Unprofessional and Unethical Computer Technicians' Behaviors - Case Study Example

A Report on Computer Ethics Student Names and Number Lecture Name Date Course Name and Number Institution Affiliation Table of Contents Executive summary 4 5 Introduction 5 Case studies 6 Ethical issues from the case studies 9 Code of ethics 10 Conclusion 14 Reference List 15 List of Table Table 1: Research result 9 Executive summary Code of ethics is defined a set of rules that are usually issued by business to define how the employees should carry themselves when doing business in relation to its ethical standards as well as values. Today information is an important asset to a business or individual. Therefore, it is important for all ICT staff to ensure that data privacy is observed. This report is on theft and privacy of data as ethical issues. It shows how computer technicians behave while they repair computers. It explores some of cases that the technicians were caught in the act. It also covers a research that was carried out in some of the shops. It also explains the code of ethics for ICT professionals. Introduction Ethics is a set of moral values that typically rule the behavior of an individual or a group of people. In ICT, computer ethics is a set of moral values that are used to control the use of computers (Per, 2016). The most common issues in computer ethics involve intellectual property (for example, copy write patent issues), privacy, and the effects that computer has in the society. In computer ethics accessing someone’s information from a computer is said to be unethical. Case studies In Australia, there was a case that was reported on theft of data by a computer technician of an Olympic star. The Olympic star had brought his computer to the shop for repair. The employee accessed machine and copied some intimate photographic of the Olympic star. There are other celebrities and members of the public who found themselves caught in this scam. It was believed that this act was being encouraged by the owner of the shop (Nauman, 2016). The employees would scan the photos and share them on a drive. Although the owner refused to acknowledge this acts saying that he was not aware or targeting sexual images. It was also said that the Sydney shop had made it their culture for employees to compete on getting the intimate pictures of their customers (Nauman, 2016). Further news said that, if a client came in, and they thought he/she had a “potential” to have such images they would compete to have it as the boss would ask them to look for such materials. Their main target was any celebrity or a high profile customer. The main reason as to why they targeted such people was because the boss saw those materials as a prize. In the year 2008, it was also reported that a technician in Best Buy/Geek squad, was involved in a similar act. He copied customer’s nude photographs into his personal flash drives and shared them with his fellow work mates. He went to an extent of copying the same files to other customer’s machines. He copied the photos on the drive where he had up to date diagnostic tools that were used in the Geek Squad and told his workmates to use the drive while diagnosing clients machine. This act led to the photographs being shared and distributed. Under the same company a report by NBC news, says that a lady by the name Nicole March, had bought her laptop in the shop for repair in the year 2011 for a recovery of the hard drive. March, who was a student, had her revealing photographs of herself that were intended for use on her course work. His lawyer says that after almost two years down the line, March received a text from one of the employees saying that he had her nude photographs, and they were being distributed. The employee claimed that he felt 'bad' for her and went on and named other two employees who had played a part in the redistribution of the photographs. She also found out that they had uploaded fifty-four of her pictures online. In the pictures that were online, her face was visible making it possible those who downloaded the photo to know that it was her in the pictures (Popken, 2013). March moved to court to sue Best Buy, for their outrageous conduct as well as invasion of her privacy. According to her attorney, this incident caused some damages to March, such as she suffered mentally, was embarrassed as well as humiliated. These are some, but just a few cases of a technician caught stealing customer information. A research was carried out on a few computer shops on the behavior of computer technicians as they repair machines (Exposed: The PC repair shops that rifle through your photos and passwords, 2009). Sky News with the help of PC Pro readers conducted a research to identify the general behavior of computer technicians as they are left to fix a machine. To accomplish this, they installed some spy software in a laptop. To achieve this, they created a fault on a PC, installed a spy software and took the machine for repair on different shops. They installed Spector Pro software which was programmed to load once the computer was switched on and record all the events that were happening on the machine (Exposed: The PC repair shops that rifle through your photos and passwords, 2009). If the technician opened or looked at a file, they would know of the activity. An event that was performed by the technician would generate a screenshot. They had also installed a tool known as Digiwatcher. This tool runs automatically and uses the webcam to film anyone who is in the machine. To make the computer look like a regular personal laptop, they loaded data on the hard drive. Such as photos, word document, MP3s as well as login details. It made it not to look suspicious. Similar research was carried out on Best Buy Company by The Consumerist. They installed a simple software that was able to detect on-screen activities of the technicians while repairing the computer. It recorded a video. In the video recorded the technician was seen searching some porn files on the hard drive. The Consumerist had created a folder and saved it under the name ‘Smut”. They had hidden the file. The video recorded the technician searching for the video and then copying the file on his thumb drive. He then continued to do a quick clean up on the desktop and returned the file to its original place where they had saved it (Consumer watchdogs catch ‘peek squad’ in the act - page: 1, 2007). The figure below shows the results that were obtained from the research on some of the shops Company How they behaved Charges and owners comments Laptop Revival in Hammersmith They identified the problem and repaired it. After the technician was done he continued to browse through the hard drive. When he saw a folder that was saved as ‘Private’ he went on and opened it viewed the photographs then invited his colleagues to have a look. After he was done snooping he then logged off Another technician was seen logging, started to snoop through the hard drive till he came across log in details. He then copied them into his memory stick as well as photos. He tried to log into the fake online bank account that was created. Says motherboard is faulty and offers too charge them 100 pound instead of 130 Digitech in Putney The problem was fixed well. The problem came in when they started snooping around. Here the technician was recorded looking over his shoulders before going through the photographs. He deleted recent files in an attempt to clean up. They claimed they were testing memory through the photos. Evnova Computers Here the laptop was diagnosed and the problem solved. They claimed that there was a need for a new mother board and when they refused the technician had recreated the same problem When asked they said that they thought the researchers were from their competitors. Micro Anvika They fixed the machine then called and claimed that the needed to examine the machine so that they could identify the fault They over charged the problem of fixing a loose chip. Pix 4 This was the only shop that performed a good work. They fixed machine as they waited. They were not charged. Table 1: Research result Ethical issues from the case studies From the above cases, we find that the computer technician’s behaviors are unprofessional as well as unethical. The following are the unethical issues that arise from these cases are: 1. Violating privacy of the customers- most of the technicians were found snooping through a client's hard drive without their consent. 2. Theft of photographs, as well as personal data- some crews, were caught copying the data and pictures into the drives and later they would circulate them and publish them on the internet 3. Overcharging customers- some companies overcharged their customers on minor repairs. Code of ethics To prevent such unethical issues from happening it is important for every company that is involved in the repair of computers to be a member of Association of Computer Repair Business Owners. They have a code of conduct that has essential guidelines on the professional conduct with fellow workmates, customers and the community as a whole. One has to pledge that he/she will exercise judgment, self-control and conscience in his/her conduct to ensure that there is a public confidence in the integrity of all members as well as ensure that he/she preserve and encourage fair practices among all those who are involved in the industry. The code states that a member should make sure that they follow the following rules 1. They should keep the interest of a client in mind while working. 2. They will inform the customer about the cost that will be charged before starting repair in a place where it applicable. 3. They will keep privacy on customer information and not share it with anyone 4. That they will follow states law while creating a contract with a client 5. That they will do all the works that are required and ensure that they offer a guarantee that is acceptable for all the work performed. 6. That they will seek and keep a professional relationship with ACRBO members. In Australia, we also have a code of conduct in ICT where all companies in ICT can become members. A profession is characterized by the need of its members to follow a code of ethics (Low and Johnson, 2014). For the Australia Computer Society, this code of professional makes up a part of society regulations. It applies to all ACS members who work in ICT field. It is made up of six ethical morals in the professional conduct. Failure to abide by the code can be used as the call for negligence. If a member fails to comply with the law the member can face disciplinary actions asserted by the Australia Computer Society (ACS). By being a member of ACS, one is expected to uphold the following six ethical values in addition to being a loyal citizen. 1. The primacy of the public interest- The first thing they should do is keep the interest of the public above their personal or business interest. 2. Improvement in the quality of life- one is expected to struggle to ensure that there is an improvement on the quality of life of those who are affected by your business. 3. Honesty- one is expected to be very honest when it comes to the representation of knowledge and skills concerning the products and services that they are offering. 4. Competence– one is expected to work diligently for his/her stakeholders. 5. Professional development- all members should ensure that they improve their staff profession as well as their own. 6. Professionalism- they should improve the integrity and respect every member of Australia code of conduct. This code is not aimed at the companies rather for an individual, and you are supposed to use a guideline of acceptable conduct in your profession. It applies to all the members of ACS no matter your role or expertise in ICT field. We find that in the above cases, the companies did not observe both codes of conduct. In the first scenario, they did not keep the interest of their customers in mind. Instead, they had their personal interest in mind. In the first case, we find that the owner of the shop is after the photos so that he can make extra money. If they hard the customers interest, they could not have looked for any information that is personal and make a copy of it in the first place. They did not also ensure the privacy of their customer. We find that they snooped through customer’s computer, and that’s how they found the photos of the Olympic star in a compromising station. If they were to ensure that they observed their customer privacy they could not have gone through his files if it was not necessary and making copies of the photographs. In the second case, best buy/geek squad has their code of ethics although they do not observe it. The reason as to why I am saying this is because, in their conduct code, they clearly state that they are committed to the privacy of their clients. If they are really into it, they could have ensured that privacy was observed, they could not have gone through a customer hard disk to search for pornographic materials or any other thing if it was not necessary. In the second case in the same company where the technician copied the pictures of a nude customer, it is not ethical. The technician went to an extent of sharing the files with his colleagues. He then continued storing the photos on a drive that was mostly used for diagnosis of the machine. Eventually, they were copied in other client’s machine. To observe privacy he should not have copied the files in the first place. Using the Australia Computer Society code of conduct, the above cases failed to meet the values as follows First, in the case where the technician uploaded the Olympic star photographs, the company owner had his interest in mind. He could, for example, blackmail the Olympic star and get money out of it. In the case of Geek Squad where a technician saved photos of a nude woman in his drive, he could also ask for some money. Also, he saved the photos in a drive that diagnostic tools were saved making them be installed in other customer’s computers. It could affect the society in that supposing a child owned the computer when he/she sees such picture his innocence is destroyed. Secondly, in the improvement of the quality of life, in the two cases, there was no increase in the feeling of personal satisfaction. If anything they could cause moral degrading of the child. You will not feel satisfied if you find that the society is seeing your naked photographs. Thirdly, the two incidents’, the technician’s actions tarnished the image of the career as computer technicians. These activities make people not to trust them with their machines in case they need some repairs. Conclusion In this information era, data privacy should be a key concern of each and every one. All companies that are involved in the repair of computer should be very keen on customer privacy. There should be a law that governs these companies, and strong actions should be taken on business or employees who are involved in taking data or information that they do not need while making repair on a machine. In these scenarios, the technician had no right to save the customers information in their drives as well as share it. Therefore, they should have been punished or terminated so that it can be a lesson to other technicians. They failed to observe ethical issues and privacy of their customers. It is such a shame that the professionals who are trusted with a client’s machine do such things. They never followed any code of ethics. Computer owners also have a role to play in ensuring that their personal information is safe as they leave their computers for repair. They should take precautions such as implement access controls such as passwords and encryption. By doing this, they will be sure that at least their data is safe from being copied. Furthermore, they should ensure that at least the company that they entrust with their computers is reputable and adhere to professionalism code of conduct. Reference List Consumer watchdogs catch ‘peek squad’ in the act - page: 1 (2007) Available at: http://www.crn.com/news/channel-programs/200900830/consumer-watchdogs-catch-peek-squad-in-the-act.htm?itc=refresh (Accessed: 5 May 2016). Exposed: The PC repair shops that rifle through your photos and passwords (2009) Available at: http://www.alphr.com/news/262978/exposed-the-pc-repair-shops-that-rifle-through-your-photos-and-passwords/page/0/1 (Accessed: 26 May 2016). Introduction to computer ethics (2009) Available at: http://www.infosectoday.com/Articles/Intro_Computer_Ethics.htm (Accessed: 19 May 2016). Low, G. and Johnson, M. (2014) ACS code of professional conduct professional standards board Australian computer society. Available at: https://www.acs.org.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0014/4901/Code-of-Professional-Conduct_v2.1.pdf (Accessed: 12 May 2016). Nauman, Z. (2016) Sydney computer shop staff steal photos of Australian Olympic star having sex with his wife. Available at: http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/olympians-sex-theft/story-e6freuy9-1226390062192 (Accessed: 10 May 2016). Olympic star’s sex photos stolen (no date) Available at: http://reportedhttp://www.foxsports.com/olympics/story/Olympic-star-sex-photos-stolen-060912 (Accessed: 15 May 2016). Per, C. (2016) Computer ethics definition. Available at: http://techterms.com/definition/computerethics (Accessed: 8 May 2016). Popken, B. (2013) Customer sues best buy, alleges Geek squad worker stole, published nude pics. Available at: http://www.nbcnews.com/tech/security/customer-sues-best-buy-alleges-geek-squad-worker-stole-published-f6C10929636 (Accessed: 19 May 2016). What is a code of ethics? Definition and meaning (2016) in Available at: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/code-of-ethics.html (Accessed: 21 May 2016). Read More