decide what we must consider ethical and unethical. We must consider all factors so that the use of the information readily available to many persons is not abused. Information technology will be the most fundamental area of ethical concern for business in the next decade.

The most widely used tool of the information age is the computer, whether it is a PC or a network of computer systems. As we enter the information age, the newness and power of information technology's tests the ethics of the average person, not just the criminal's that cause thousands of computer crimes to be committed daily. Problems associated with the information age is, invasion of privacy, computer virus, Internet scamming, junk E-mails, minors viewing pornography, fraud Accounts, illegal downloading, and hacking.

The most common computer crime committed daily, some aware and many not, are the illegal sharing of computer software. Software is any of the programs used in operating a digital computer, as input and output programs. When we purchase computer software, we purchase

estimated that in the year 2000 alone that software companies lost $20 billion from illegal software copying. It is not only illegal, but also clearly unethical to distribute software knowing that the people behind the software are experiencing the downfalls of it. Every time software companies cannot compensate their programmers for their work, more people are out of a job.

In 1989, three computer crime studies were sponsored by the National Institute of Justice. One of these studies examined different organizational approaches for computer crime investigation and prosecution, another documented the experiences of several dedicated computer crime units, and the third developed a computer crime investigation handbook. Computers are a permanent fact of life in work places and classrooms across the country. More businesses are likely to incorporate policies on information access and confidentiality in their employee orientation and training programs. Many schools and universities, responding from pressure around them, are beginning to incorporate computer ethics into their courses.

As young people interact with hackers, they incorporate the beliefs of the hackers into their own. Many of these unconventional beliefs of young hackers about information and computers lead them to a career in computer crime. Many times it is the lack of education by parents and schools that helps to make these beliefs all the more true to a young person. Computer criminals have their own set of beliefs about information and computers. Their beliefs are based on obvious unethical reasoning. For example, hackers believe that computerized data are free and should be accessible to anyone. They also believe that passwords and other security features are simply obstacles to be overcome in obtaining data that should already be available and while data should never be destroyed, there is nothing wrong with viewing and transferring data for one's own use. One member of the Legion of Doom, a nationwide group of hackers who exchange information about computer systems and techniques to break into them, has said, "Hackers will do just about anything to break into a computer except crashing a system, that's th

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Approximate Word count = 1478
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)