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Question: Future Sessions. AI and Military (UAS) Virtual Worlds Privacy and NSA Free Software Movement. Professional Issues in Computing: Hacking. Kevin Macnish (IDEA CETL). Plan. “Hacking” What’s wrong? Harm Consent Lying Hackers’ lines of defence The significance of intention
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Question: Future Sessions • AI and Military (UAS) • Virtual Worlds • Privacy and NSA • Free Software Movement
Professional Issues in Computing:Hacking Kevin Macnish (IDEA CETL)
Plan • “Hacking” • What’s wrong? • Harm • Consent • Lying • Hackers’ lines of defence • The significance of intention • Specific lines of defence
What is “Hacking”? • Breaking into systems • Modifying programs • Improvising
What is “Hacking”? • Breaking into systems • Modifying programs • Improvising
Which Hat are You Wearing? • White Hat • Grey Hat • Black Hat
Which Hat are You Wearing? • Grey Hat • Black Hat
Which Hat are You Wearing? • White Hat • Grey Hat
Which Hat are You Wearing? • White Hat • Grey Hat • Black Hat Intention Consent
What is Your Purpose? • Pen testing • Cyber crime (e.g. Interview) • State-sponsored • Espionage (e.g. NSA) • Disruption (e.g. Stuxnet, SEA) • Lone wolf (McKinnon) • Hacktivist (Anonymous, Wikileaks)
Ethical Concerns • Interview with a Blackhat • Not without ethics • Paedophiles and revenge porn fair game • Felt bad when friend victim • Real victims • Stealing money • Making people vulnerable
What’s Wrong with Hacking - Effects • Harm & Damage • Loss of productivity • Financial losses • Damage to equipment • Interference & violating autonomy • Preventing equipment from functioning • Stopping people doing what they want to do • Violations of Privacy • Theft of phone numbers, bank records, etc.
What’s Wrong with Hacking - Consent • Analogy with trespass • Property rights: may control access to and the use of property. • “If you leave the door open, you can’t complain if someone enters.” • Yes, you can. • Consent is the key issue • What access to their computer systems has the user been given consent to access? • If you accept the trespass analogy, effectiveness of security is irrelevant.
Use Without Consent • You do not have consent to use your neighbour’s property • Entering their house for fun is not permissible • Entering their house to rescue a child is right • Violating people’s property rights is always problematic, but it can be outweighed.
What’s Wrong with Hacking– Lying / Deception • Presenting yourself as someone else • E.g. at login as a system administrator • In virtually every ethical theory there is something wrong about lying and deception • even where it can sometimes be outweighed
Lines of Defence • Intention – “I didn’t mean to harm anyone” • Triviality – “we’re just a few meddling kids” • Benefit of exposing lax security • Educational benefit to the hacker • “Hacktivism” as civil disobedience Which (if any) of these do you think is a convincing defence?
Intention • Intention is relevant to blame • Connected with belief / knowledge • Adds wrong motives to wrong actions • Murder worse than manslaughter • But you can still do the wrong thing even if your motives are innocent • Manslaughter is still wrong!
Triviality – “just kids messing” • Trivial wrong is still wrong • Proportionality • Lesser wrongs deserve lesser blame/criticism • What’s trivial? • The wrong or the perpetrators? • This objection has some (limited) force • But only if the wrongs really are trivial • Trivial to whom?
Benefit to the Hacked • Claim: the hacker benefits the hacked organisation • Security weaknesses are highlighted • Some advise sys admins how to deal with weaknesses • Assumes there are wrongs in hacking • If so, then the “benefit to the hacked” defence fails • Or is it only consequences that matter? • Is it acceptable to wrong someone in order to show them that they are in danger of being wronged? • E.g. Rape • Issue of consent again – could be implied? • What if you do this to a complete stranger?
Hacktivism as Civil Disobedience • When is civil disobedience justified? • Wider question • Includes context • Importance of democracy • In democracies there is a fair decision procedure, so it is not normally justified to reject rules agreed by democratic procedure. • Sometimes it is still justified
Weighing Reasons Against • Lying/deception • No consent • Possible harms • Against the law • In favour • ?
Recap • “Hacking” • What’s wrong? • Hackers’ lines of defence