Code of Ethics Administration Guidelines

The Digital Millenium Copyright Act • A pending problem in the implementation of the listed legal acts, as well as others that will presumably come in the future, lies in the fact that even if the corresponding laws exist in the United States, they do not exist in many other countries. Because of the global nature of the Internet and its presence in countries worldwide, it is very difficult to enforce any court decision.

1.4.3.2 Code of Ethics

The lack of general legal guidance, and often the lack of clear internal administration rules and procedures, presents new challenges in the system administrators job. More freedom in doing the job also means more chances for wrongdoing. Under such circumstances, an extremely responsible attitude of the administrators toward all these challenges is very important. System administrators, regardless of their title and whether or not they are members of a professional organization, are relied upon to ensure proper operation, support, and protection of the computing assets hardware, software, networking, etc.. Unlike problems with most earlier technologies, any problem with computer assets may negatively impact millions of users worldwide — thus such protection is more crucial than equivalent roles within other technologies. The ever−increasing reliance upon computers in all parts of society has led to system administrators having access to more information, particularly information of critical importance to the users, thus increasing the impact that any wrongdoing may have. It is important that all computer users and administrators understand the norms and principles to be applied to the task. At the end of the day, we come to the informal set of behavioral codes known as the code of ethics that each administrator should be aware of. A code of ethics supplies these norms and principles as canons of general concepts. Such a code must be applied by individuals, guided by their professional judgment, within the confines of the environment and situation in which they may be. The code sets forth commitments, responsibilities, and requirements of members of the system administration profession within the computing community. The basic purposes of such a code of ethics are: To provide a set of codified guidelines for ethical directions that system administrators must pursue • To act as a reference for construction of local site acceptable−use policies • To enhance professionalism by promoting ethical behavior • To act as an industry standard reference of behavior in difficult situations, as well as in common ones • To establish a baseline for addressing more complex issues • This code is not a set of enforceable laws, or procedures, or proposed responses to possible administrative situations. It is also not related to sanctions or punishments as consequences of any wrongdoing. A partial overview of one proposal for the code of ethics follows: Code 1: The integrity of a system administrator must be beyond reproach — System administrators must uphold the law and policies as established for the systems and networks they manage, and make all efforts to require the same adherence from the users. Where the law is not clear, or appears to be in conflict with their ethical standards, system administrators must exercise sound judgment and are also obliged to take steps to have the law upgraded or corrected as is possible within their jurisdiction. • Code 2: A system administrator shall not unnecessarily infringe upon the rights of users — System administrators will not exercise their special powers to access any private • 23 • Code 4: The continuance of professional education is critical to maintaining currency as a system administrator — Since technology in computing continues to make significant strides, a system administrator must take an appropriate level of action to update and enhance personal technical knowledge. Reading, study, acquiring training, and sharing knowledge and experience are requirements to maintaining currency and ensuring the customer base of the advantages and security of advances in the field. • Code 5: A system administrator must maintain an exemplary work ethic — System administrators must be tireless in their effort to maintain high levels of quality in their work. Day to day operation in the field of system administration requires significant energy and resiliency. The system administrator is placed in a position of such significant impact upon the business of the organization that the required level of trust can only be maintained by exemplary behavior. • Code 6: At all times system administrators must display professionalism in the performance of their duties — All manner of behavior must reflect highly upon the profession as a whole. Dealing with recalcitrant users, upper management, vendors, or other system administrators calls for the utmost patience and care to ensure that mutual respect is never at risk. •

1.4.3.3 Organizations