Alibris, which used to provide email services to some of its customers, apparently snatched the messages when its email clients happened to correspond with Amazon. At about the same time, the office supply superstore Staples found itself the target of a prank that had ethical implications. A hacker invaded its Web site, posting ads for Office Depot, a Staples rival. Because of its speed, the Internet economy has the potential for all sorts of ethical lapses. And the real mischief comes when the players succumb to the fast-buck lure of Internet time.
Rumors tell of analysts and investment bankers being offered stock options in companies they track.
Sure, whenever unethical behavior is revealed or even suspected, it always seems the next wave of hot IPOs is unleashed to right the wrongs. The challenge for cyberethics is to make sure that we can keep producing the good stuff faster than the bad stuff can wipe us out. Fill in this form for your free trial issue. U.S. indexes are real-time. Forbes 40 Index powered by Telemet .