Ethics and Computer Security
In the recent discussion of the required specifications of our new computer security product, the issue of including backdoor in the product was brought up. This backdoor would allow anyone knowing this special password to access anything going on in the system and would also allow one possessing the password to read personal files and email of employees. While many thought this was a good idea, there were also many that disapproved of it. Those in favor of the "feature" say that it will allow system administrators and executives to better monitor network activity and their employee's productivity. Also noted was that about 15% of our corporate clients had requested this sort of feature. Those against the backdoor expressed privacy concerns, citing that reading email of company employees (which this feature would allow) is unjust and an invasion of privacy. Many also cited that having a backdoor could be a great security concern if the password were to fall into the wrong hands or if those who it has been entrusted to abuse its use. If this were to happen our company might be greatly blamed for any instances of "hacking" or attacks on our clients systems. This could damage our reputation as a reliable securi
Another possible alternative is to appease those who have requested this "feature" by offering two versions of the software, one with the feature and one without. Perhaps we could charge more money for the one that includes the feature. But at the very least this would give our clients a choice. There are many facts pertaining to this issue. First of all, the decision-maker in this situation is important. The purpose of this memorandum is to give the decision-maker an opportunity to make an informed decision. Apparently this will be a joint decision between our marketing manager and our software-engineering manager. The stakeholders involved this decision are actually a very wide and expansive group. Some of them include our own company (reputation-wise), the companies who use our software, the clients of those companies (consumers), and the employees of those companies. Some other facts to take into account are the dangers of having backdoors as mentioned above; the fact that this feature has been discreetly requested by some of our corporate customers (15%); the issues of privacy involved with reading company email, and also issues involved with private records held within the systems of some of our customers (i.e. medical records, DMV records, etc.). Act-Utilitarianism also can be applied to this decision. While providing great utility for the people who wish to use this backdoor, the consequences for the other stakeholders are great. The net utility of this feature is very low because it violates a vast number of stakeholders' rights. Kant's Duty Ethics can also be applied. It is hard to universalize this issue. Those who use the backdoor would most likely not approve of it if it were being used to monitor their productivity or read their personal email.
Some common words found in the essay are:
, Evaluation Alternatives, Rights Theory, Duty Ethics, Recommendation Based, Ethical Reasoning, include feature, security products, including backdoor, clients requested, models ethical reasoning, appease clients requested, Kant's Duty, company include feature, requirements moral decision, feature software, kant's duty, disutility stakeholders, company include, feature allow, include feature software, versions software,
Approximate Word count = 1289
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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