July 02, 2020 SSI Staff Jump to Comments
SILVER SPRING, Md.— The Security Industry Association (SIA) Ethics in Security Technology Working Group has developed a set of ethics principles designed to promote the highest standards of conduct for the industry.
The SIA Member Ethics Principles are binding on all members of the association. As a condition of membership, any organization that qualifies for membership in SIA must affirm that they have read and understand the nine principles, and by virtue of membership, comply with the principles.
The principles are not intended to be exhaustive, according to the association. They are written broadly so that they may be applied in a variety of contexts. The principles follow:
- Act with honesty, integrity and transparency, eschewing fraudulent or misleading business practices and avoiding conflicts of interest.
- Provide accurate branding, use and cost information in marketing materials, advertisements and interactions with customers and potential customers.
- Conduct business with appropriate consideration of sustainability and the environmental impact of products and services.
- Oppose prejudice, harassment and abuse in the workplace as well as uses of their solutions that assist or abet prejudice, harassment or abuse.
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- Work with law enforcement in an appropriate manner that enhances public safety while respecting the reasonable expectations of privacy held by customers and individuals whose images or information are captured by security devices.
- Protect all sensitive personal information that they acquire in accordance with industry best practices.
- Monitor and mitigate relevant risks as much as reasonably possible, including by securing and hardening networked solutions against cyber threats in accordance with industry best practices.
- Ensure that their products, services and solutions are not designed or manufactured in such a manner as to surreptitiously transmit information to third parties for purposes outside the normal and expected scope of security and business operations.
- Refuse to knowingly design, manufacture, sell or deploy products, services or solutions that have been finally determined by any supranational, national, federal, state or local governmental authority or any self-regulatory entity, whether foreign or domestic, having competent jurisdiction over the applicable member organization to support the infliction of human rights abuses, the restriction of civil liberties, and/or the implementation of other oppressive measures.
The SIA Ethics in Security Technology Working Group focuses on providing guidance to members of the security industry on issues related to the ethical uses of physical security technology. By gathering input from industry leaders across all segments, the working group aims to address challenging questions that grow out of the increasing role that technology has in society and the potential for it — and security technology, in particular — to be used for good or ill.