Social and ethical issues related to information technology are _____
unavoidable
What are Ethics?
the study of how to decide if something is morally right or wrong
What is Consequentialism/Utilitarianism?
focuses on the consequences of an act—on the whole good or bad outcomes
What points can be made that copying music is okay?
- There are many more music users than publishers
- Music users are happy to get free access
- Publishers get publicity for their products
- File sharing is akin to hearing a song on the radio
- Many users buy a song after listening to it
- Drop in sales may relate more to purchasing
song-by-song rather than by album
What points can be made that copying music is not okay?
- Early on MP3 sharing encouraged CD sales, but long-term trend is reduction in sales
- iTunes and Amazon sell one song at a time to compete with illegal file sharing
- If publishers cannot profit, then less music will be made
- Copyright protection is the law, and music file sharing is clearly illegal; encouraging illegal behavior is wrong
What is a Dialectic
a dialogue that explores an issue from both sides to lead to greater understanding
What is the Athens Affair?
Law enforcement needed to wiretap phones belonging to suspects. In Greece, hackers wiretapped 100 major business and political leaders.
What are possible analogies that could make with respect to the Athens Affair situation
Analogy #1: Lawful Intercept (LI) is like requiring everyone to record their face-to-face conversations (VoIP)
Analogy #2: LI is like suspicious activity reporting (SAR) in banking
What are the implications with the analogy of the Lawful Intercept being similar to VoIP?
LI systems go beyond rules for private conversations
Without LI, law enforcement can still monitor as with face-to-face conversations
What are the problems with the analogy of the Lawful Intercept being compared to VoIP?
- This argument would apply to normal phone tapping
- Society accepts the need for some phone taps
- What features of the analogy don’t work?
- Fourth party involvement: telecommunications provider
What are the similarities with the analogy that the Lawful Intercept being compared to VoIP?
- Forms of communication
- Meant to include a limited number
- Possible for others to listen in
- Easy access for others; required recordings allow abuses by government or hackers
What are the similarities with the analogy between Lawful Intercept (LI) and Suspicious Activity Reporting (SAR)?
- Both are critical resources for criminals and require the help of external (law-abiding) entity
- Information helps to connect suspects with each other and discover networks of suspects
What are the problems with the analogy between Lawful Intercept (LI) and Suspicious Activity Reporting (SAR)?
- Who initiates the sending of information differs (banks initiate, not government)
- The information provided is very different
- Banks provide times, dates, and participants
- Full conversation recording supplies much more detail
After analyzing the analogies between the Lawful Intercept and VoIP systems, what are possible options to consider?
- Require all VoIP systems to implement LI
- Do not require LI; use physical eavesdropping
- Require VoIP providers to report suspicious activities, but do not record conversations
Who are the stakeholders in the Athens Affair case study>
- Law enforcement
- Hackers and non-hacker criminals
- The public
What is hacktivism?
the use of technology to promote a political agenda or a social change.
What groups or organizations are examples of hacktivists?
- Wikileaks
2. Anonymous
What is an analogy of a hacktivist breaking into a computer?
breaking into a computer is like breaking into someone’s house
What are the similarities or differences of the analogy of breaking into a computer is like breaking into someone’s house?
Similarities:
1. Intruders are there without permission
2. Owners take precautions to discourage intrusion
3. Both are against the law
Differences
1. Burglars take physical objects, depriving owner
2. Hackers, in this case, copy intellectual property
3. No threat of violence with hacking
What utilitarian argument can be made about the analogy of breaking into a computer is like breaking into someone’s house?
- Owner of information loses control over it
- Hacker gains access to information
- Owner must increase security
a. Increased awareness of vulnerability may be good
b. Increased security only required because of hackers - Hard to see consequences
- Must we distinguish between “good hackers” and “bad hackers”?
What deontological argument can be made about the analogy of breaking into a computer is like breaking into someone’s house?
- The information being shared does not belong to the hacker
- Does not respect other people’s wishes or safety
- Rules exist because we, as a society, expect electronic privacy
- Why should their ethic override other people’s wishes?
- Does hacking treat other people as a means to an end?
What is Deontology?
the study of duty and obligation.
ie. Focus on intent of an action, not consequences
What is Kant’s 2nd categorical imperative?
Never treat a fellow human merely as a means to an end
What is Paramedic ethics?
know a little and know when to ask ethical questions
