Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Define Computer Ethics, Code of Ethics, Intellectual Property, Privacy, Computer Crime and Cyber Law.

Computer ethics is a system of moral standards or values used as a guideline for computer users.
A code of ethics often focuses on social issues. It may set out general principles about an organization's beliefs on matters such as mission, quality, privacy or the environment. It may delineate proper procedures to determine whether a violation of the code of ethics has occurred and, if so, what remedies should be imposed. The effectiveness of such codes of ethics depends on the extent to which management supports them with sanctions and rewards. Violations of a private organization's code of ethics usually can subject the violator to the organization's remedies (such as restraint of trade based on moral principles). The code of ethics links to and gives rise to a code of conduct for employees.


Intellectual Property refers to works created by inventors, authors and artists. These works are unique and have value in the market place. In our daily lives, we are surrounded by things that are protected by IP. Your school bags, your shoes and even your socks are protected by Intellectual Property rights. Nike, Bata or Adidas, for example, are all protected by a group of legal rights.


Privacy in IT refers to data and information privacy. Data refers to a collection of raw unprocessed facts, figures and symbols. Then, computer is used to process data into information. In general, data include texts, numbers, sounds, images and video. Information privacy is described as the rights of individuals and companies to deny or restrict the collection and use of information about them.


Computer crime or cybercrime is a form of crime where the Internet or computers are used as a medium to commit crime. Issues surrounding this type of crime have become high-profile, particularly those surrounding hacking, copyright infringement, child pornography, and child grooming. There are also problems of privacy when confidential information is lost or intercepted, lawfully or otherwise.
Computer crime encompass a broad range of potentially illegal activities. Generally, however, it may be divided into one of two types of categories:



(1) crimes that target computer networks or devices directly;
(2) crimes facilitated by computer networks or devices, the primary target of which is independent of the computer network or device.



Cyberlaw is a term that encapsulates the legal issues related to use of communicative, transactional, and distributive aspects of networked information devices and technologies. It is less a distinct field of law in the way that property or contract are, as it is a domain covering many areas of law and regulation. Some leading topics include intellectual property, privacy, freedom of expression, and jurisdiction.