Cybersecurity Ethics

This course examines ethical issues relevant to ethics for cybersecurity professionals, including privacy, professional code of conduct, practical conflicts between engineering ethics and business practices, individual and corporate social responsibility, ethical hacking, information warfare, and cyberwarfare. Students will gain a broad understanding of central issues in cyberethics and the ways that fundamental ethical theories relate to these core issues.

Course Material

One of the topics that was discussed in this course was corporate social responsibility. My perspective on corporate social responsibility has not really changed a whole lot. I still believe it is an organization or company’s responsibility to look out for the best interest of society which today means they have to look at social issues as well rather than purely prioritizing profit. Although my belief is similar to Melvin Anshen’s perspective on corporate social responsibility, I have gained understanding of the other perspective in which businesses should focus on profit. I understand Milton Friedman’s belief of corporate social responsibility and his sentiment about the cloak of responsibility in which businesses acting in favor of society may be disingenuous. Although I may not agree with Friedman’s view of social responsibility, I do agree with his statement regarding the cloak of responsibility. Therefore, my view on corporate social responsibility has changed a little in that rather than corporations having to actively seek out and address social issues they should ensure that their practices do not impede or disadvantage society.  They should not add to social issues and should only address or solve a social issue when given the opportunity. My takeaway on this topic is that the social contract between businesses and society may change depending on current times. Therefore, I should not be surprised if within the span of my career or lifetime, corporate social responsibility and the sentiment surrounding it has changed. A certainty I should remember is that the social contract is intended to have the best interests of society.

Another topic discussed in the course is whistleblowing. My views on whistleblowing in regards to loyalty has changed. Prior to this course and prior to watching the video and reading the articles associated with this topic, I believed whistleblowing was a disloyal act. However, after reading the articles and learning of concepts such as rational and critical loyalty my perspective has changed. Rational loyalty has made me understand that loyalty does not always have to be towards an entity but it can be towards the beliefs and values of that entity. The concept of rational loyalty has also made me realize that we as individuals tend to be loyal to certain groups and individuals that hold similar beliefs and values. This loyalty may not be towards the entity but more so towards the beliefs and values of the entity. The concept of critical loyalty has given me the perspective that one should be open-minded about acts of whistleblowing. In critical loyalty an individual will act out of care and will do what they believe is best for the object of their loyalty. While we may not agree with their actions, we cannot dismiss their perspective. After learning about this topic, I now believe that whistleblowing can be a loyal act given that the whistleblower acted with pure intentions and out of care for the organization. A takeaway from this topic is given a situation where whistleblowing may be necessary, I should carefully assess the object of my loyalty and understand my intentions prior to making a decision. I should remember whistleblowing done out of loyalty is an act of care.

Another topic discussed in this course is cyber warfare. My position regarding cyber warfare has changed a little. Although we specifically discussed Iran and Israel in this topic, I used to view cyber warfare as being unjust for all nations due to the nature of the acts and the anonymity surrounding the cyber world. However, after learning about the traditional just war theory and how it can be changed to be applied to cyber warfare, I now believe there are certain situations in which cyber warfare can be just. Cyber-attacks between nations tend to harm civilians in order for something to occur. The attacks between Israel and Iran for example, targeted and harmed civilians in order to cause chaos across the country. Additionally, due to the global reach of cyber technology it is more difficult to the perpetrator thus, making it difficult to have a just cause. The traditional just war theory provided rules for engaging and acting in war while the changes proposed by Mariarosaria Taddeo was still applying those rules but in regards to the infosphere. Given a guideline in assessing the morality of acts of cyber warfare and the concept of the infosphere, I can now approach assessing the morality of cyber warfare with a better mind. I have realized the morality of cyber warfare must be assessed with full context and understanding of the situation. Before this course, I did not consider the context of cyber warfare and concluded that all is bad. One thing I should remember is if put in a situation where I am aware of an act of cyber warfare, I should carefully analyze the justness of the act and take action if necessary.  With the theory of a just cyber war and the traditional just war theory, I should be able to decide whether an act of cyber warfare is just or not.