IS/IT Ethics
Ethics: A set of moral principles; the discipline of dealing with what is right and wrong
Cyberethics: “The study of moral, legal, and ethical issues involving the use of information and
communication technologies.”
ISACA Code of Professional Ethics:
IT Auditors should:
1. Perform their duties with objectivity, due diligence, and professional care (I will talk
more about on next slide)
2. Serve in the interest of stakeholders
3. Maintain the privacy and confidentiality of information
4. Maintain competency in their respective fields; don’t take on engagements that they
cannot perform accurately
5. Inform appropriate parties of the results of work performed
6. Support the professional education of stakeholders, clients, etc. in enhancing their
understanding of information systems security and control.
Due professional care: “Level of diligence that a prudent and competent expert would exercise
under a given set of circumstances.”
Scenarios:
1) You are the entire information technology department for a small firm with 20 employees.
The president of the company believes some of the employees are spending far too much time on
the Internet doing tasks not related to work. The president asks you to start monitoring
employees’ Internet usage without their knowledge, something you could easily do from a
technological standpoint. What do you do?
A. Start monitoring employees’ email and Web usage, as the president has asked
B. Suggest that an acceptable Internet-use policy be developed
C. Talk to employees and tell them what the president has in mind so they’ll change their
habits
2) Carrie, an employee at an accounting firm, tells her colleague, Phil, that she found something
during her work on an engagement that she believes is a problem. The client has dismissed the
issue and asked her to “trust him on this one.” Furthermore, her Senior Manager on the
engagement has been focused on finishing the engagement and has not addressed her concern.
What should Carrie do?
A. Let the issue go. She was rejected the first time she raised it so it must not be a big deal
B. Avoid going around her Senior Manager at all costs. If she angers him, she may get a poor
evaluation or reputation as a troublemaker
C. Consult with another superior, the Engagement Partner
D. Report her concern using one of the firm’s channels of communication
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