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This is the second special section on applied ethics for AJIS. As was the case for the first special section on ethics, of the various submissions, only three have been accepted for publication. This is not an indication that little work is being done in relation to cybersecurity ethics, but rather a reflection of the difficulty of getting published in a high quality journal. A great deal of research is being done in the area of ethics as regards cybersecurity, particularly in Europe as a result of the recent toughening of its privacy legislation and the implications that has for all manner of ethics and technology, from blockchain, to wearable robots and through to cybersecurity. An overview of those three articles follows, after which the guest editor backgrounds are described.

Mental health has long held a stigma that has made it difficult for people to seek help. Community-based socially responsible online interconnectivity and increased access are central themes underpinning the successful delivery of recovery orientated health care models and better mental health outcomes in regional Australia. An interpretivist study involving 27 clinicians and 13 clients sought to determine how future expenditure on ehealth could improve mental health treatment and service provision in the western Murray Darling Basin. A key implication of the study is that through the use of targeted ehealth strategies it is possible to increase both the accessibility of information and quality of service provision whilst returning best value to Government. Another is that connectivity through the use of multiple access points, such as information kiosks in community centres, have the ability to mitigate isolation, improve information flow and interaction, as well as mitigate rising costs.

Across the globe, there has been a noticeable increase in the adoption of breach disclosure laws that are designed to protect the privacy of individuals. To validate the security controls implemented by an organisation to protect sensitive data, penetration testers are often engaged to test the security of information systems and to report any vulnerabilities. Using an interpretivist, constructivist approach, this article reports on a pilot study that compares USA and Australian approaches to ethical hacking. The need for regulation of ethical hacking to help protect organisations from unethical conduct was a recurring theme. With the changes in privacy regulations across the world, unauthorised disclosure of personal and privileged information could result in significant consequences. This paper explores the importance of ethical conduct by penetration testers based on empirical research and the potential for misuse of information.

Privacy is important because it supports freedom, dignity, autonomy, justice, and democracy, and therefore it is important that privacy is studied in ontologically robust ways. A form of privacy is implemented in the right to be forgotten, which is a human right established by the European Court of Justice. Blockchain and Holochain are examples of recently emerged technologies that were shaped by, and are now shaping of, social contexts in which economic transactions may occur. The right to be forgotten represents a compliance challenge for public and private implementations of blockchain technology. This paper describes a few of these challenges.

Good governance from an ethical perspective in cyberdefence policy has been seen in terms of duty and consequentialism. Yet the negotiated view of virtue ethics can also address how nation states mitigate the risks of a cyber attack to their national interests and to prepare for a cyber offence in response to an attack. A discourse analysis of the "0x Omar"-Israeli conflict of 2012, as reported in the Arabic and English media and on the Internet, is used to explore ethical issues that this case raises and to examine how the risks posed could be mitigated in relation to relevant elements of the South African cybersecurity policy framework. Questions raised include: At what point does the policy require a nation state to prepare for a cyber offence in response to a cyber attack? Ethically, how are such actions consistent with the principle of good governance?

Over the last 20 years the ICT industry has seen many developments and changes, such as faster and smaller computers, many new digital devices, the convergence of this digital technology, the internet, and operational aspects such as outsourcing. Governments and professional societies have discussed the issues related to these changes in the media, yet the Australian Computer Society's Code of Ethics has not changed. This paper discusses the need to change the ACS Code, the issues to be addressed, and procedures to be followed, if changes are to be made. These issues include, amongst others, the lack of specificity of the Code, and the absence of a way to decide between ethical principles which may conflict in some situations, and how to resolve such conflicts. With the focus on the Australian context, the ACS Code's relationship with international standards and codification of ethics are considered, and the paper discusses what lessons can be learned from overseas experience in modifying codes. The paper concludes by outlining the next steps to bring the ACS Code up to date.

Interagency communication of client data is complicated by privacy legislation. A study of regional service provision involving interviews with mental health professionals, found challenges in communicative processes between agencies were exacerbated by the heavy workloads. Dependence on individual professional interpretations of legislation, and on manual handling, led to delays that detrimentally affected client welfare. The main recommendation arising from this article is the creation of an ehealth system that is able to negotiate differing levels of access to client data through centralised controls, where the administration of that system ensures that it stays current with changing legislative requirements. The main contribution of the proposed model is to combine two well-known concepts: data integration and generalisation. People with mental illness are amongst the most vulnerable members of society, and current ehealth systems that provide access to medical records inadequately cater to their needs.

Client welfare is detrimentally affected by poor communication of data between rural service providers, which in part is complicated by privacy legislation. A study of service provision involving interviews with mental health professionals, found challenges in communicative processes between agencies were exacerbated by the heavy workloads. Dependence on individual interpretations of legislation, and on manual handling, led to delays that detrimentally affected client welfare. The main recommendation arising from this article is the creation of an ehealth system that is able to negotiate differing levels of access to client data through centralised controls, where the administration of that system ensures that it stays current with changing legislative requirements. The main contribution of the proposed model is to combine two well-known concepts: data integration and generalisation. People with mental illness are amongst the most vulnerable members of society, and current ehealth systems that provide access to medical records inadequately cater to their needs.