Management and the Technology Professional – B302
Case study answer 1
It is believed that the rogue software developed by Sony to fight piracy has proved to be problematic. This is due to a number of reasons which will be discussed in the following lines. First of all, the software is classified under the rootkit applications which act in a way to fool users into believing they are safe to run their computer systems. This on its own contradicts sections 1.2 and 1.3 under the code of ethics of the British Computer Society (BCS) which states that a company must be honest to its customers when providing any information regarding system’s problems as well as avoiding harm to others covering modification and serious loss of resources. In addition, the anti-piracy program puts users under the threat of virus and hacker attacks which expose users to potential damage of data. This goes against UK Data Protection Act 1998 mainly Part II “Rights of Data Subjects and Others” (7 (1) (a)), and Part VI section 55 “Unlawful obtaining etc. of personal data” and also section 2 under the BCS code of conduct stating that public rights should be taken into account when designing a system that might have an effect on members of public without their awareness.
Moreover, the reaction taken by Sony to protect CD content contravenes sections 1 and 3 of the UK Computer Misuse Act 1990 ch.18 (unauthorised modification of computer material and unauthorised access to computer material) as a hacker might get access into the system and impair its operation. A final point to make here is that installing the software results in damage for user’s machine as uninstalling it causes improper functionality and maybe full damage of the CD player and hence this goes against the code of ethics where software designers should verify that systems are produced to protect personal privacy and dignity. To sum up, as a lead of this project, it is not ethical to produce such software as its existence raised user’s concerns and it is considered as a breach of trust.
