LITERATURE REVIEW

Nowadays, the increasing concern for computer abuse is everywhere. According to Baskerville (1993), The term security refers to the freedom from danger or anxiety. This implies to situation with no risk, no sense of threat and having the assurance of a sense of confidence or certainty. The term security runs all over of life and it is inevitable. Its main objective is for protection and guarding against danger. There are three primary goals of providing computer security: confidentiality, integrity, and availability. Confidentiality refers to the protection of organizational data from unauthorized disclosure of customer and proprietary data. Integrity is the assurance that data have not been altered or destroyed. Availability means providing continuous operation of the organizations hardware and software so that the users can be assured of no interruptions in service. Currently Malaysia is ranked 8 out of 10 top-infected countries in the Asia Pacific region as a target for cyber attackers. Merkow and Breithaupt in a book agreed that different security measures and controls are being implemented by organizations though the uses of standard security policies such as backup policy, remote access policy, email acceptable use policy, download policy, password policy. Hardware and software technologies such as firewalls, Intrusion Detection System (IDS), Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) and anti-virus can be utilized to create a control environment. One reality is that there is no absolute security. Organizations try to decide the most important assets that must be protected, because the cost is high if compromised. The alarming rate of unethical behavior emitting from the computer use is a source of great concern to individuals and organizations. Despite several efforts made to combat unethical

use of computers and internet resources and to secure information available on the web through ethical-use enlightenment, security is yet to be achieved. This insecurity has been a great challenge for decades due to rampant networks rise. Ethical policies and user awareness on most critical assets such as computer files, computer applications and database of an organization should be inculcate. In a study done by McCarthy, Halavi & Aronson (2005), they suggested that computer ethics education is necessary to enhance the awareness of users in the academic environment, especially among students. This would make them better aware of the computer ethical issues and prepare them to be ethical individuals later in their professions.

In a research, Maslin and Zuraini (2008) explained that The use of technology should be controlled, monitored and guided. Incidences of both computer security violations and misuse are recurring at an alarming rate where security violations run the gamut from denial of service and viral attacks to information theft. In todays global economy, computer security and computer ethics awareness is an important component of any management information system. According to experts in the computer security discipline, universities are among the least secure places in the world. This means that universities may be even more susceptible to security violations. Universities are commonly affected by incidents of misuse including peer file sharing, accessing inappropriate websites, and copyright infringement.

According to The Computer Ethics Institute, a leader in the discipline has comprised a guideline to help computer users in their ethical decisions. This guideline is called The Ten Commandments of Computer Ethics. They are as in Table 1 below. No 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Guidelines Thou shalt not use a computer to harm other people. Thou shalt not interfere with other peoples computer work. Thou shalt not snoop around in other peoples computer files. Thou shalt not use a computer to steal. Thou shalt not use a computer to bear false witness. Thou shalt not copy or use proprietary software for which thou have not pay. Thou shalt not use other peoples computer resources without authorization or proper compensation. 8. 9. Thou shalt not appropriate other peoples output. Thou shalt think about the social consequences of the program thou are writing or the system thou are designing. 10. Thou shalt use a computer in ways that ensure consideration and respect for your fellow humans.