- Keval Khona
Introduction
Cyber Realm is the entire global virtual reality space. It is a parallel universe to the actual world with many interactions with it. The significance of cyberspace has increased tremendously during the last three decades. Thanks to the Internet, it may be discovered anywhere and at any time. Satellites, information technology, the internet,weather forecasting, enormous data collecting, agricultural production, and healthcare systems are all examples.Courts, education, e-government, culture, music, and religion are only a few examples.
Cyber Ethics attempts to direct what is fair and unfair,good and bad, in the cyber world.It seeks to apply and adapt key ideas and virtues to specific new challenges and conditions provided by information systems and the cyber community. Cyber ethics encompasses practically all ethical questions since cyberspace impacts so many aspects of society.
Meaning
In the cyber domain, Cyber Ethics governs what is right and wrong, good and evil. It seeks to apply and adapt key ideas and virtues to specific new challenges and conditions provided by information systems and cyber civilization. Because cyberspace affects so many parts of society, cyber ethics embraces almost all ethical issues.
"The Computer Ethics Institute, a non-profit organisation whose mission is to promote technology via ethical methods, created the following ethical standards for cyber ethics in 1992:
1. A computer should not be used to harm other people.
2. Other people's computer work should not be interfered.
3. It is forbidden to snoop around in other people's computer files.
4. A computer should not be used to steal.
5. A computer should not be used to bear false witnesses.
6. Proprietary software for which one has not paid should not be used or copied.
7. Other people's computer resources should not be used without authorization or proper compensation.
8. Other people's intellectual output should not be appropriated by anyone
9. The social consequences of the program one is writing or the system you are designing should be thought of.
10. A computer should be used in ways that ensure consideration and respect for the fellow humans.”[1]
Dimensions of Cyber Ethics in Cyber Society
Because cyberspace has an impact on every aspect of civilization, cyber ethics encompasses practically every ethical topic. To put it another way, today's applied ethics must consider the cyber-dimension of the ethical challenge in every situation.
1. Life ethics, sometimes referred to as cyber ethics, encompasses all aspects of life from conception to death. In the context of artificial intelligence in aging, health care, and tele-medicine, health ethics,bioethics, and other bio ethical concerns are vigorously disputed.
2. Cyber Ethics as Community Ethics addresses the negative and positive aspects of social media, changes in community life, opportunities for worldwide contact, and abuse in the form of cyber bullying, mobbing,and other forms of cyber bullying.
3. Environmental ethics focus on the influence of cyber technology on human-nature relationships, the negative environmental impact of energy usage, and the beneficial impact of several environmental benefits such as weather forecasting, scientific research, and so on.
4. Cyber Ethics as Cultural and Religious Ethics investigates the ethical and immoral impacts of cyberspace on cultures, music, art, dance, linguistic variation, cultural inclusion or discrimination, religious respect or hate messages, and other subjects.
5. Changes in political systems, elections, security, armies with autonomous weapons, the need for and limits of cyberspace regulation on international and national levels, and so on are all topics covered by Cyber Ethics as Political Ethics.
6. Cyber Ethics as Economic Ethics is concerned with the good and negative effects of cyberspace on economic growth, employment creation or loss, financial investments in cyber research by industry, military or non-military, and so on.
As a result, all ethical questions should now have a cyber component in today's world. On the other hand, all cyber-related technological, political, economic, and other advancements should take into account ethical aspects in terms of morally beneficial and detrimental consequences.
Important Ethical Issues in Cyber security
Following are some of the issues that arise when someone does not follow cyber ethics:
a) HARMS PRIVACY:
Identity theft, in which personally identifying information is obtained and used to impersonate persons for financial or other illicit purposes, such as providing criminals with stolen identities, is one of the most prevalent cyber dangers to privacy. Hacking and other network intrusions can be used to gather sensitive information about people and their actions, which can then be used for blackmail, extortion, and other unethical and/or unlawful manipulations of people's will.
b) CYBER SECURITY RESOURCE ALLOCATION:
The inescapably high cost of cyber security is another ethical concern that must constantly influence cyber security behaviour. Individuals and organisations must commit a substantial amount of time, money, and experience to cyber security efforts.
Cyber security initiatives can have a detrimental influence on data storage capacity, network and download speeds, power economy, and system usability/reliability. Of course, failing to implement appropriate cyber security safeguards results in far greater and more unacceptable expenditures. As a result,determining a justifiable balance between well-resourced cyber security and other types of functionalities is an ethical task, as it necessitates careful consideration of the risks, benefits, rights,and values involved in such a decision, as well as the likely impact of the decision on others' ability to seek and lead good lives.
Conclusion
Digital change impacts not just the technological sphere, but also the analog world and the environment in which we live. As a result, ethical issues and areas of contention arise, which must be addressed responsibly. Even in the digital age, critical reflection on a "good existence"
Keval Khona is a third year student at SVKM's Pravin Gandhi College of Law, Mumbai.
[1] Computer Ethics Institute (1992). "The Ten Commandments of Computer Ethics" (PDF) Computer Ethics Institute.