What Kind of Ethical Issues Related to It We Are Facing Today

IT is a modern technology which deals with the Retrieval & Processing of useful Data where Ethic means the principals of Right and Wrong that are accepted by an individual or a social group. It relates us to the question of what is good or bad in terms of human actions. Information technology is not so terrible itself, but the way humans use the tools given by IT has brought some genuine difficulties.

As much as information technology is critical to our lives, it is confronting some major ethical issues and it is up to the IT specialists and clients of IT to be prepared for these issues. As more emerging information technologies pop up on the market, most of the IT specialists and users don't know how to approach the difficulties caused by these advancements .

Ethical Issues Related to IT: Information technology is facing major challenges which are:

• Security
• Privacy Issues
• Computer Crime
• Software Piracy
• Job Displacement

Security: As the information technology is developing day by day and with the tools given like internet, it has become very easy for hackers to hack into any system as long as it is linked on internet. By using an IP address, they easily access user’s computer and data for their personal reasons. Whenever we are surfing internet, the internet cookies gather the data to expose IT users to high risks of fraud. Many big companies use these cookies to find out which products or services they can advertise to us. Security staff of IT often have access to the secret data and information about company, individuals and networks and frameworks which give them a lot of power. This power can be mishandled at any time.

Daily life example: When we are using online banking or do online shopping and transfer money, our transaction can easily be interrupted by the hackers and our all money transfers to the hackers account and seriously affects the consumers and the banks. Privacy Issues: Information technology has enabled us to share and find relevant information online, but it has also misuse our privacy freedom like use of social networks, we try to connect with our old friends and relatives to share life with them but or shared data gets leaked like photos, people misuse our data and an share it anywhere and expose us to others with wrong intentions. The other example is the use of webcams, someone can easily get access to the webcams and have complete access on our personal life many celebrities have been victims of these online stalkers Daily life Example: Most of us use social networks like Facebook and when someone signed up, his/her personal information gets leaked to other applications and software via Facebook, he receives messages and advertisements as some apps relate to each other.

Computer Crime: Illegal activities performed using a computer through information technology is referred as computer crimes. It includes online harassment, cyber bullying, financial fraud, virus infection etc. a large of amount of money is lost in computer crimes every year and many business respondents become a victim of computer crime. Many people get bully through social media and get concuss. Virus attacks to companies and computer systems are very common.

Daily Life Example: These days there are many cases of cyber bullying and online harassment on internet. Boys bully girls and save their personal information, pictures and harass them concuss them to share their personal pictures which causes problems. Important data of company gets leaked by the employees themselves.

Software Piracy: Illegal copying of software knowingly or unknowingly is called piracy. Copyright agreements are violated by software piracy. Well-known companies like Microsoft can barely feel the loss as they have many ways to protect their software as compared to small scale manufacturers who would greatly be affected as they are most likely sustaining big losses. Their incentive to create new software is also reduced as they get fear in mind that their work would be pirated again. Information technology has made it very easy for the users to access and share the data with friends, music sharing, file downloading, books of authors are easily available and most of the original work has been started downloading for free. It is great for the users, but it is very harmful for the original creator of these files, books and software.

Daily life Example: Software piracy is very common nowadays, expansive software of companies is copied and sell in the markets at a very cheap rate. CDs DVDs of game, operating system software pdf of books which are manufactured with high cost are easily and cheaply available in markets which cause a great loss to the companies. Job Displacement: With the advancement of information technology day by day, companies might not need to deploy a great man power which has created an ethical issue by constraining different organizations go lessen their manpower. And allow other companies to give their employee more work than required which results in increase of their work pressure. Firing an employee from his job or giving him extra workload without an increment is unethical.

Daily Life Example: With the help of technology and developers, companies develop software’s which can perform the desired task for the companies, which allow them to fire their staff. Manpower is decreasing in the organizations Clauses of Cyber Crime Bill:

Unauthorized access to information system or data: Whoever with dishonest intention gains unauthorized access to any information system or data shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three months or with fine which may extend to fifty thousand rupees or with both.

Unauthorized copying or transmission of data: Whoever with dishonest intention and without authorization copies or otherwise transmits or causes to be transmitted any data shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months, or with fine which may extend to one hundred thousand rupees or with both.

Interference with information system or data: Whoever with dishonest intention interferes with or damages or causes to be interfered with or damages any part or whole of an information system or data shall be punished with imprisonment which may extend to two years or with fine which may extend to fire hundred thousand rupees or with both.

Unauthorized access to critical infrastructure information system or data: Whoever with dishonest intention gains unauthorized access to any critical infrastructure information system or data shall be punished with imprisonment which may extend to three years or with fine which may extend to one million rupees or with both.

Unauthorized copying or transmission of critical infrastructure data: Whoever with dishonest intention and without authorization copies or otherwise transmits or causes to be transmitted any critical infrastructure data shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to five years, or with fine which may extend to five million rupees or with both

Interference with critical infrastructure information system or data: Whoever with dishonest intention interferes with or damages, or causes to be interfered with or damaged, any part or whole of a critical information system, or data, shall be punished with imprisonment which may extend to seven years or with fine which may extend to ten million rupees or with both.

Electronic fraud: Whoever with the intent for wrongful gain interferes with or uses any information system, device or data or induces any person to enter into a relationship or deceives any person which act or omission is likely to cause damage or harm to that person or any other person shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years or with fine which may extend to ten million rupees or with both.

Unauthorized use of identity information: Whoever obtains, sells, possesses, transmits or uses another person’s identity information without authorization shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years or with fine which may extend to five million rupees, or with both. Any person whose identity information is obtained. sold, possessed, used or transmitted may apply to the Authority for securing, destroying, blocking access or preventing transmission of identity information referred to in sub-section and the Authority on receipt of such application may take such measures as deemed appropriate for securing, destroying or preventing transmission of such identity information.

Unauthorized interception: Whoever with dishonest intention commits unauthorized interception by technical means of  any transmission that is not intended to be and is not open to the public, from or within an information system; or  electromagnetic emissions from an information system that are carrying data, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years or with fine which may extend to five hundred thousand rupees or with both.

Offences against modesty of a natural person and minor:  Whoever intentionally and publicly exhibits or displays or transmits any information which  superimposes a photograph of the face of a natural person over any sexually explicit image or video; or  includes a photograph or a video of a natural person in sexually explicit conduct;  intimidates a natural person with any sexual act, or any sexually explicit image or video of natural person; or  cultivates, entices or induces a natural person to engage in a sexually explicit act, through an information system to harm a natural person or his reputation, or to take revenge, or to create hatred or to blackmail, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to five years or with fine which may extend to live million rupees or with both.  Whoever commits an offence under sub-section  with respect to a minor shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to ten years and with fine which may extend to ten million rupees:

Provided that in case of a person who has been previously convicted of an offence under sub-section  with respect to a minor shall be punished with imprisonment for a term of fourteen years and with fine. Whoever produces, offers or makes available, distributes or transmits through an information system or procures for himself or for another person or intentionally possesses material in an information system that visually depicts–  a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct;  a person appearing to be a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct; or  realistic images representing a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to seven years, or with fine which may extend to five million rupees or with both. Any aggrieved person or his guardian, where such person is a minor, may apply to the Authority for removal, destruction of or blocking 12 access to such information referred to in sub-sections and  and the Authority, on receipt of such application, may pass such orders as deemed appropriate including an order for removal, destruction, preventing transmission of or blocking access to such information and the Authority may also direct any of its licensees to secure such information including traffic data.

Cyber stalking:  A person commits the offence of cyber stalking who, with the intent to coerce or intimidate or harass any person uses information system, information system network, the internet, website, electronic mail or any other similar means of communicating to-  follow a person or contacts or attempts to contact such person 10 foster personal interaction repeatedly despite a clear indication or disinterest by such person; monitor the use by a person of the Internet, electronic mail, text message or any other form of electronic communication;  watch or spy upon a person in a manner that results in fear of violence or serious alarm or distress, in the mind of such person; or  take a photograph or make a video of any person and displays or distributes it without his consent in a manner that harms a person. Whoever commits the offence specified in sub-section  shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years or with fine which may extend to one million rupees or with both: Provided that if victim of the cyber stalking under sub-section  is a minor the punishment may extend to five years or with fine which may extend to ten million rupees or with both.  Any aggrieved person or his guardian, where such person is a minor, may apply to the Authority for removal, destruction of or blocking access to such information referred to in sub-section  and the Authority, on receipt of such application, shall forthwith pass such orders as deemed reasonable in the circumstances including an order for removal, destruction, preventing transmission of or blocking access to such information and the Authority may also direct any of its licenses to secure such information including traffic data.

Spamming: A person commits the offence of spamming, who with intent transmits harmful, fraudulent, misleading, illegal or unsolicited information to any person without permission of the recipient or who causes any information system to show any such information for wrongful gain. A person including rm institution or an organization engaged in direct marketing shall provide the option to the recipient of direct marketing to unsubscribe from such marketing.  Whoever commits the offence of spamming as described in sub-section  by transmitting harmful, fraudulent, misleading or illegal information, shall be punished with imprisoned t for a term which may, extend to three months or with fine of rupees fifty thousand which may extend rupees five -million or with both. " Whoever commits the offence of spamming as described in sub-section  by transmitting unsolicited information or engages in direct marketing in violation of sub-section , for the first time, shall be punished with fine not exceeding fifty thousand rupees, and for every subsequent violation shall be punished with fine not less than fifty thousand rupees that may extend up to one million rupees.