Confidentiality and Transparency in IT and Business

Tuesday, 12 November, 2024

The tightrope between building trust and protecting data

For businesses, the core focus has always been on people. This principle holds true even at the intersection of business and technology. With the dawn of the information age, new opportunities for competitive growth emerged, and with them, a renewed focus on the individuals at the heart of business practices. Amongst all this change, project managers find themselves walking a tightrope between disclosing information for the common good and protecting their employer’s interests.

The simple act of responsible and ethical communication can cause a project to either fail or thrive in the eyes of the public, peers and investors. Treating client data with the sensitivity it deserves, and disclosing policies and practices can build trust within stakeholders, but there is a monetary incentive to conceal proprietary technology and hide data breaches from the public.

This delicate balance was a focal point of discussion during the 17th ReBitVlogs Majlis panel discussion, led by Dr. Zeenath Reza Khan. Professors with industry experiences Dr Hazem Gouda and Dr Haitham Yaish joined winning team members students from a story-telling competition to discuss the dilemma of confidentiality versus transparency, exploring the perspectives of the entities involved, with Ms Vidhi Sharma moderating X and QandA.

Below are some key takeaways from the discussion:

Businesses: Balancing Integrity and Advantage

When a business acts in its own interests, they may act in opposition to integrity or ethics due to the incentive to keep their technology and methods a secret for the competitive advantage. It is important for the business to maintain a degree of honesty to the public and their investors - if not, dishonest practices will break public trust and risk the future of the business.

Stakeholders: Defining Transparency

Stakeholders are most affected by the project, and therefore largely define the approach to transparency. If the data being exchanged is personal and sensitive, information must be kept secure and confidential. In projects where data is readily available, such as weather data, more open and frequent communication can be established.

Government and the Law: Enforcing Ethics

Legislative bodies have the responsibility to act for the public good, demanding transparency and disclosure from the business to confirm that their actions are ethically sound and are not putting the public at harm. Of course, different nations and regions have different regulations - there is still much subjectivity in an industry as new as technology.

Project Managers: Navigating Complex Responsibilities

The perspective of project managers is not one to be overlooked. While they are most responsible for the outcome of a project, it is important to remember external factors that influence their actions, such as the interests of higher-ups, responsibility to the team members and clients, and the culture of the business. Data breaches or disappointing financial periods are often understood as a culmination of many factors, so it is important to take this intersectional approach to the actions of project managers as well.

Looking to the Future

As we navigate the future, several pressing concerns demand attention: how information is sourced for AI, how to most fairly disclose data breaches, and how the economic system itself might be hindering ethics are some of the most pressing concerns in our current day. Alongside technology, society is constantly changing. With the advent of artificial intelligence, decentralized (remote work) teams and ever-changing expectations and values, ethical and moral principles remain central to shaping the future of technology and business.

In this ever-evolving landscape, project managers must continuously balance the tightrope between building trust and protecting data, ensuring that ethical considerations remain at the forefront of their decisions.

Author:

Luis Gabriel Enriquez
Students at School of Computer Science
University of Wollongong in Dubai

Edited by:

Dr Zeenath Reza Khan
Assistant Professor and founder of ReBitVlogsMajlis
School of Computer Science
University of Wollongong in Dubai