating systems.
3. Implement secure access controls for a given enterprise environment.
4. Define and apply Group Policy controls in Microsoft Windows.
5. Design techniques to protect enterprise networks from security vulnerabilities.
6. Develop an enterprise security administration framework to ensure your organization meets its security policy goals.
7. Identify and implement the most effective security controls to make computers and networks as secure as possible.
8. Apply best practices to securing enterprise computers, networks, and applications.
 

The Impact of Information Technology in Business

Extensive use of information technology is playing a major role in the  improvement of the business in the different sector of the industry. There are many advantages of using the information technology in everyday’s business. However, it has been seen that there are some of the issues happened regarding the application of the information technology. One of the major issue regarding this is the unethical use of the information technology. The unethical use of the information technology can cover the vast area o the misuse of information technology [3]. It has been seen  that the main concern about the use of information technology in the business of the industry is the security issues. The technology is exploited in a negative way to breach the data and information from the system. The main objective of this paper is to evaluate the different forms security threats and other issues regarding the use of information technology in the business and the behavioral issues associated with the negative use of the information technology. The identification of the issues and problems will be helpful for the mitigation of the risks from the threats of the information technology [1]. Apart from that the discussion will also address the initiatives to prevent the unethical use of information technology. In order to prevent the unethical use of information technology both technical and non technical frameworks can be applicable. The non technical framework regarding this will include the awareness programs regarding the results and consequences of the unethical use of technology. Apart from that the training of the individuals on maintaining the ethics regarding the use of IT can be included in the framework.  The technical framework to prevent the unethical use of IT includes the application of  TBP and artificial intelligence driven system based on the result of TBP.

In order to understand the significance of the use of the information technology in the business and the industry , the impact of the use is needed to be discussed.  It has been seen that the extensive use of the information technology has helped the business industry to enhance  the flexibility and the functionality of the business [1]. The deployment of the technology has helped the business industry to reduce the overhead cost and offer better service to the consumers along with maintain the standard and the quality of the service. Apart from that managing the  information and maintaining the security of the data  can be achieved through the implementation of the information technology. The automation of the different functionalities of the business helps to save the processing time for the each product thus managing the industry to produce the goods and the services in a large amount in a small time span.

Security Issues in Information Technology

There are several issues regarding the usage of the information technology in the industry. It is uncountable that use of the emerging technology has help the business  industry and the individuals at different levels. The flow of the communication between the individuals and the employees and management has been improved in this course. However, the  deployment of the technology has faced certain problems also [2]. The main concern regarding the use of the technology is that it has been found out the that the use of the technology has been exploited in a negative way.  The most significant result of negative deployment of the technology is the breaching of the security. The  threats for the security and the system is becoming the major concern regarding the usage of the technology. Technology is used to deceive the advantage of the technology [5]. The use of the malware and different virus in the system is the application  of the technology. The breaching of the data from the system and exploiting those data in illegal purpose can be done by different merging technology.  All these practices are violating the goodwill of the business organization.

There are many reasons behind the unethical use of the technology. This paper has chosen the behavioral  factor behind the  unethical use of technology.  The behavioral factor behind the unethical use of the technology  can be regarded as complex phenomenon. It has been found out the tendency of unethical practices with the technology is dependent on various factors like socio economic background of the individuals, the ethical values and the perception of the individuals [7]. The threat in the field of information technology is growing rapidly and the study on the tendency of the deployment of the threats for the security of the information technology is needed to be evaluated. From the ethical theory perspective the evaluation is needed to be done regarding the indulgence of the individuals in the cyber crime [6]. The role of the technology in the unethical behavior is needed to be investigated from the philosophical perspective.  In some cases the exploratory behavior of the ethical philosophy in IT have been discussed.  

In order to  find out the reason behind the unethical use of information technology  from the ethical perspective, the philosophical theory of the ethics is needed to b evaluated. The classification of the ethical theories can be can be categorized in to two types- consequentialist and deontological schools.  Consequentialist  is concerned about the rightness of the action whereas deontological is concerned about the rightness of the act. All these things are measured on the basis of certain predefined rules and regulations. The decision making ability of the individuals is also responsible regarding the unethical practice of the information technology [9]. In this context  both ethical perspectives have been evaluated properly in order to understand the decision making of the individuals for unethical deployment of the information and technology.

The Behavioral Factor behind Unethical Use of Technology

The theory of planed behavior defines the actual behavior as the  real intention to carry out the particular work. It has been seen that sometimes the subjective norms are responsible for these intentions. Subjective norms can be defined as the expectation of the society, family and friends of the individuals [9]. Apart from that the perceived behavioral forms helps the individuals to carry out the behavior.   It has been found out that TBP is an effective framework that can  indicate the inclination of the individuals towards the intention of the unethical doings. In this context TBP has often used as the framework for determining the intention of the individuals for the unethical use of information technology.  However, TBP is not a judgmental approach for determining the unethical intention of the individuals. However, this framework explains the engagement of the individuals to the unethical practices.

Regarding the security of the information there are four ethical issues.  Act of violation of these four factors can be regarded can be regarded as the unethical act for information technology. These four factors are- Privacy, Accuracy, Property and accessibility.

Privacy : Maintaining the privacy of the information is important. Privacy can be defined by the control of the individuals on the information or the data owned by them [11]. Maintaining the privacy will help the individuals to decide over the choices regarding the disclose of the data.   The act of stealing data from the individuals and disclosing the data without the concern of the owner of the data can be regarded as the unethical practice in information technology.

Accuracy: the data  used in the flow of the communication in the information technology is needed to be accurate . This will help the generation of the right information and the functionality of the different sectors will proceed in a right way [10]. It has been seen that group of individuals tend to change the form of  information during the flow of communication. In this case miscommunication happens. In this case this kind of practice can be regarded as unethical doings.

Property: The information or data in the field of information technology is owned by individuals. Denying the ownership of the data can be regarded unethical. Some of the  usage of the technology prevent the data or information being accessed by the owner of that particular information. In this case, this can be regarded as unethical.  

Ethical Perspective of Unethical Use of Information Technology

Accessibility:  The main property of maintain the information security in the field of  information technology is to give the access of the right data and information to the right person. The usage of the username and password are implemented in order to control the accessibility of the data [12]. The controlling of the accessibility of the data helps to maintain the security and the correctness of the data. Apart from that chances of the data modification and data deletion can be prevented in this course.  Sometimes it has been seen practices have been indulged in the breaching of the data and information and the accessibility of the information has been gained through the unethical practices.

Finding the driving forces for the participants in the unethical practice in information technology:

There are some factors those can be considered as the driving force for the unethical practice in the information technology.  The finding of these factors has been done on the basis of consequentialist and deontological perspective of ethics.

Moral intensity: Moral intensity is regarded as the factor important for the ethical decision making .  It has been seen that the person with low moral intensity fails to understand the importance of maintaining  the rules and regulations of handling information in the system [16]. In this case, those individuals can make unethical se of the technology both intentionally or unintentionally.

Moral intensity reflects the perspective of the individuals. The paramount of the moral intensity can be judged by the consequences of the proposed actions. As for example it can be said that intentionally changing the dose of the medicine electronically has greater moral intensity than  using pirated version of the software from peers. Apart from that the beliefs of the individuals are also responsible for the use of the information technology.

Lack of punishment: It has been seen that the laws regarding cyber security  are not well defined in different aspects [14]. Apart from that the steps for taking the actions against the unethical use of the technology including the cyber crime are not clear and ambiguous. In this case, the tendency of not maintain the ethical dignity during the handling of the technology has been seen while the deployment of information technology.

Opportunistic behavior: Sometimes the unethical use of the technology leads to the raise of many opportunities. The opportunistic mentality of the individuals often maximize the chance of unethical practice of the information technology[15]. The high level of the overall gain from the unethical use of the technology also changes the positive perception of the individuals towards the use of the technology. 

The Theory of Planned Behavior and Unethical Use of Information Technology

The use of the technology has certain benefits and challenges. The challenges include the unethical use of the information technology. Sometimes the technology can also cause the unethical behavior. The use of the technology helps to provide the anonymity. This also provokes the individuals to misuse the use of the information technology. It has been found out that socially unacceptable behavior occur more frequently in the computer meditated groups. There are some of the ethical factors those can be defined as the relation between the technology and unethical behavior are facilitation of the resources, facilitation of the technology   and self efficiency of the computers. The facilitation of the resources also provides  no traceability [13]. The advanced use of technology  also provides the availability of interconnected nature of the information technology. This also increases the tendency of the unethical behavior along with the self efficiency of the computer also increases the level of unethical practices.

Mitigation of the unethical practices in information technology:The unethical practices in the information technology is a growing tendency. In this case the identification of the behavioral tendency of the unethical practice can  help to find the solution of this problem[14].  Certain framework can be developed  based on the  ethical theories and philosophical perspective of the human behavior. Apart from that the perception of the individuals can be rectified so that they can understand the consequences of the unethical practices of the information technology.

The evaluation of the unethical use of information technology has been done on the basis of the behavior of the individuals. It can be said that the analysis suggested that  finding the behavioral issues behind the unethical practice  of the information technology is based on the different aspects. The probability of the unethical practice can not be measured through any numerical formula or calculations. On this case the recommended framework for the detection of the probability of the unethical use of information technology can be based on the TBP. The framework will evaluate the personality of the individuals through some of the questions and this will also suggest the controlled and partial monitoring of the  online activities of the users. Based on the analysis the predication can be made for individuals regarding the unethical practice of IT. Both technical and non technical solutions can be implemented  in order to prevent the unethical use of information technology.

Non technical framework to prevent the unethical use of IT: The non technical solution  for the prevention of the unethical use of IT includes different awareness programs those will make individuals understand the consequences of IT. Apart from that the training to the individuals can be given  for maintain the security of the system along with usage of anti virus and firewall. Apart from that making people aware about the consequences and legal steps those can be take for the illegal use of the software and information technology are also included in this framework.

Technical framework to prevent unethical practice in information technology: The basis of the preventing the unethical use of IT  in this case is the analysis of the behavior of the individuals. In this context  artificial intelligence driven software can be developed which will detect the personality type and the behavioral intention of the individuals. Based on the analysis the software can  provide that result which will state the probability of the individuals to use the information technology unethically. In order to develop the software some of the ethical theories can be consulted. The function of this system will be a collaboration of the ethical practices and the ability of psychological analysis. In this case, the software will ask some basic questions related to the individuals those will reflect their  attributes of personality. The systematic and logical analysis of the gathered data will help the system to deliver the result.

Conclusion

The discussion is regarding the unethical use of the information technology and  the connection of this tendency with the behavior of the individual personalities. Regarding this discussion the analysis of the ethical perspective has been done along with their significance in the  ethical decisions making of the individuals. Practices which are defined as the unethical have been categorized and mentioned in this context. It can be said from the above discussion that proper behavioral framework can be beneficial for the development of the situation regarding the unethical behavior in the field of information technology.

References

• Chatterjee, Sutirtha, Suprateek Sarker, and Joseph S. Valacich. "The behavioral roots of information systems security: Exploring key factors related to unethical IT use." Journal of Management Information Systems31, no. 4 (2015): 49-87.
• Charki, Mohamed Hédi, Emmanuel Josserand, and Nabila Boukef. "The paradoxical effects of legal intervention over unethical information technology use: A rational choice theory perspective." The Journal of Strategic Information Systems26, no. 1 (2017): 58-76.
• Jafarkarimi, Hosein, Robab Saadatdoost, Alex Tze Hiang Sim, and Jee Mei Hee. "Behavioral intention in social networking sites ethical dilemmas: An extended model based on theory of planned behavior." Computers in Human Behavior62 (2016): 545-561.
• Punj, Girish. "Consumer intentions to falsify personal information online: unethical or justifiable?." Journal of Marketing Management33, no. 15-16 (2017): 1402-1412.
• Luxton, David D., Susan Leigh Anderson, and Michael Anderson. "Ethical issues and artificial intelligence technologies in behavioral and mental health care." In Artificial Intelligence in Behavioral and Mental Health Care, pp. 255-276. 2016.
• Pierce, Lamar, and Parasuram Balasubramanian. "Behavioral field evidence on psychological and social factors in dishonesty and misconduct." Current Opinion in Psychology6 (2015): 70-76.
• Nill, Alexander, Robert J. Aalberts, Herman Li, and John Schibrowsky. "18. new telecommunication technologies, big data and online behavioral advertising: do we need an ethical analysis?." Handbook on Ethics and Marketing(2015): 387.
• Hadlington, Lee. "Human factors in cybersecurity; examining the link between Internet addiction, impulsivity, attitudes towards cybersecurity, and risky cybersecurity behaviours." Heliyon3, no. 7 (2017): e00346.
• Karimikia, Hadi, Harminder Singh, and Karin Olesen. "Being Useful: How Information Systems Professionals Influence the Use of Information Systems in Enterprises." In System Sciences (HICSS), 2016 49th Hawaii International Conference on, pp. 4719-4728. IEEE, 2016.
• Dadkhah, Mehdi. "New types of fraud in the academic world by cyber criminals." Journal of advanced nursing72, no. 12 (2016): 2951-2953.
• Djajadikerta, Hadrian Geri, Saiyidi Mat Roni, and Terri Trireksani. "Dysfunctional information system behaviors are not all created the same: Challenges to the generalizability of security-based research." Information & Management52, no. 8 (2015): 1012-1024.
• Kotz, David, Carl A. Gunter, Santosh Kumar, and Jonathan P. Weiner. "Privacy and security in mobile health: a research agenda." Computer49, no. 6 (2016): 22.
• Dang-Pham, Duy, Siddhi Pittayachawan, and Vince Bruno. "Applications of social network analysis in behavioural information security research: concepts and empirical analysis." Computers & Security68 (2017): 1-15.
• Jafarkarimi, Hosein, Alex Tze Hiang Sim, Robab Saadatdoost, and Jee Mei Hee. "Designing a Scenario-Based Questionnaire to Assess Behavioral Intention in Social Networking Sites’ Ethical Dilemmas." In Blurring the Boundaries Through Digital Innovation, pp. 145-159. Springer, Cham, 2016.
• Sharma, Shwadhin, and Robert E. Crossler. "Disclosing too much? Situational factors affecting information disclosure in social commerce environment." Electronic Commerce Research and Applications13, no. 5 (2014): 305-319.
• Bandyopadhyay, Tridib, and Humayun Zafar. "Influence of information overload on IT security behavior: a theoretical framework." (2017).