The document discusses the ethics of software engineering. It notes that after several corporate scandals, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act was passed to improve ethics in business. As professionals, software engineers have responsibilities and face challenges like a lack of a single code of ethics. The document outlines different ethical theories and issues software engineers face regarding privacy, security, intellectual property, and their growing influence on society through powerful software. It argues a framework is needed to help software develop ethically and responsibly.

1. The Ethics of Software
Engineering

2. Background
After the Enron and WorldCom debacle, the Sarbanes-
Oxley Act (SOX) was passed in the United States to
improve corporate governance and ethical practices in
business. Like lawyers, accountants and bankers, IT
professionals are professionals in business.
Many of the provisions of SOX have a direct impact on IT
professionals as the act addresses issues common to all
professionals in business. However unlike other
professionals who have to refer to a single code of ethics,
IT professionals have a multitude of codes that they must
refer to. The need to develop a single code of ethics for IT
professional is therefore important. Which leads to the
question: What is ethics?

3. Ethics theories
Ethics is defined as the philosophical study of
morality. Some major ethical theories include:
• Consequentialism: is the ethical theory that
deems correct actions that maximize the overall
good or minimize the overall harm.
• Deontology which deems actions to be morally
right or wrong regardless of their consequences.
• Virtue ethics: concentrates on the individual
character. Honesty, courage, patience are some of
the qualities deemed ethical.

4. IT Professionals
IT Professionals include the following:
• Programmers
• Database Administrators
• Telecommunication experts
• Information systems executives
• Software engineers
While the focus of this presentation is on software
engineers, the findings apply to all IT professionals

5. Software Engineering
Software engineering is the driving force behind
the IT revolution. Software developers create
solutions for our lives on and off line. From
highly sophisticated medical devices that rely on
software to operate to web applications such as
Facebook, software developers have increasing
powers and a lapse in judgement can result in
harm to society.

6. Software Engineering
Software has become so important that it is now
shaping our societal values.
As a result software developers have gained
tremendous power.
In the last 15 years, the environment and
practice of software engineering have changed.
Commercial applications are mostly web based
and are more and more being released to a
global audience.

7. Software Engineering
Nowadays ethics has made its way in companies
under Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
through which many companies have
acknowledge globalization and its impact on
society as a whole. The environment is a good
example of what used to be considered local but
now has become a global phenomenon.
Decisions being made in our part of the world
have an impact in other parts and vice-versa.

8. Software Engineering
Issues of privacy and security have also
demonstrated that though many end users
usually agree to quasi-legal software licensing
agreements; informed consent does not
constitute educated consent. The desire to
succeed with all the social perks associated with
it may lead software engineers to rely on their
personal ethics which may not be enough to
protect society.

9. Challenges
Software engineers face a series of challenges, the
following are the most common:
• Shorter life cycle
• Global audience
• Cultural difference
• Inexistence of a single code of conduct
• Social impact
• Big data
• Risk associated with future discoveries

10. Common Ethical Issues
• Privacy
• Cybercrime
• Fraud
• Intellectual Property
• Social exclusion
• Security
• Digital divide

11. Conclusion
A framework and an infrastructure that promote
ethical reflexivity are necessary to allow emerging
ICTs to develop in a social and ethically responsible
manner.
An unethical software developer is a great liability
both to his employer and society.
Policy makers, educators and employers play a big
role in ensuring that software engineers and other
IT professionals develop ethical behaviour as a
safeguard for society

12. Reference
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