shape to moral issues in the increasingly dominant
information space. When one predicted the impact
of computers on society early on, several thought
leaders followed the thread, including one who
defined computer ethics as “a field concerned with
policy vacuums and conceptual muddles regarding
the social and ethical use of information technology
(emphasis added).” 2
It is important to examine the possible connection
between the arrival of cyberspace and an increased
level of interest in ethics of information. Ethical
issues are derivatives of changes in the concerned
domain that bring about new sets of dilemmas. The
emergence of cyberspace has produced a new crop
of rather difficult-to-resolve dilemmas, although the
precepts and paradigms to address them remain
the same. Thus, the practice of ethics is challenged
while the underlying ethical principles remain stable.
Absent cyberspace, information in existence at the
time was controlled, and the sharing of information
was guarded and purposefully intentional. With the
advent of cyberspace, the shareability of information
has reached astronomical heights (and there is
farther to go!). Questions about who controls the
shared information suddenly made available in
cyberspace and how such control might be used
One envisioned that the future will be a pact between
two forces of social order—code and commerce—
while the other emphasized how the Internet will
deliver more control to the government. The passage
of some 20 years since these predictions has brought
tectonic shifts in both code and commerce, impacting
the social order along the way. In such a short period
of time, we have precipitously ushered in the second
generation of cyberspace.
There are significant differences between the first
and the second generations of cyberspace. The first
generation was dedicated to sharing of information,
especially in academia and mainly for research.
Security, confidentiality and user authentication
were nominally important; the primary excitement
sprung from the ability to network and share
projects, exchange information in real time, and
work with peers and professionals remotely. The
second generation saw the migration of the code
to the world of commerce, where economic value
creation, efficiency, authentication and information
security gained prime importance. Speed to market,
globalization, scaling to the masses—these took
over the agenda for priority setting and resource
allocation in businesses. Nonissues of the first
generation of cyberspace became significant
concerns of the second generation.
In tandem with first-generation cyberspace
observers, a community of ethicists evolved to give
Vasant Raval, DBA, CISA, ACMA
Is a professor of accountancy at Creighton University (Omaha, Nebraska,
USA). The coauthor of two books on information systems and security,
his areas of teaching and research interest include information security
and corporate governance. Opinions expressed in this column are his
own and not those of Creighton University. He can be reached at
vraval@creighton.edu.
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Information Ethics in the
Mid-21st Century
This is the final installment of the Information Ethics column. ISACA® wishes
to acknowledge with deep gratitude this column’s author, Vasant Raval, for
his significant contribution of thought leadership to the ISACA® Journal and
readers worldwide through the years. The column will remain archived on the
ISACA web site for your reference.
The emergence
of cyberspace has
produced a new
crop of rather
difficult-to-resolve
dilemmas, although
the precepts
and paradigms
to address them
remain the same.
