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Network Working Group                          Internet Activities BoardRequest for Comments: 1087                                  January 1989Ethics and the InternetStatus of this Memo   This memo is a statement of policy by the Internet Activities Board   (IAB) concerning the proper use of the resources of the Internet.   Distribution of this memo is unlimited.Introduction   At great human and economic cost, resources drawn from the U.S.   Government, industry and the academic community have been assembled   into a collection of interconnected networks called the Internet.   Begun as a vehicle for experimental network research in the mid-   1970's, the Internet has become an important national infrastructure   supporting an increasingly widespread, multi-disciplinary community   of researchers ranging, inter alia, from computer scientists and   electrical engineers to mathematicians, physicists, medical   researchers, chemists, astronomers and space scientists.   As is true of other common infrastructures (e.g., roads, water   reservoirs and delivery systems, and the power generation and   distribution network), there is widespread dependence on the Internet   by its users for the support of day-to-day research activities.   The reliable operation of the Internet and the responsible use of its   resources is of common interest and concern for its users, operators   and sponsors.  Recent events involving the hosts on the Internet and   in similar network infrastructures underscore the need to reiterate   the professional responsibility every Internet user bears to   colleagues and to the sponsors of the system.  Many of the Internet   resources are provided by the U.S. Government.  Abuse of the system   thus becomes a Federal matter above and beyond simple professional   ethics.IAB Statement of Policy   The Internet is a national facility whose utility is largely a   consequence of its wide availability and accessibility.   Irresponsible use of this critical resource poses an enormous threat   to its continued availability to the technical community.   The U.S. Government sponsors of this system have a fiduciary   responsibility to the public to allocate government resources wiselyInternet Activities Board                                       [Page 1]

RFC 1087                Ethics and the Internet             January 1989   and effectively.  Justification for the support of this system   suffers when highly disruptive abuses occur.  Access to and use of   the Internet is a privilege and should be treated as such by all   users of this system.   The IAB strongly endorses the view of the Division Advisory Panel of   the National Science Foundation Division of Network, Communications   Research and Infrastructure which, in paraphrase, characterized as   unethical and unacceptable any activity which purposely:      (a) seeks to gain unauthorized access to the resources of the          Internet,      (b) disrupts the intended use of the Internet,      (c) wastes resources (people, capacity, computer) through such          actions,      (d) destroys the integrity of computer-based information,   and/or      (e) compromises the privacy of users.   The Internet exists in the general research milieu.  Portions of it   continue to be used to support research and experimentation on   networking.  Because experimentation on the Internet has the   potential to affect all of its components and users, researchers have   the responsibility to exercise great caution in the conduct of their   work.  Negligence in the conduct of Internet-wide experiments is both   irresponsible and unacceptable.   The IAB plans to take whatever actions it can, in concert with   Federal agencies and other interested parties, to identify and to set   up technical and procedural mechanisms to make the Internet more   resistant to disruption.  Such security, however, may be extremely   expensive and may be counterproductive if it inhibits the free flow   of information which makes the Internet so valuable.  In the final   analysis, the health and well-being of the Internet is the   responsibility of its users who must, uniformly, guard against abuses   which disrupt the system and threaten its long-term viability.Internet Activities Board                                       [Page 2]