The study of ethics encompasses the subject matter that deals with identifying what is wrong and right. Ethicists base their ethical conclusions on the moral standards of hypotheses that reflect our moral intuitions about right or wrong. Consequentialism and deontology are the two theoretical perspectives most usually applied in moral theory. While consequentialist approaches agree that activities are immoral to the degree of unfavorable outcomes, deontological approaches hold that persons have moral obligations that exist regardless of the good or bad that may result from their actions. Moral ideals affect policy. Morality, however, contends that laws cannot replace the moral character. It is frequently essential for people and organizations to think about the morality and legality of their actions (Brey 21).
When we talk about computer security, we are talking about the steps taken to ensure the requisite level of integrity, confidentiality, and legal protection against the misuse and malfunction of the computer system and any data it might contain. Computer security is divided into system security and information or data security. The former protects the hardware and software of the computer system from tampering and dangerous infection. On the other hand, information security relates to protecting data in a computer system to guarantee its privacy, accuracy, and availability (Brey 22).
Computer Security and Ethics
One security measure in computer security frequently offers benefits and drawbacks simultaneously, placing users in a challenging situation. An example is when security protections are enabled to safeguard individual privacy; unfortunately, this security feature can also be used to deny access to someone authorized to view that information.