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

I have always been one to try and analyze incidents from various angles, this course helped me develop that skill and the foresight which I believe is necessary for my future in the cybersecurity industry. One of the most valuable things, in my opinion, is to be able to understand the motivations, feelings, and logic of others, the required reading for this course, specifically referring to the tool unlock readings, are wonderful in giving the reader development and understanding for the different ethical tools. Each one was well selected and helped me understand the different ethical tools I used much better than I had beforehand. But more than the largely fictional stories teaching me about ethical tools, I found that the articles on real life events for case studies were particularly useful, as it both let me learn about an incident I may or may not have known much about, as well as develop my ethical reasoning skills and analytical skills.

Initially when working through the case studies, the very first ethical tool I unlocked was utilitarianism, which I then needed to analyze a case about privacy through a utilitarianism lens, which largely threw me off in part due to the fact that utilitarianism largely differs from my own world view. Another one of the ethical tools and case studies which left an impression on me was Kantian deontology. While I had never quite known what Kantian deontology was before, I found that I largely agreed with Kant’s form of ethics. Similarly, one of the case studies that I investigated with the deontology on my mind was Bill Sourour’s article on his shame about coding a quiz which perpetuated a drug that largely gave it’s users depression and suicidal ideation. Sourour’s guilt for coding the quiz just because it was another job and not taking any further action to prevent it from occurring sits with me in my mind, it reminds me just how complex and nuanced the job field I am looking to enter is.

While Sourour’s story ended with regret and shame, the case study about whistleblowing further reinforced the idea that began to sprout in my head about carefully choosing what jobs I work and what jobs I choose not to work. This course largely helped me realize that no matter what, money is not more important than personal beliefs. I always knew that I would not tolerate human rights being violated, but to see it in a place that is meant not to take away the freedom of others but rather protect and securing the freedom of the citizens of the United States made me simmer inside.

I believe that this type of course, a philosophical course which teaches the taker about ethics intertwined with their future career path, should exist for just about any job, and if not something specified for ones career path, then something that still has the taker learn about different ethical conundrums such as this course. I think what stands out the most to me is again the thought of universality and fairness that comes with Kantian deontology, in the line of cybersecurity I would want to secure the information of others, not violate other’s right to privacy and take it away from them, if I did that to one person what’s stopping me from doing it to everyone else. If I choose to work an immoral job and don’t report it, what’s stopping me from doing the same again and again, why should anyone trust me then? That’s something I will want to remember in the future, and something I hope to live up to.