Cheating rampant on cert tests, software compliance

IT professionals surveyed by Network World say buying unauthorized gear less of a problem

Do most IT workers think it's unethical to study for a certification exam with stolen exam questions (so-called brain dumps)? Is it OK to buy used gear from an unauthorized dealer? How about new gear? What about gear falsely sporting a brand name (fake gear)? And what is the one professional area where IT professionals "cheat" the most?

Network World went to the source to find out, asking 200 IT professionals to participate in an online survey on IT Ethics.

The survey found that the two areas where IT pros cheat the most is on vendor certification tests and software compliance. The area where they see the fewest ethical conflicts (the least amount of "cheating" if you will) is buying unauthorized gear.

Do most IT workers think it's unethical to study for a certification exam with stolen exam questions (so-called brain dumps)? Is it OK to buy used gear from an unauthorized dealer? How about new gear? What about gear falsely sporting a brand name (fake gear)? And what is the one professional area where IT professionals "cheat" the most?

Network World went to the source to find out, asking 200 IT professionals to participate in an online survey on IT Ethics.

The survey found that the two areas where IT pros cheat the most is on vendor certification tests and software compliance. The area where they see the fewest ethical conflicts (the least amount of "cheating" if you will) is buying unauthorized gear.

Most responds, 58%, said that using "braindump" training materials is unethical. Yet, cheating was reported to be common with 72% of respondents saying they think IT professionals use braindump materials on a somewhat regular-to-frequent basis. Plus, 12% reported they have directly witnessed someone cheating on a certification exam.

In this day of freely distributed software and super complex license schemes, how much responsibility do IT professionals feel over compliance? A lot.

How IT pros cheat on certification exams

Whistleblowers on the rise

A whopping 89% said it was unethical for an IT employee to make the company fall out of compliance with software license agreements. This includes such common circumstances as an admin adding new clients to a server without new client licenses. Yet, 70% had witnessed other IT folks knowingly violating software licenses.

One respondent offered an explanation. He said he's witnessed business managers directing IT to do things they "would not consider ethical or legal. IT staff would be forced to do so by chain of command. While they might be able to complain to their boss, they could not refuse the order from the manager or executive to do what they were ordered to do or they would have to face the consequences of refusal (i.e. - you're fired)."

We expected that most IT professionals would take issue with employees using the corporate network to install unlicensed software or share DRM-protected files, and they did. 90% said they thought that using the corporate network in this way was unethical. On the other hand, 69% of respondents said they've directly witnessed other IT professionals looking the other way when it happens. (Watch a slideshow version of this.)

When it comes to hardware, there's a slightly different story. Fake gear is definitely a no-no. A whopping 87% of respondents say that buying fake gear - equipment labeled as if it was manufactured by a particular vendor, is unethical. Unlike buying a fake Rolex watch or phony designer clothing, fake gear carries with it risks ranging from faulty performance to malware. Most respondents think that it's rare for their fellow IT professionals to deliberately choose counterfeit gear. Only 6% say they have ever directly witnessed a transaction where fake gear was purchased.