Ethics and the Law

Ethics Ethics comes from a Greek word ethe’ which means character. A set of theories of value, virtue or of right action A set of theories to provide general rules/principles to be used in making moral decisions –to provide justification for those rules Every human action is judged to be good/bad based on these theories

What is Computer Ethics? According to James H. Moore, who is believed to have first coined the phrase "computer ethics", computer ethics is the analysis of the nature and social impact of computer technology and the corresponding formulation and justification of policies for the ethical use of such technology It is a study, an analysis of the values of human actions influenced by computer technology.

Computer influence on human actions is widespread throughout the decision making process preceding the action

Why study computer and information ethics Apply ethical point of view to real- world computing context Identify and solve ethical problems in specific fields of computing

Why You Should Study Computer Ethics? Moore’s contention is that the central task of computer ethics, in decision making processes that involve computer technology, should be to “determine what should be done” whenever there is a policy vacuum. It is difficult to fully explain the cause of these vacuums, but one can say that they are mainly caused by the ‘confusion’ between the known policies and what is presented.

So naturally one would come to a conclusion that since we cannot stop computer technology which causes these muddles, we need a plan of action that will work with the changing computing technology and at the same time deal with the ethical issues that do arise There are two schools of thought: – One school, believes in the study of computer ethics as remedial moral education –The other school believes in computer ethics education not as a moral education but as a field worthy of study in its own right

Walter Maner explains the existence of the two schools with the views that: – the involvement of computers in human conduct can create entirely new ethical issues, unique to computing, that do not surface in other areas.

According to Maner, we should study Computer Ethics because: – doing so will make us behave like responsible professionals – doing so will teach us how to avoid computer abuse and catastrophes –the advance of computing technology will continue to create temporary policy vacuums –the use of computing permanently transforms certain ethical issues to the degree that their alterations require independent study –the use of computing technology creates, and will continue to create, novel ethical issues that require special study.

Anatomy of the Problem Recent terrorist attacks and the raise in cyber attacks have raised concern about the security of information, security of individuals, and a need to protect the nation’s cyber infrastructure

Will there ever be an end to these? Cyberspace infrastructure and communication protocols are inherently weak T he average user in cyberspace has very limited knowledge of the computer network infrastructure, its weaknesses and gapping loopholes. Society, as a whole, is increasingly becoming irreversibly dependent on an infrastructure and technology that it least understands. Society, as a whole, is increasingly becoming irreversibly dependent on an infrastructure and technology that it least understands.

There are no long-term, let alone immediate plans and mechanism in place or planned to educate the public. There is a high degree of compliancy in a society that still accords a "Wiz Kid" status to cyberspace vandals The only known remedy mechanisms and solutions to the problem are patching loopholes after an attack has occurred. The price of this escalating problem is yet to be known. Reporting is voluntary, haphazard, and quite often at will. The nation is yet to understand the seriousness of cyber vandalism.

What are the causes? Vendetta/Revenge Demonstrations at World Trade Organization (WTO) in Seattle, Washington, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund in Washington, D.C., Prague, Hungry, and Geneo Italy – against globalization. Joke/Hoax/Prank The Hacker's Ethics All information should be free Terrorism Political and Military Espionage Business ( Competition) Espionage Hate (national origin, gender, and race) Personal gain/Fame/Fun/Notoriety Ignorance

Challenges in Tracking Cyber Criminals Nearly in all countries there is no required reporting mechanism in government agencies, even the private sector, to detect intrusions and report such intrusions In the private sector, there is very little interest in reporting of any system related intrusions. This is a result of the fear of marketplace forces that would expose management’s weaknesses to the shareholder community and competitors.

There is no adequate enforcement of existing reporting mechanisms The insider effect, it is reported in some studies that most e-attacks are generated and started by inside employees. This makes the job of detection and reporting very murky. It is like having an arsonist working in the fire department Many nations have no required and trained security agencies to fight e-attacks.

Social and Ethical Consequences

Psychological effects – these include hate and joke especially on an individual. – may lead to individual reclusion, –increasing isolation, and such trends may lead to dangerous and costly repercussions on the individual, corporations and society as a whole. Moral decay – There is a moral imperative in all our actions. When human actions, whether bad or good, become so frequent, they create a level of familiarity that leads to acceptance as “normal”. This type of acceptance of actions formerly viewed as immoral and bad by society lead to moral decay.

Loss of privacy – After an attack, there is usually an over reaction and a resurgence in the need for quick solutions to the problem that seems to have hit home. Many businesses are responding with patches, filters, ID tools, and a whole list of “solutions”. profile scanners and straight scanners like Echlon. Echlon is a high-tech U.S. government spying software housed in England. It is capable of scanning millions of s given specific keywords. Tracking technology to lead to virus writers. Trust – Along with privacy lost, is trust lost. Individuals once attacked, lose trust in a person, group, company or anything else believed to be the source of the attack or believed to be unable to stop the attack.

Law Rules of conduct or actions recognized by customs or decreed by a formal body and enforceable by some instrument. We obey two types of laws: Natural and Conventional

Natural Law Unwritten but universal Unwritten but universal consists of rights: consists of rights: –Self-defense (preservation) –Individual property –Liberty It is a higher form of human law, therefore, independent of human preferences and applies to all rational creatures of nature Before organized human societies, humans existed because of natural law. Civilization is based on it.

Conventional Law It is a system of rules created by and for human beings – through, though not always, public deliberations It varies from society to society Its purpose is to: –Protect human life, property and liberty. –prescribe a system or punishments for unlawful acts – Penal Code

Law and Ethics Most laws are derived from moral codes Though law often embodies ethical principals, law and ethics are far from co-extensive. There are many acts that would be widely condemned as unethical but are not prohibited by law, that is there are not illegal-- lying or betraying the confidence of a friend, for example. There are also many acts that are considered illegal but ethical. –In much that the law does it is not simply codifying ethical norms.

WHAT CONSTITUTES A COMPUTER CRIME? The United States Department of Justice states that computer crime is any illegal act for which – –knowledge of computer technology is essential for either its perpetration, investigation, or prosecution. ( Of course, this presupposes knowledge of whether or not an act is illegal).

CODES OF ETHICS Codes of ethics establish broad rules of conduct for a profession and its members, and thus can be differentiated from an individual moral code which governs particular decisions in both private and professional life. Codes of ethical conduct for the professional and moral decisions for the individual overlap with legal requirements but are distinct from them.

Codes of Ethics and Law Legal provisions and professional codes of ethics are often in agreement--that is, professional conduct is usually both legal and ethical, or occasionally both illegal and unethical. Sometimes, however, the two may not clearly coincide and the resulting conflict may pose some real dilemmas for the professional. Professional conduct may be unethical and yet remain legal; in some instances conduct may be illegal and yet still be ethical. A simple topology will illustrate the relation between law and ethics.

Computer Laws: Federal

Computer Laws: States Computer Crime Laws by State - /computerlaw/statelaws.html