Security in Computing, Third Edition

9.8. Case Studies of Ethics

To understand how ethics affect professional actions, ethicists often study example situations. The remainder of this section consists of several representative examples. These cases are modeled after ones developed by Parker [PAR79] as part of the AFIPS/NSF study of ethics in computing and technology. Each case study is designed to bring out certain ethical points, some of which are listed following the case. You should reflect on each case, determining for yourself what the most influential points are. These cases are suitable for use in a class discussion, during which other values will certainly be mentioned. Finally, each case reaches no conclusion because each individual must assess the ethical situation alone. ...