IS Today (Valacich & Schneider) Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Published as Prentice Hall 9/10/ Chapter 11 Information Systems Ethics and Computer Crime

IS Today (Valacich & Schneider) Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Published as Prentice Hall 9/10/2015 Computer Ethics 11-2 Issues and standards of conduct pertaining to the use of information systems 1986—Richard O. Mason article  Most ethical debates relate to:  Information privacy  Information accuracy  Information property  Information accessibility

IS Today (Valacich & Schneider) Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Published as Prentice Hall 9/10/2015 Information Privacy 11-3 What information should an individual should have to reveal to others, especially via the course of employment and other transactions, such as online shopping Information you might want to keep private:  Social security number  Medical history  Family history Needs to avoid identity theft (stealing of another person’s social security no., credit card numbers and other info for the purpose of conducting criminal activities)

IS Today (Valacich & Schneider) Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Published as Prentice Hall 9/10/2015 Information Accuracy 11-4 Ensuring of the authenticity and fidelity of information as well as with identifying who is responsible for info errors that harm people High costs of incorrect information  Banks  Hospitals Difficult to track down the person who made the mistake

IS Today (Valacich & Schneider) Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Published as Prentice Hall 9/10/2015 Information Property 11-5 Focuses on who owns information about individuals and how can it be sold and exchanged Company maintaining the database with customer information legally owns it. They can sell the info There are limits to data privacy statements: 1) Cannot sell information it agreed not to share; 2) Must insure proper data handling practices

IS Today (Valacich & Schneider) Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Published as Prentice Hall 9/10/2015 Spam, Cookies, Spyware, cybersquatting & Digital right management Spam-Unsolicited Cookies- Text file storing Web browsing activity. Can opt for cookies not to be stored. Web sites might not function properly without cookies. Spyware- Software used for data collection without the users’ knowledge Cybersquatting- The practice of registering a domain name and later reselling it Digital Rights Management (DRM)- Technology solution to control digital content (Music, movies, books) 1-6

IS Today (Valacich & Schneider) Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Published as Prentice Hall 9/10/2015 Information Accessibility 11-7 Define what information a person or organization has the right to obtain about others and how this information can be accessed and used E.g., capture by Carnivore

IS Today (Valacich & Schneider) Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Published as Prentice Hall 9/10/2015 Computer Crime 11-8 Using a computer to commit an illegal act  Targeting a computer – unauthorized access  Using a computer to commit an offense  Using a computer to support a criminal activity Overall trend of computer crime declining. Next are types of computer crime and financial losses. Figures based on a survey of 194 organizations

IS Today (Valacich & Schneider) Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Published as Prentice Hall 9/10/2015 Unauthorized Computer Access 11-9 Using computer systems with no authority to gain such access Other examples from the media: 1) Employees steal time on company computers to do personal business, 2) Intruders break into government Web sites and change information displayed, 3) Thieves steal credit card numbers and buy merchandise Types of users accessing computers without authorization: 1) Hackers: Individuals gaining unauthorized access; Motivated by curiosity; No intentions to do harm 2) Crackers: Break into computers with the intention of doing harm 3) Hacktivists: Break into computer systems to promote political or ideological goals

IS Today (Valacich & Schneider) Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Published as Prentice Hall 9/10/2015 Types of Computer Criminals No clear profile as to who commits computer crimes Four groups of computer criminals 1) Current or former employees  85-95% of theft from businesses comes from the inside 2) People with technical knowledge committing crimes for personal gain 3) Career criminals using computers to assist them in crimes 4) Outside crackers hoping to find information of value  About 12% of cracker attacks cause damage

IS Today (Valacich & Schneider) Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Published as Prentice Hall 9/10/2015 Types of Computer Crimes 11-11

IS Today (Valacich & Schneider) Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Published as Prentice Hall 9/10/2015 Types of Computer Crimes (cont’d) 11-12

IS Today (Valacich & Schneider) Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Published as Prentice Hall 9/10/2015 Software Piracy Legal activities  Making one backup copy for personal use  Sharing free software (shareware or public domain software) Illegal activities  Making copies of purchased software for others  Offering stolen proprietary software (warez peddling) Software Piracy Terms o Intellectual property (IP)-Creations of the mind(s). Ex: Music, software, etc. o Patents- Process, machine or material of inventions. Ex: Amazon’s “one-click” buying experience o Copyrights- Legal way of protecting IP. Ex: 1980 Computer Software Copyright Act

IS Today (Valacich & Schneider) Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Published as Prentice Hall 9/10/2015 Software Piracy Is a Global Business Worldwide losses for 2005 estimated at $34 billion Some factors influencing piracy around the world o Concept of intellectual property differs between countries o Economic reasons for piracy o Lack of public awareness about the issue

IS Today (Valacich & Schneider) Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Published as Prentice Hall 9/10/2015 Computer Viruses and Other Destructive Code Malware (malicious software)  1,400 new pieces released in one month. Types of malware include:  Viruses -Reproduce themselves. Usually delete or destroy files. Viruses can spread through attachments  Worm- Does not destroy files. Designed to copy and send itself. Brings computers down by clogging memory  Trojan horse- Does not copy itself. Often remains hidden to the user  Logic bombs and time bombs- Variations of Trojan horse. Do not disrupt computer function until triggering event/operation

IS Today (Valacich & Schneider) Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Published as Prentice Hall 9/10/2015 Internet Hoaxes False messages circulated online  New viruses (that don’t exist)  told recipients to erase a file that was actually a part of Windows operating system  Collection of funds for certain group  Cancer causes  Possible consequences  Spammers harvesting addresses from hoaxes

IS Today (Valacich & Schneider) Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Published as Prentice Hall 9/10/2015 Cyber Harassment, Stalking, and Bullying Cyber harassment  Crime that broadly refers to the use of a computer to communicate:  Obscene, vulgar, or threatening content Cyber stalking  Making false accusations that damage reputation  Gaining information on a victim by monitoring online activates  Using the Internet to encouraging other to harass a victim  Attacking data and equipment of a victim  Using the Internet to place false goods or orders Cyber bullying  The deliberate cause of emotional distress to a victim Online predator  Typically target vulnerable population for sexual or financial purpose

IS Today (Valacich & Schneider) Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Published as Prentice Hall 9/10/ Cyber-war: Military’s attempt to disrupt or destroy other country’s information and communication systems Goal is to diminish opponent’s communication capabilities Used in concert with traditional methods Cyber-terrorism: use of computer and network technologies against persons or properties to intimidate or coerce governments, civilians, or any segments of society in order to attain political, religious or ideological goals. Governments not involved Can be launched from anywhere in the world Goal is to cause fear, panic and destruction Cyberterrorism will likely become weapon of choice Cyberwar vs. Cyberterrorism

IS Today (Valacich & Schneider) Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Published as Prentice Hall 9/10/2015 Categories of Potential Cyberterrorist Attacks 11-19

IS Today (Valacich & Schneider) Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Published as Prentice Hall 9/10/2015 Use of Internet in Terrorist Attacks 11-20

IS Today (Valacich & Schneider) Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Published as Prentice Hall 9/10/2015 Use of Internet in Terrorist Attacks (cont’d) 11-21