2 cissp ® Official Study Guide Eighth Edition

Provide diligent and competent service to principals.
Although we have responsibilities 
to society as a whole, we also have specifi c responsibilities to those who have hired us to 
protect their infrastructure. We must ensure that we are in a position to provide unbiased, 
competent service to our organization. 
Advance and protect the profession.
Our chosen profession changes on a continuous 
basis. As security professionals, we must ensure that our knowledge remains current and 
that we contribute our own knowledge to the community’s common body of knowledge.
Ethics and the Internet 
In January 1989, the Internet Advisory Board (IAB) recognized that the internet was rap-
idly expanding beyond the initial trusted community that created it. Understanding that 

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Ethics 
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misuse could occur as the internet grew, IAB issued a statement of policy concerning the 
proper use of the internet. The contents of this statement are valid even today. It is impor-
tant that you know the basic contents of the document, titled “Ethics and the Internet,” 
request for comments (RFC) 1087, because most codes of ethics can trace their roots back 
to this document.
The statement is a brief list of practices considered unethical. Whereas a code of ethics 
states what you should do, this document outlines what you should not do. RFC 1087 
states that any activity with the following purposes is unacceptable and unethical:
■
Seeks to gain unauthorized access to the resources of the internet
■
Disrupts the intended use of the internet
■
Wastes resources (people, capacity, computer) through such actions
■
Destroys the integrity of computer-based information
■
Compromises the privacy of users
Ten Commandments of Computer Ethics
The Computer Ethics Institute created its own code of ethics. The Ten Commandments of 
Computer Ethics are as follows: