Are Computer Hacker Break-ins Ethical? - Eugene H. Spafford
Essay Assignment
The words Ethics and computers have gone hand in hand since the WW2 when MIT professor Norbert Wiener and his team designed the anti-aircraft cannon that could gun down a warplane and pioneered a new field of research in information feedback known as Cybernetics. I think the need for computer ethics and fundamentals emerged ever since the first computers were designed and we realized that these machines could one day make our lives easier and societies would eventually be dependent on these computers on a daily basis. I believe that anybody, be it the government, a major company or an organization looking into ethics must define a set of ethical program and requirement guidelines that could and should be met. Ethics, in my opinion would stand for good action resulting in a positive result under a given situation. The same would extend to computers.
Spafford has rightly articulated that an action cannot be deemed as ethical if it is universally accepted. Individuals need to assess the consequences of a computer break-in, is it valid and is it a necessary course of action for a positive result or a greater good. If the course of the action is malicious then this should be deemed as unethical. I would also agree with Ms. Stafford arguments that there are situations where an unethical course of action may be necessary for a greater good, but what is this greater good? Would there be a valid
Ethics has been around for a long time. Merriam-Webster defines ethics as rules of behavior based on ideas about what is morally good and bad. It is an area of study that deals with ideas about what is good and bad behavior. Ethics has much to do with feelings and beliefs. If you feel deep down in your heart that something is not right, then it you should not do it. The Bible says, “So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin” (James 4:17 English Standard Version). Ethical business procedures include guaranteeing that the main legality is in place. Also, the company observes moral standards in its relationships with the people in its business community, which includes the most important people in their business, who are the customers. This report will discuss ethics in business, ethically transformed organizations; organizations preparation to make ethical decisions, ethical danger signs, and organizations that does business globally.
As the world becomes ever more involved within the digital realm, it is important to asses acts that may be morally questionable. Such acts like that of a hacker, Hack, and her unauthorized intrusion into a hospital database done purely for personal pleasure. It is my goal to prove that doing so is morally wrong. The proponent of this act, Mickey Soft, lists it as morally permissible for the following reasons:
James Moor wrote an essay on computer ethics, Mr. Moor noted three invisible factors associated with the application of the inputs and outputs of the programming. The factors are: (1) “invisible abuse” in this instant the code may have been maliciously inserted or the system does something else other than what was expected or intended by the user. (2) “Invisible programming values” this aspect involves the non-trivial decision made by the programmer which resulted in an important unintended mistake and finally (3) “invisible complex calculation” the process is too complex to reviewed and understood by humans to make review, correction or to validate the information difficult if not impossible. Another ethical issue with AI is there is no algorithmic accountability meaning that algorithms are neither bias free nor has any corrective measure built in for explicit
Over the last several years, the issue of IT ethics has been increasingly brought to the forefront. This is because of transformations occurring through rapid advancements and the way various applications are utilized. To fully understand what is taking place requires conducting an annotated bibliography on the subject and the impact it is having on these standards. These findings will highlight the overall scope of the challenges and the long term effects they are having on stakeholders.
For most, the word hacker brings up an image of an unscrupulous person. Unfortunately, the government sees hackers as one big collective group of terrorists. So it uses outdated laws to convict these hackers as terrorists. If the government does not amend the current laws used to prosecute Internet crimes, then the Internet will be restricted to the point where innovation ceases. Innovation cannot be performed when government regulations limit the internet. Most would assume that a hacker has malicious intent, but what most don’t know is without hackers, the Internet would be a much less secure environment. Many hackers only have the intent of helping websites fix security issues that could be exploited by the general public. If the government continues on its current course, laws will be
Ethics are the doctrines and standards an individual practices to oversee his doings and decisions. In the health care organization for example, a code of ethics is a set of principles that guide the healthcare organization in its programs, policies and decisions for the business. It is very important to have a good ethic in any work place. The good ethic of the healthcare organization can boost and expend the business. By contrast, Unethical is the opposite of being ethical. In an unethical situation, people will not obey to the correct behavior or the acknowledged behavioral arrangement of the society. Unethical behaviors can lead our society to radical circumstances as well. As in ethics, there are some commonly mutual unethical practices
Prior to the age of technology, ethics include the moral decisions made by individuals relative to the social and the acceptable norms of the time. Ethics, more specifically, computer ethics have developed due to advancements of IT. Information technologies were initially established as reliable means of communication and exchanging information in an efficient and effective manner; but they have intertwined into various aspects of our society and become so much more. These technologies have created a place to discover friendships, find love, socially gather and, etc.
From my understanding, ethics are the moral ideas that influence a person‘s or group’s behavior. Like the world around us, ethics have evolved over time. In earlier years, researchers started becoming smarter because they began to conduct experiments and various tests by using human and animal subjects. This helps us understand why we behave the way we do. There is however, a major difference in the way we conduct experiments today compared to back then.
These ethical decisions are subjective to a point and it would be interesting to see how they come up with them as well as who decides the ethics involved in the software. Are the engineers and designers the ones that are coming up with these decisions or do they have separate professionals that are appointed? How did the engineers or representatives come up with the set of ethical guidelines? If we can understand more about the current process of ethics, it may help us create a better system to solve future ethical
According to Huff, Chuck; Furchert, Almut (2014)? If we want to teach ethical practice in computing, we must therefore ask what competencies, skills, or virtues are needed to translate ethical
The ethical issues surrounding hacking, stem from several sources mainly dealing with order and control, and information ownership. What is difficult to decipher from all the media hoopla surrounding the terms, "hacker" and "hacking" is both the simultaneous sensationalism and the condemnation of said activities. Of course just recently, even a movie was made and was appropriately called Hackers. The term and all that it implies has truly entered our popular consciousness when Hollywood has made a box office movie on it. As the advancement of computer technologies and systems of information become increasingly more and more complex in today's fast paced modern world and said technologies become an integral
How Do They Go About It? Approaches to Ethical Hacking Ethical Hacking Testing Ethical Hacking Deliverables Computer Crimes and Implications Legal Perspective (U.S. Federal Law) Section 1029 and Penalties Section 1030 and Penalties Japan Cyber Laws United Kingdom Cyber Laws Australia Cyber Laws Germany’s Cyber Laws Singapore’s Cyber Laws Summary
Ethical hacking is nothing but a game of playing with technology. Hackers find the loop holes in the present system and penetrate into it so as to know the information in order to gain personally. And when the term “ethical” gets attached with the “hacker” he becomes the savior. The work of both a hacker and an ethical hacker are the same, but there is just a slight difference that one is illegal and tries to destroy your privacy for his professional or personal gain while the other person is legal and tries to protect your privacy in any way. The illegal hacker is termed as the black hat while the legal one is the white hat.
■ Oct 1998 teenager hacks into Bell Atlantic phone system; disabled communication at airport disables runway lights.
IT Professional is a publication (Keith W. Miller 2009), it is such like book publication, it also has copyright problem, plagiarism problem, and many problems like book publication, so, to be the Professionals, they must act like the book authors to solve these problems. In aspects of IT, the side of ethical problems are including advice on how professionals can recognize, analyze, and make judgments on challenging questions about right, wrong, and computing. Computers have become essential tools of modern humans, regardless life, entertainment, education, work, and business are related with computer. Computer impact on human society very much. So knowing the Information Technology Ethics is very important to everyone, because it is useful to everyone who lives in this