Case Study

Among Iris Majwubu$$s morning e$-$mails was a message from Charlie Moody. As she read the subject line and opened the message, Iris wondered why on earth the company CISO needed to see her. The e$-$mail read:

From: Charles Moody $[$cmoody@slsco.com$]$

To: Iris Majwubu $[$imajwubu@slsco.com$]$

Subject: I need to see you

Iris, Since you were a material witness in the investigation, I wanted to advise you of the status of the Magruder case. We completed all of the personnel actions on this matter yesterday, and it is now behind us$.$ I wanted to thank you for the key role you played in helping the Corporate Security Department resolve this security matter in its early stages so no company assets were compromised. Please set up an appointment with me in the next few days to discuss a few things.

$$Charlie

Two days later, Iris entered Charlie Moody$$s office. He rose from his desk as she entered. $$Come in$,$ Iris,$$ Charlie said. $$Have a seat.$$ Nervously, she chose a chair closest to the door, not anticipating that Charlie would come around his desk and sit next to her. As he took his seat, Iris noticed that the folder in his hand looked like her personnel file. She took a deep breath, unsure exactly why Charlie had her file.

$$I$$m sure you$$re wondering why I asked you to meet with me$,$ said Charlie. $$The company really appreciates your efforts in the Magruder case. Because you followed policy and acted so quickly, we avoided a significant loss. You were right to bring that issue to your manager$$s attention rather than confronting Magruder directly. You not only made the right choice, but you acted quickly and showed a positive attitude throughout the whole situation$$basically$,$ I think you demonstrated an information security mindset. And that$$s why I$$d like to offer you a transfer to Kelvin Urich$$s security projects team. I think they would really benefit from having someone like you on board.$$

$$I$$m glad I was able to help,$$ Iris said, $$but I$$m not sure what to say. I$$ve been a database administrator with the company for almost three years. I really don$$t know much about information security other than what I learned from the company training and awareness sessions.$$

$$That$$s not a problem,$$ Charlie said. $$What you don$$t know you can learn.$$ He smiled. $$So how about it$,$ are you interested in the job?$$

Iris said, $$It does sound interesting, but to be honest I hadn$$t been considering a career change.$$ She paused for a moment, then added, $$I am willing to think about it$.$ But I have a few questions $....$

After her meeting with Charlie, Iris returned to her office. When she had completed her daily assignments, she began to make some notes about the information security position Charlie had offered her.

Case Study Questions

$1.$What questions should Iris ask Charlie about the future of the information security unit at the company?

$2.$What questions should Iris ask Kelvin about the job for which she is being considered?

Ethical Decision Making

Suppose that Iris and Kelvin are involved in a romantic relationship, unknown to anyone else in the company.

Romantic relationships between employees are not against company policy, but married employees are specifically prohibited from being in a direct reporting relationship with each other.

$3.$Should Iris inform Charlie about her relationship with Kelvin if she does not plan to apply for the transfer?

$4.$If Iris does apply for the job but has no current plans for marriage, should she inform Charlie of her relationship?