Ethics for Computing Professionals PDF

Lecture 1 - Introduction Ethics for Computing Professionals 1 Quote: In view of all the deadly computer viruses that have been spreading lately, Weekend Update Computer and would l...

Lecture 1 - Introduction Ethics for Computing Professionals 1 Quote: In view of all the deadly computer viruses that have been spreading lately, Weekend Update Computer and would like to remind you: when you link up to another computer, you’re Internet Crime linking up to every computer that that computer has ever linked up to. (Dennis Miller, Saturday Night Live) 2 1  Introduction Ethics is a set of moral principles that govern the behavior of a group or individual Computer Ethics is a set of moral principles that regulate the use of Computers It is a new branch of Ethics that is growing and changing rapidly as computer technology also grows and develops 3 What are Ethics? Derived from the Greek word “ethos”, which means “custom”, “habit”, and “way of living” Ethics is concerned with human conduct, i.e., behavior of individuals in society Ethics is a system of morals of a particular person, religion or a group Moral: means dealing with, or capable of, distinguishing between right and wrong, and between just and unjust 4 2  What are Ethics? These rules are often Each society forms a set of expressed in statements Ethics is the set of beliefs rules that establishes the about how people should about right and wrong boundaries of generally behave, and they fit together behavior. accepted behavior. to form the moral code by which a society lives. Virtues are habits that incline People’s virtues and vices Ethical behavior conforms to people to do what is help define their value generally accepted social acceptable, and vices are system – the complex scheme norms, many of which are habits of unacceptable of moral values by which they almost universal. behavior live 5 What are Professional Ethics? Professional ethics are a code of conduct that govern how members of a profession deal with each other and with third parties 6 3  Professional Codes of Ethics A professional code of ethics states the principles and core values that are essential to the work of a particular occupational group. Association of Computing Machinery ACM (founded 1947) has a code of ethics and professional conduct. See: http://www.acm.org/constitution/code.html Association of Information Technology Professionals AITP (founded 1996) – provides quality IT-related education, information on relevant IT issues, and forums for networking with experienced peers and other IT professionals. The AITP also has a code of ethics, see: http://www.aitp.org/join/SCOH17CodeEthicsStdsCdt.pdf 7 Professional Codes of Ethics Computer Society of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE – CS) (founded in 1946). The Software Engineering Code of Ethics and Professional Practice: http://www.acm.org/serving/se/code.htm Project Management Institute (PMI) – established in 1969. PMI Member Code of Ethics: http://www.pmi.org/info/AP_MemEthStandards.pdf 8 4  Why study Computer Ethics? Wise and gentle people A professional must need Computer is an invention Computers are Ubiquitous You might not harm others abide by the ethics to know about his/her that has put such a great (involved every where) knowingly or in ignorance professional ethics impact on our social life that no other invention has or could done so far. Ignorance of law does not spare you from punishment 9 Why should we have a Professional Code of Ethics? A Professional Code of Ethics serves several functions: Symbolizes the professionalism of the group Defines and promotes a standard for external relations with clients and employers Protects the groups interests Codifies members’ rights Expresses ideals to aspire to Offers guidelines in “gray areas” 10 5  Computer Ethics If Ethics is a set of moral (right, good, honest, descent) principles that govern the behavior of a group or individual Then, computer ethics is set of moral principles that regulate the use of computers. Computer ethics is defined as the application of classical ethical principles to the use of computer technology Computer Ethics is a part of practical philosophy which deals with how computing professionals should make decisions regarding professional and social conduct. 11 Aspects of Computer Ethics Analysis of the nature Formulation and of problems related to justification of policies the social impact of needed to manage computers computer technology 12 6  Evolution of Computer Ethics Intelligent Machines: The very first ethical concern about computer was that computers might take over decision making from humans. Large data repositories: Large organization’s data privacy and security concern as well as accuracy of large calculations Personal Computers: Democratizing aspects of personal computer 13 Evolution of Computer Ethics Computer Networks: Issues of remote access through computer networks Software as Valuable Property: Enormous market value of software was recognized and all the ethical issues having to do with properties arose like; ownership, how and who own, rights protection etc. along with that issues of liability and responsibility Commercialization of computing: computing games and hackers' issues 14 7  Evolution of Computer Ethics The Internet and World Wide Web: 1990’s Advent of internet, www, computer involvement in telecom and media brought endless set of ethical issues. Computer plus visual media: Combination of computer technology with wide Verity of visualization activities including medical imaging and scientific models along with most sensitive the virtual reality. Global computing trends: Grid computing, Distributed computing, Parallel computing, and Cloud computing 15 Challenge for Computer Ethics (The ethical issues have followed, rather than led, the technology.) As the world of computers evolves, computer ethics continues to create ethical standards that address new issues raised by new technologies Some common issues of computer ethics including intellectual property rights (such as copyrighted electronic content), privacy concerns, and how computers affect society are unique in nature. 16 8  Common Ethical Issues for IT Users Software Piracy: a common violation occurs when employees copy software from their work computers for use at home Inappropriate Use of Computing Resources: some employees use their work computers to surf popular Web sites that have nothing to do with their jobs. “Half of Fortune 500 companies have dealt with at least one incident related to computer misuse at the workplace over the past 12 months, according to a survey released today. Corporations are taking the problem seriously and fired the offenders in 44% of the cases and disciplined those responsible in 41% of the instances”. (China Martens, Survey: Computer porn remains issue at U.S. companies, Computer-world, June 21, 2005 http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=102664 17 Common Ethical Issues for IT Users Inappropriate Sharing of Information: Organizations stored vast amount of information that can be classified as private or confidential. Private data describes individual employees – for example, salary, attendance, performance rating, health record. Confidential information describes a company and its operations: sales, promotion plans, research and development. Sharing this information with unauthorized party, even inadvertently, has violated someone’s privacy or created the potential that company information could fall into the hands of competitors. 18 9  Supporting The Ethical Practices of IT Users Defining and Limiting the Appropriate Use of IT Resources Companies must develop, communicate and enforce written guidelines that encourage employees to respect corporate IT resources and use them to enhance their job performance. Effective guidelines allow some level of personal use while prohibiting employees from visiting objectionable Web sites or using company e-mail to send offensive or harassing messages. See: Widener University ITS Procedures: http://www.widener.edu/Administration/Information_Technology_Services/Information/Procedure s/6662/ 19 Supporting The Ethical Practices of IT Users Establishing Guidelines for Use of Structuring Information Systems to Company Software Protect Data and Information Company IT managers must provide clear rules Implement system and procedures that limit that govern the use of home computers and data access to employees who need it. associated software. Employees should be prohibited from accessing The goal should be to ensure that employees the data about research and development have legal copies of all software results, product formulae, and staffing projections if they don’t need it to do their job 20 10  Supporting The Ethical Practices of IT Users Installing and Maintaining a Corporate Firewall Firewall is a software or hardware device that serves as a barrier between a company and the outside world and limits access to the company’s network based on the Internet usage policy. Firewall can be configured to serve as an effective detergent unauthorized Web surfing by blocking access to specific, objectionable Web sites. Firewall can serve as an effective barrier to incoming e-mail from certain Web sites, companies or users Can be programmed to block e-mail with certain kinds of attachments, which reduces the risk of harmful computer viruses 21 11  Lecture 2 - Introduction Ethics for Computing Professionals 1 ACM/IEEE Code of ethics - principles PUBLIC - Software engineers shall act consistently with the public interest. CLIENT AND EMPLOYER - Software engineers shall act in a manner that is in the best interests of their client and employer consistent with the public interest. PRODUCT - Software engineers shall ensure that their products and related modifications meet the highest professional standards possible. JUDGMENT- Software engineers shall maintain integrity and independence in their professional judgment. MANAGEMENT - Software engineering managers and leaders shall subscribe to and promote an ethical approach to the management of software development and maintenance. PROFESSION - Software engineers shall advance the integrity and reputation of the profession consistent with the public interest. COLLEAGUES - Software engineers shall be fair to and supportive of their colleagues. SELF - Software engineers shall participate in lifelong learning regarding the practice of their profession and shall promote an ethical approach to the practice of the profession. 2 1  The security of IT used in business is very important Computer and Although, the necessity of security is Internet Crime obvious, it often must be balanced against other business needs and IT Security Incidents issues IT professionals and IT users all face a number of ethical decisions regarding IT security: 3 What could be done to deal with the increasing number of IT-related security incidents, around the world? To deal with the incidents, the Computer Emergency Response Team Coordination Center (CERT/CC) was established in 1988 at the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) – federally funded research and development center at Carnegie Mellon: Study Internet Security vulnerabilities Handle Computer Security Incidents Publish Security Alerts Research long-term changes in networked systems Develop information and training Conduct ongoing public awareness campaign FBI Cyber Program, Internet Crime Complaint Center http://www.fbi.gov/cyberinvest/cyberhome.htm 4 2  Ethics Computer Ethics Special Responsibilities Facing Computer Professionals and Users Maintaining relationships with and responsibilities toward customers, clients, coworkers, employees, and employers. Making critical decisions that have significant consequences for many people. Determining how to manage, select, or use computers in a professional setting. Q: Describe an ethical scenario for one of the categories, above. 5 Ethical Guidelines for Computer Professionals Additional Guidelines for the Computer Professional Understand Success Understand what success means—developers (especially) and users of computer systems must see beyond simply writing code to complete a task. Design for Real Users To provide useful systems, real users must be included in the design stage. Q: Give an example of a system for which consultation with real users in the design stage would be important. 6 3  Ethical Guidelines for Computer Professionals Additional Guidelines for the Computer Professional (cont’d) Thorough Planning and Scheduling Pay attention to details—do a thorough and careful job when planning and scheduling a project and when writing bids. Test With Real Users To provide safe systems, real users must be included in the testing stage. Q: Give an example of a system that has a straightforward user interface. A confusing interface. Would testing with real users improve the confusing one? 7 Ethical Guidelines for Computer Professionals Additional Guidelines for the Computer Professional (cont’d) Evaluate Re-use of Software Don’t assume existing software is safe and re-usable. Candidness Be open and honest about capabilities, safety, and limitations of software. Protect Require a convincing case for safety. Q: Describe a software program or computer system for which you think these guidelines were not followed. 8 4  Cases Analyzing a Professional Ethical Scenario Brainstorming phase List risks, issues, problems, consequences. List all the stakeholders. List possible actions. Q: What is the purpose of this stage? 9 Cases Analyzing Professional Responsibilities (cont’d) Analysis phase Identify the responsibilities of the decision-maker. Identify the rights of stakeholders. Consider the impact of the action options on the stakeholders. Find sections in codes of ethics that apply. Categorize each potential action or response as ethically obligatory, ethically prohibited, or ethically acceptable. Consider the ethical merits of each option and select one. Q: What is the value of this stage? 10 5  Other Ethical dilemmas you may encounter 1. Disagreement in principle with the policies of senior management 2. Your employer acts in an unethical way and releases a safety-critical system without finishing the testing of the system 3. Participation in the development of components for military weapons or biogenetic systems 11 Collective Ethical Responsibility of Computer Professionals? New technologies bring benefits as well as problems like: Electricity and current shock, Motor vehicles and air pollutions, organs transplantation and theft, nuclear power and nuclear waste, and computers and their abuses. They seem to pose ethical issues which require to be evaluated. Computer professionals have a collective responsibility to ensure that computing serves humanity well. 12 6  Computer Ethics and Policy Vacuum A typical problem in computer ethics arises because there is a policy vacuum about how computer technology should be used. Computers provide us with new capabilities and these in turn give us new choices for action. A central task of computer ethics is to determine what we should do in such cases, i.e., to formulate policies to guide our actions. Computer ethics includes consideration of both personal and social policies for the ethical use of computer technology. 13 Computer Ethics and Policy Vacuum James Moor argues that computer and IT creates innumerable opportunities which left us with choices about whether and how to pursue these opportunities, and we find a vacuum of policies on how to make these choices. With each new innovation or application, new policy vacuums have been created. 14 7  Examples: Word Processor is a beneficial and good software that offers several features for writing official letters, making documents and many more. But like other technologies, its many good features can be used in unethical way as well. Let's suppose we are trying to formulate a policy for protecting computer programs. A number of issues arise: 15 Questions that arise: A number of questions which do not have obvious answers emerge. What is a computer program? Is it really intellectual property which can be owned or is it more like an idea, an algorithm, which is not owned by anybody? If a computer program is intellectual property, is it an expression of an idea that is owned (traditionally protectable by copyright) or is it a process that is owned (traditionally protectable by patent)? Is a machine-readable program a copy of a human-readable program? These questions must be answered in order to formulate a useful policy for protecting computer programs. 16 8  Computer Ethics and Policy Vacuum For Example: Is it ethical for a company with a Web site to place a cookie on the hard drive of those who visit their site? Is data mining morally acceptable? Are internet domain names be distributed in a fair way? Is it right for an individual to electronically reproduce and alter/edit an artistic image that was originally created by someone else? 17 Computer Ethics and Policy Vacuum Should surgery be performed remotely with medical imaging technology? Should computer graphical recreation of incidents be allowed to be used in courtrooms? 18 9  Overcoming the policy vacuum (Reasoning by Analogy) Reasoning by analogy: It involves looking for familiar situations comparable to the one involving computer and IT, Then either accepting the equivalence of certain actions or identifying the significant differences between the cases. 19 Analogy in Computer Ethics Reasoning by analogy: For Example: Conceptualizing the case of computer hacking and comparing it with steeling a file from an office cabinet. Your comparative Moral judgment: 1. Are the above two acts same? 2. If not, what are the differences? 3. How will you suggest to punish on these acts? 20 10  Analogical reasoning is dangerous Argument: Hacking is morally permissible because it provides a service by identifying and revealing the flaws and vulnerabilities in computer system Comparable Argument: It is like setting a fire in a shopping mall in order to show the flaws in the fire protection system Your comparative Moral judgment: 1. Is this analogy right or wrong? 2. Which act (Hacking OR setting a fire ) is right or wrong? And on what bases? 21 Analogical reasoning is dangerous Comparable differences in the given example: 1. Setting fire in the mall puts individual lives at risk, While computer viruses generally don’t. 2. Both actions cause property damage, but in most cases damage caused by computer viruses is easily repairable. 3. Damage caused by fire could be limited whereas data corruption through virus could produce immeasurable damage 22 11  Analogical reasoning is dangerous A direct comparison of such arguments is not only wrong but dangerous as well. And we can not reach to the right decision in a simple/ straightforward way. What to do then? Never compare computer-based and non-computer-based cases in just one go – instead analyze it While giving reasoning by analogy it is important to identify the differences as well as similarities between computer based and non-computer-based cases 23 Computer used in Social Context Computer and IT is developed and used in a social context rich with moral, cultural, Economic, and political ideas. Therefore to use the computer technology we need to consider the environment e.g., business, home, educational institute, criminal justice system, medicine, science, social relations etc., See human purposes and interests, institutional goals, social relationships, traditions, social conventions, regulations and so on. 24 12  Challenges Increasing complexity increases vulnerability: The computing environment has become very complex Networks, computers, OS, applications, Web sites, switches, routers and gateways are interconnected and driven by hundreds of millions of lines of code The number of possible entry points to a network expands continually as more devices are added, increasing the possibility of security breaches 25 Challenges Higher computer user expectations: Time means money Help desks are under intense pressure to provide fast responses to user’s questions. Sometimes forgets to verify user’s identities, or to check authorization to perform a requested action 26 13  Challenges Expanding and changing systems introduce new risks: Businesses had moved from an era of stand-alone computers to a network era – personal computers connect to networks with millions of other computers all capable of sharing information. E-commerce, mobile computing, collaborative work groups, global business It is increasingly difficult to keep up with the pace of technological change, successfully perform an ongoing assessment of new security risks, and implement approaches for dealing with them 27 Challenges Increases reliance on commercial software with known vulnerabilities: Exploit is an attack on an information system that takes advantage of a particular system vulnerability. Often, this attack is due to poor system design or implementation. Once a vulnerability is discovered, software developers create and issue a “fix” or patch to eliminate the problem. Users are responsible for obtaining and installing the patch. Any delay in installing a patch exposes the user to a security breach. A rate of discovering software vulnerabilities exceeds 10 per day, creating a serious work overload for developers who are responsible for security fixes. 28 14  Challenges: Increases reliance on commercial software with known vulnerabilities: A zero-day attack take place BEFORE the security community or a software developer knows about a vulnerability or has been able to repair it. http://www.computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/hacking/story/0,10801,90447,00.html?f=x583 Malicious hackers are getting better and faster at exploiting flaws. The SQL Slammer worm appeared in January 2004, eight month after the vulnerability it targeted was disclosed: http://www.computerworld.com/softwaretopics/software/groupware/story/0,10801,89637,00.html 29 Challenges: Increases reliance on commercial software with known vulnerabilities: In August 2005, the ZOTOB computer worm began targeting corporate networks that run Windows 2000, less than a week after Microsoft released a critical patch addressing the vulnerability http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/internet/08/16/computer.worm/index.html In an attempt to avoid further attacks and the ultimate zero-day attack, computer security firms and software manufactures are paying hackers to identify vulnerabilities before they can be exploited. http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_34/b3948022_mz011.htm?chan=tc 30 15  Lecture 3 Ethics for Computing Professionals 1 Outline Professional Ethics Professional Ethics for computing Differentiating Professional and Occupational roles Computer Professional Role Characteristics of Profession Professional Relationships Code of Ethics an example Issues with code of ethics 2 1  Professional Ethics Provides rules on how Principles that govern a person should act the behavior of a towards other people person or group in a and institutions in such business environment. an environment. 3 Scenario-1: “Developer-A got engaged with a project involved in designing a system to monitor radar signals and launch nuclear missiles in response to these signals (involves equipment of mass destruction). There he detected some flaws in the system of making fine distinctions e.g., between small aircraft Scenario - 1 and a missile, as well as flaws in security. He reported these flaws to the higher management in order to keep the equipment safe, but they refused because they were already behind schedule and exceeding budget.” In Your opinion? What should Developer-A do? 4 2  Scenario-2 “Developer-B as consultant of a toy manufacturing company describes some security options for designing a sensitive database of company employees. Which she think is of core importance. But the CEO and Line management didn’t agree for more security due to exceeding budget.” In Your opinion? What should Developer-B do? 5 Suitable Ethical Decision for both developers A & B The developer should suggest the higher management to employ more programmers along with further promotion of automated software development and complete the work by adopting crash programming strategy and to save their credibility with a little financial loss. 6 3  Professional Ethics - Definitions Professional Ethics concerns one's conduct of behavior and practice when carrying out professional work, e.g., consulting, researching, teaching and writing Professional ethics is the ethical norms, values, and principles that guide a profession and the ethics of decisions made within the profession. Professional ethics is the set of rules governing the conduct, transactions, and relationships within a profession and among its publics. 7 Types of Roles While defining professional ethics ‘roles’ are required to be differentiated as: Professional Occupational 8 4  Professional roles carry with them socially recognized power or privilege /special rights and special responsibilities. For Professional Role example role of a doctor, engineer, lawyer etc. (Qualification Doctors making decisions about treatment for their patients, related): Lawyers deciding the best strategy for defending a client, Architects deciding on the design of a building 9 Occupational Roles (Job related): Occupational roles do not allow or require that the role-holder act outside ordinary morality. For example sales personal, construction workers, Office secretaries etc. 10 5  Managers (use computers and applications) Librarian (Administers library database etc.,) Graphic artists (Performs on computer graphics etc.,) Identify Engineers (Other than Computing; use CAD, CAM etc.) computing Security experts (Use and write security SW) Teachers (Computing and others) professionals? Researchers (Computing and others) Computer venders (SW installation etc.,) Internet Services Providers (configure servers etc.,) 11 Generally a computer professional do not acquire any special, socially recognized power or privilege by virtue of being a computer professional as like doctor, architect, journalist Computer etc., Professional Whereas, they have special powers and privileges by virtue of their efficacy Role (effectiveness or power to affect the world) skill, and knowledge and the positions they hold in the organization. 12 6  Profession A profession is a career founded upon specialized educational training, the purpose of which is to supply objective counsel and service to others, for a direct and definite compensation, wholly apart from expectation of other business gain. [WikiPedia] 13 Profession vs. Occupation Profession Occupation 1. Specialized Education 1. General Education of a particular level 2. Specialized Training related with 2. Job related Training education 3. Social Function 3. Job related function 4. Allow or require to act outside 4. Do not allow or require to act ordinary morality outside ordinary morality 5. A direct or definite compensation 5. Salary against service for a service 6. More autonomy in daily work 6. Less autonomy to take decision 7. Require membership of formal 7. Do not require to be member of a organization formal organization 14 7  Characteristics of Profession Professions are often associated with the following set of characteristics: 1. Mastery of an esoteric (ambiguous, obscure ) body of knowledge, usually acquired through higher education. 1. A member of the profession needs this body of knowledge in order to practice; those who do not master the knowledge cannot do the work. 2. Autonomy in practice (at individual and collective levels). 1. Rather than being regulated by outsiders, the profession sets its own admission standards and standards of practice. 2. Members of professions generally have more autonomy in their daily work. 15 Professional Relationships Professional Ethics must take into accounts: Relations between employer and employee Relations between professionals and clients Relation between professional and society Relations among professionals Specialized technical details of the profession 16 8  Relations between Employer and Employee On getting a job an employee:  Explicitly accepts some hiring conditions like salary, working hours etc.  Conditions of law are binding without specifying  Conditions of employee’s union apply  Moral conditions which depicts ethics and that can not be anticipated at an early stage gets binding automatically. E.g., mutual respect of employer and employee; honesty; Loyalty 17 Relations between Professional and Client Both client and professional get into contract with mutual understanding Because most of the time, client totally depends upon professional therefore ‘trust’ is must. Disparity (inequality) in knowledge and expertise of the parties in client-professional relationship is important. This disparity can be handled through different models like: Agency, Paternalism, Fiduciary/ trust 18 9  Relations between Professional and Client  Agency model: The professional is to act as the agent of the client and simply implement what the client requests. Here the implication is that the client retains all decision-making authority. (Stock broker)  Paternalistic model: The client transfers all the decision- making power to the professional. (Doctor, Lawyer, Software Engineer)  Fiduciary/Trust model: The client retains decision making authority but makes decisions on the basis of information provided by the professional. (Honest computer professional) 19 Relation between Professional and Society Use of special powers and privileges by virtue of their efficacy (worth), skills, and knowledge and the positions of professionals It is only for the benefit of society and in public interest. 20 10  Relations among Professionals This relationship must be on the basis of mutual respect (e.g., Egoless programming in XP) Always for the benefit of the organization and the society in general. (colleagues working on same domain) 21 Ethics for Computing Professional A computing professional must understand Cultural, social, legal, and ethical issues in computing, his responsibility and possible consequences of failure 22 11  a statement of the shared commitment of the members Expresses the experience of professional members and their consensuses. Code of Ethics Statements for public as well as for members of a profession. To establish public interest 23 It sensitize members to issues that they might not be aware of. Code of ethics may be a statement of agreed upon rules or standards Code of Ethics It may be used as a mechanism for educating or socializing. States the principles and core values that are essential to the work of a particular occupational group. 24 12  Code of Ethics  Association of Computing Machinery ACM (founded 1947) has a code of ethics and professional conduct: http://www.acm.org/constitution/code.html  Association of Information Technology Professionals AITP (founded 1996) – provides quality IT-related education, information on relevant IT issues, and forums for networking with experienced peers and other IT professionals. The AITP also has a code of ethics: http://www.aitp.org/join/SCOH17CodeEthicsSt dsCdt.pdf Computer Society of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE – CS) (founded in 1946). The Software Engineering Code of Ethics and Professional Practice: http://www.acm.org/serving/se/code.htm Project Management Institute (PMI) – established in 1969. PMI Member Code of Ethics: http://www.pmi.org/info/AP_MemEthStandard s.pdf 25 Properties of Professional Code of Ethics Professional code of ethics: Symbolize professionalism Protect group interests Specify membership etiquette Inspire good conduct Educate and discipline members Foster external relations Enumerate principles, express ideals Put forth rules, offer guidelines Codify rights 26 13  Engineering Ethics Engineering is an important and learned profession. Therefore, Engineers are expected to exhibit the highest standards of honesty and integrity Services provided by engineers require: Honesty Impartiality Fairness Equity 27 A legal system is not a complete and correct guide to moral behavior Codes of ethics are mostly voluntary May encounter situations for Problems with which the code makes no explicit recommendations Codes of Ethics Goodness cannot be defined through a list of Dos and Don'ts You must use your internal sense of ethics. Always listen to the bell that rings inside you. 28 14  Lecture 4 – Internet and Ethics Ethics for Computing Professionals 1 Outline Internet and Computer Ethics (a discussion- based approach) Unique features of Internet Prose and Cons of Internet Categories of Problematic behavior of Internet Netiquettes and Ethical Rules 2 1  Internet and Computer Ethics  Internet has generated an endless array of ethical issues.  Ethical issues surrounding computer and information technology are new species of generic moral problems. Moral Problems like: Breaking in, Stealing, being a nuisance, disruption, Slander, Fraud, Stalking, Bullying etc 3 Internet and Computer Ethics  Internet: A collection of interconnected networks – looks like a single, unified network (Carrying ethical issues related with networks)  Internet is a worldwide source of communication. Its technology is quite different in several aspects from the other prevailing sources of communication like: telephone, radio, television, ordinary mail.  Due to its different nature the internet has raised new ethical as well as other issues 4 2  Internet as source of communication: Special features  Internet as a mean of communication is revealed to have three morally significant characteristics: 1. Unusual Scope: It has an unusual scope in that it provides for many-to-many interactive communication on a global scale 2. Anonymity: It facilitates a certain kind of anonymity (Hidden appearance, name, age etc.,) 3. Reproducibility: It has reproducibility (making copies and spread to infinite number of people or places) 5 Pros and Cons of Internet + Internet makes life easier in some ways Internet creates problems sometimes + Internet enhances and improves certain aspects of our lives Internet diminishes certain other aspects of our lives + Internet brings social benefits Internet brings social costs 6 3  Pros and Cons of Internet Internet brings individuals from across the globe closer together, in principle increasing the potential for tolerance and peace. Internet intensifies economic competition among nation-states which intern increases the potential for conflict Internet extends the power and reach of individuals, governments, and businesses Internet extends the power and reach of criminals and terrorists 7 Pros and Cons of Internet + Internet increases the potential for individuals to be informed - Internet increases the potential for individuals to be mis-informed and manipulated + Internet provides a new arena for entertainment and sociability - Internet provides a new arena for those whom would exploit, harass, stalk, and suffering others 8 4  Problematic behavior of Internet  The problematic behavior of Internet can be categories into three categories: 1. Behavior that is explicitly declared illegal: Hacking and Cracking Hacking: It refers to unauthorized breaking into the security of a network or other’s computer Cracking: It refers to subset of illegal behaviors that involve unauthorized access to internet or other’s computers and aim at disruption and damage. It involves acts like: intentionally sending malware, DOS attack, unauthorized taking control of a web site 9 Problematic behavior of Internet 2. Behavior that is illegal but here the core character of criminal act predates the Internet (use of internet for other crimes) e.g., Cyber stalking, Fraud, harassment, terrorism etc. 3. Behavior that is not explicitly declared illegal but framed as a matter of civil behavior or ‘netiquette’. E.g., Not remaining truthful 10 5  Netiquette Netiquette: A set of informal social conventions specifying how to behave when interacting on the internet  Violation of netiquettes may be considered unethical but they are not illegal Issues like Flaming, Spamming can be curtailed through Technological and Social policy approaches 11 Ethical rules for netiquette Dark Mountain’s Ethical rules for netiquette: 1. Be polite, 2. Be patient 3. Don’t break any laws 4. Be positive 5. Be truthful 6. Be honest 7. Be humble 8. Be Careful 12 6  Problematic behavior of Internet Netiquettes can also be applied through Policy approaches like: (1)By the use of technology e.g., Cryptography, Parental control, Spoofing (2)Through social values 13 7  Lecture 5 – Privacy and Ethics Ethics for Computing Professionals 1 Outline Privacy and Computer Ethics (a discussion-based approach) Defining ‘Privacy’ ‘Computers and Privacy’ issues Information Privacy 2 1  Privacy and Ethical issues  Privacy is, perhaps, the most important of the ethical issues surrounding CS & IT  Privacy breaches raise ethical issues therefore privacy is required to be addressed on ethical grounds. 3 Privacy  Privacy refers to personally identifiable information about an individual or an organization  Privacy does not mean absolute freedom from observation Rather Privacy means “state of being free from unsanctioned intrusion”  Financial and medical institutions treat privacy as part of their compliance requirements 4 2  Various Aspects of Privacy  Privacy is a risk management issue (managing the risk of exposure of private thing to un-sanctioned entities.)  Privacy overlap with other concepts such as freedom or liberty, autonomy, and secrecy 5 Various Aspects of Privacy  Privacy can be interpreted in two different ways: 1) Privacy as Instrumental good: Privacy is valuable because it leads to something else(act as instrument or as a weapon). Value of privacy lies in its connection to something else like “you are using my computer therefore breaching my privacy” (Here computer itself is used as instrument because of data inside it is taken as private on behalf of the person) 6 3  Various Aspects of Privacy For example as an instrumental good:  “Privacy is necessary for democracy”; (Freedom of thought i.e. democracy can not be observed if individuals are constantly being observed)  “We have to have privacy to have relationships of intimacy and trust”. 7 Various Aspects of Privacy 2) Privacy as Intrinsic(fundamental) good: When privacy is presented as a good in itself, it is presented as a value in and of itself. Autonomy (self sufficiency) is fundamental to what it means to be human, to our value as human beings. And autonomy is inconceivable without privacy. This means that if privacy is lost the autonomy is lost. 8 4  Information and Privacy  Information about an individual seems to be a fundamental precondition for establishing a relationship with that individual because: People need to control information about themselves in order to maintain a diversity of relationships like: with parents, brothers and sisters, spouse, friends, teachers, employers, casual acquaintances, etc. If everything of yours is open to all then diversity would not be possible. You would have similar relationship with all. 9 Information and Privacy  Computer and Information Technology has provided new and valuable sources to keep information which could be private.  It has changed record-keeping activity in the following ways: 1) It has made a new scale of information gathering possible 2) It has made new kinds of information possible (e.g., transaction generated information (TGI)) Purchase through credit card, telephone call, Entry Exit intelligent highway. Every where the data is being generated and used 10 5  Information and Privacy 3) It has made a new scale of information distribution and exchange possible 4) The effect of erroneous information can be magnified 5) Information about events in one’s life may endure (continue) much longer than ever before 11 Information and Privacy  It is said that it is due to information handling ability of computer that privacy breaches gets happen that raise ethical issues. But in actual it is individuals and organizations that are creating, gathering, exchanging, and using information.  Under this scenario for better ethical solutions we at first need to explore the uses of information and then the use of computer for these uses. 12 6  Information and Privacy  Those (government and private agencies) who use private information argue that they use it for:  Making better decisions in the benefit of others.  On the other hand who’s information are being used feel discomfort and fear of getting miss-use of their information. 13 Class Discussion The biggest threat to your privacy is You? Your own bad self……..? 14 7  Class Discussion The biggest threat to your privacy is You? Your own bad self……..? Because at first hand it is you who has to: declare privacy norms at various levels through your personal actions mitigate the privacy risk by adopting various technological and policy measures 15 Class Discussion Should there be proper legislation for controlling information privacy breach? 16 8  Privacy Protection  Following measures can be taken for better privacy protection: 1. Broad Conceptual Changes and Legislative Initiatives: Think of privacy as a social good and exercise democracy 2. Technology: Building of technology with the perspective of not breaching privacy OR use technology for reducing privacy breach. 17 Privacy Protection 3. Role play of computer professionals: For example legislation by ACM i. To minimize the data collected ii. To limit authorized access to the data iii. To provide proper security for the data iv. To determine the required retention period of the data v. To ensure proper disposal of the data 18 9  Privacy Protection 4. Implementation of institutional policies: Every organization must be made responsible to draw its own privacy policy. 5. Personal actions: Defining privacy protection rules for its own and for others related. 19 10 Lecture 6 – Intellectual and Property Rights Ethics for Computing Professionals Ethical Issue  How to grant Intellectual property rights (Copy right, Patent, Trade secrecy) to HW as well as SW claimants?  How to deal with using property righted things in research, innovation, and creativity? Property Rights and Ethics Outline True nature of software Thinking of software as intellectual property Owning a software Law making about software products True nature of software  Computer as combination of hardware and software  Nature of the software as compare to other items Owning software  Although a piece of SW that is being used by millions, it is not owned by any of them! Instead, it is said to be owned by the maker/ developer of the SW The makers let us use their SW but keep the ownership to themselves. When we buy a SW package, we do not really buy it – we just buy a license that allows us to use it, the ownership stays with the maker Owning various aspects of software One can own the following aspects of a program:  The “source code” which is written by the programmer(s) in a high-level computer language.  The “object code”, which is a machine-language translation of the source code.  The “algorithm”, which is the sequence of machine commands that the source code and object code represent.  The “look and feel” of a program, which is the way the program appears on the screen and interfaces with users. Owning software  There are essentially four types of intellectual property rights relevant to software: 1. Patents, 2. Copyrights, 3. Trade Secrets, And 4. Trademarks  Patents, copyrights and trade secrets can be used to protect the technology itself whereas Trademarks protect the names or symbols used to distinguish a product in the marketplace. Owning software (Patent)  “A patent provides an exclusive legal monopoly granted by a sovereign state for a limited period of time (20 years is US) on the use of the patented item in exchange for detailed public disclosure of an invention.” It is a reward for the time and effort expended in creating the invention (a solution to a specific technological problem and is a product or a process).  A patent gives right to exclude others on making, using, selling or offering for sale, and importing products Owning software (Patent) Once a patent for an invention is granted, subsequent "independent" (i.e., without access to the patented technology) development of the invention by another inventor is still considered infringement. Owning software (Patent Law)  Patents can be obtained for ideas, systems, methods, algorithms, and functions embodied in a software product: editing functions, user-interface features, compiling techniques, operating system techniques, program algorithms, menu arrangements, display presentations or arrangements, and program language translation methods.  Applications or implementations of ideas can be owned, but abstract ideas, mathematical algorithms, mental steps, or laws of nature can not be owned Thinking of software as intellectual property Whether current legal tools are adequate for computer software? Should computer software be owned at all? (open source vs. proprietary) Should it be treated as property? (Program, Algorithm, Data) - Intellectual property laws treat each aspect of software in different way. - WTO is involved in making the law about software as intellectual property Owning software (Copyright) Copyright (Protect Expression) includes exclusive right to copy the software, create derivative or modified versions of it, and distribute copies to the public by license, sale or otherwise. Copyright protection arises automatically upon the creation of an original work of authorship. There is no need to "apply" for a copyright or register the copyrighted work in order for protection to exist. Owning software (Copyright)  Generally, the duration of a copyright is the author's life plus Seventy years (from 1998). In the case of software created by an employee during the course of his or her employment, the resulting "work made for hire" would be protected by copyright law for seventy-five years from publication. Owning software (Copyright law) Copyright Law: Expression of ideas can be owned but not the ideas themselves In the case of software, copyright law would protect the source and object code, as well as certain unique original elements of the user interface. The law also protects against indirect copying, such as unauthorized translation of the code into a different programming language. Owning software (Copyright law) For Example: idea of introducing touch screen system can not be owned. But how to implement it, can be owned Owning software (Trade Secrecy)  A trade secret is any formula, pattern, compound, device, process, tool, or mechanism that is not generally known or discoverable by others, is maintained in secrecy by its owner, and gives its owner a competitive advantage because it is kept secret.  A trade secret can theoretically last for as long as its owner uses reasonable efforts to keep it secret and someone else doesn't independently create or "discover" it. These are subject to theft. Owning software (Trade Secrecy law) Main Features of Trade secrecy: (1)have novelty, (2)represent an economic investment to the claimant/applicant, (3)have involved effort to keep the information a secret, (4)the company must show that it made some technical effort to keep the information a secret. Owning software (Trademark law) Trademark: Trademark law governs the use of a device (including a word, phrase, symbol, product shape, or logo) by a manufacturer or merchant to identify its goods and to distinguish those goods from those made or sold by another. (https://www.bitlaw.com/trademark/index.html) Owning software (Trademark law) A mark shall be registered for a period of ten (10) years. It may be renewed indefinitely for the same period if it has been used within the five (5) years prior to each expiry for the marketing of a good, the provision of a service or as part of the designation of an activity. The transfer of a registered mark shall be valid in respect of third parties once the mark has been registered with the National Directorate of Industrial Property. Questions? Ethics for Computing Professionals COMP-401 Computer Ethics and Accountability  IEEE - Code of Ethics (as ready reference)  In recognition of importance of our technology in affecting the quality of life we commit ourselves to conduct of the highest ethical and professional manner and agree to: 1. accept responsibility in making decisions consistent with safety, health, and welfare of the public 2. avoid real or perceived conflicts of interest 3. be honest and realistic in stating claims or estimates 4. reject bribery in all forms 5. improve understanding of technology, its application, and potential consequences 6. maintain and improve our technical competence and undertake technological tasks for others only if qualified  IEEE - Code of Ethics (cont.) (as ready reference) 7. seek, accept, and offer honest criticism of technical work 8. acknowledge and correct errors 9. credit properly the contributions of others 10. treat all persons fairly regardless of race, religion, gender, disability, age, or national origin 11. avoid injuring others, their property, reputation, or employment by false or malicious action 12. assist colleagues and co-workers in their professional development and to support them in following this code of ethics Class Discussion Should there be Accountability for Violation of Computer Ethics? How? Contents Some Key Terms Why Accountability in CS & IT Various relationships of computing people and accountability Software as Product or Service Diffusion of Accountability Moral responsibility Key Terms  Accountable 1.- “Person (which could be a collective unit such as a government, agency or legal person such as a corporation) is the appropriate agent to respond for an event or incident or Situation.” 2.- “Required to render account: answerable”  Responsible - “Being a source or a cause” Responsibility Role Responsibility: Equal to Duty. It refers to what individuals are expected to do according to their social roles. Causal Responsibility: An individual is responsible for an untoward [not favorable] event. The individual was the cause of the event. Not only applicable to human being but to animals and nature forces Responsibility  Blameworthy: The attribution of responsibility is made in basis of judgment that a person did something wrong and his or her wrongdoing led to an unfavorable event. In this case circumstances can prevent someone for being blameworthy Responsibility in software Software Buying and Selling: Responsibility in software: Manufactures, Stores and Salespeople, Contractual Relationship:  License Agreement  Warranties and liabilities  Torts: Any Wrongful act other than breach of contract for which a civil action may be brought Software as Product Or Service Unlike other things software is intangible and considered as intellectual property  Mass marketed software will be a product (It imposes strict responsibility on the producer),  customized software is considered a service (It fixes liability on the act of negligence at both producer’s and user’s end)  If the software was bought and then tailored, it will be a combination of a product and a service. Diffusion of Accountability It is a phenomenon whereby a person is less likely to take responsibility for action or inaction when other bystanders or witnesses are present. Moral responsibility is more difficult to decide than Legal responsibility. Diffusion appears most in moral responsibility. Diffusion of Accountability For example, Diffusion of responsibility could explain why you might not put in as much effort on a group project as you would on an individual project Why (because your classmates are also responsible for doing the work). Diffusion of Accountability Factors that contributed to diffusion of responsibility: a) The scale and complexity of the computer systems b) The “many” hands involved in developing, distributing and using them c) The way in which computer systems sometimes mediate human decision making Moral Responsibility How individual moral responsibilities should be placed? Moral responsibility tends to be shared: many engineers are responsible for the safety of the products that they design, not just a designated safety engineer  Placing Moral Responsibility Strict Liability strict liability is the imposition of liability on a anyone without a finding of fault Utilitarian view determines right from wrong by focusing on outcomes.... To act in a manner that will increase happiness/wellbeing which provides maximum benefit to the largest number of people  Placing Legal Responsibility An individual or an organization can be legally responsible, or liable, for a problem. That is, the individual could be charged with a crime, or the organization could be liable for Damages Responsibilities to the Public The Engineer’s most important obligation is to ensure the safety, health, and welfare of the public. Engineers have a special obligation to ensure the safety of the objects that they produce. guarantee the safety of the public improve the quality of life of those who use computers and information systems. enhance the public’s understanding of computing contribute their technical knowledge to discussions about public policies regarding computing. Responsibilities to Employers Most computing professionals work for employers. Professionals often have access to the employer’s proprietary information such as trade secrets Professional must keep this information confidential. Professional must also honor intellectual property owned by the employer The professional does not have the right to profit from independent sale or use of this intellectual property Ethics for Computing Professionals Computer Crimes Objectives 1. Describe trends in computer crimes and protection against viruses and denial-of-service attacks. 2. Understand techniques to combat “cracker” attacks. 3. Understand the history of computer crimes. 4. Describe several different cyber-attacker approaches and motivations. 5. Identify the professional’s role in security and the tradeoffs involved. 6. Develop measures to be taken both by individuals themselves and by organizations (including government) to prevent identity theft. Computer Crime – what is it? A computer crime is a crime like any other crime, except that in this case the illegal act must involve a computer system either as an object of a crime, an instrument used to commit a crime, or a repository of evidence related to a crime. With the Internet, the scope of computer crimes has widened Its an illegal act that involves a computer system or computer-related system such as any mobile device, satellite, or other telecommunication system that connects one or more computers or computer-related systems. Examples Intrusions into Public Packet Networks Network integrity violations Privacy violations Industrial or fi nancial espionage Pirated computer software Computer-aided fraud Internet/e-mail abuse Using computers or computer technology to commit murder, terrorism, hacking, and many other crimes. Reasons of Computer Crimes and Resources Used Computer crimes target computer resources for a variety of reasons: Hardware such as computers, printers, scanners, servers, and communication media Software that includes application and special programs, system backups, diagnostic programs, and system programs such as operating systems and protocols Data in storage, transition, or undergoing modification Categories of Computer Crimes Human blunders, errors, and omissions – known as Malfunctions Intentional threats Viruses Source of almost all computer crimes are viruses and hacking. They become one when used together The term virus is derived from the Latin word virus that means poison Computer virus is a self-propagating computer program designed to alter or destroy a computer system’s resources. It attaches itself to software, grows, reproduces many times, and spreads in the new environment. Hacking Hacking, as a computer attack technique, utilizes the Internet working between computers and communication devices. As long as computers are not interconnected in a network, hacking cannot take place. The first notable system penetration attack actually started in the mid-1980s As the Internet grew, hacker activities increased greatly The first headline-making hacking incident involving a virus took place in 1988 when a Cornell graduate student created a computer virus that crashed 6000 computers and effectively shut down the Internet for 2 days The period between 1980 and 2001 saw sharp growth in reported incidents of computer attacks. Two factors have contributed to this phenomenal growth: the growth of the Internet and the massive news coverage of virus incidents. Types of Computer Systems Attacks Penetration Denial-of- service attacks Penetration A penetration attack involves breaking into a computer system using known security vulnerabilities to gain access to a cyberspace resource. Intruder has full access to all that system’s resources. Allows an intruder to alter data files, change data, plant viruses, or install damaging Trojan Horse programs into the system. These attacks can be local on a LAN on which the program is run, or global on a WAN such as the Internet Sources of Penetration Attacks Insider Threat. For a long time, penetration attacks were limited to inhouse employee-generated attacks to systems and theft of company property. Hackers. Hackers penetrate a computer system for a number of reasons, including the thrill of the challenge, bragging rights in the hacker community, and illicit financial gain or other malicious purposes. Criminal Groups. A number of penetration attacks come from insiders and hackers with youthful intents, there are several attacks that originate from criminal groups Hactivism. motivated attacks on computer systems, usually web pages or e- mail servers of selected institutions or groups by activists. A group with a cause overloads e-mail servers and hacks into web sites with messages for their causes. Denial of Service Denial-of- service attacks, commonly known as distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, are a new form of computer attacks. They are directed at computers connected to the Internet. Affect the system by diminishing the system’s ability to function; are capable of bringing a system down without destroying its resources. typically aim to exhaust the network bandwidth, its router processing capacity, or network stack resources, thus eventually breaking the network connectivity to the victims; Costs and Social Consequences In nearly 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 the reporting of any system related intrusions. It is reported in some studies that a majority of all e-attacks are generated and started by inside employees, which makes the job of detection and reporting very murky Many nations have no required and trained security agencies to fight e-attacks. Reasons for Growth of Cyber Crimes Rapid technology growth. Easy availability of hacker tools. Anonymity Cut-and-paste programming technology. Communications speed. High degree of internetworking Increasing dependency on computers. Lack of Cost Estimate Model for Cyberspace Attacks As the prices of computers and Internet-able mobile devices plummet and Internet accessibility becomes global, cyber attacks are likely to skyrocket. Cost estimating cyber attacks in this changing environment is becoming increasingly very difficult. Even in a good environment, estimates of cyber attack crimes are difficult. The efforts to develop a good cost model is hindered by a number of problems. It is very difficult to quantify the actual number of attacks. There has been no conclusive study to establish a valid figure that can at least give us an idea of what it is that with which we must cope. 90 % of all computer attacks both reported and unreported are perpetrated by insiders which are rarely reported even if they are detected. Social and Ethical Consequences it is difficult to estimate the actual costs of e-attacks on physical system resources. Psychological effects. These effects depend on the attack motive and may result in long-lasting psychological effects such as hate Moral decay. There is a moral imperative in all our actions. When human actions, whether bad or good, become frequent, they get normal Loss of privacy. After headline-making e-attacks that wreaked havoc on global computer systems, there is a resurgence in the need for quick solutions to the problem that seems to have hit home. Trust. Along with the loss of privacy, trust is 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. Computer Crime Prevention Strategies Preventing computer crime is not a simple thing to do because to do that one needs to understand how these crimes are committed and who is involved in these crimes. To prevent such crimes, therefore, we need to focus on three entities in the game: The computer as a tool used to commit the crimes, the criminal who is the source of the crime, and the innocent victim of the crime. Protecting Your Computer Physical Protective Measures Procedural and Operational Protective Measures Anti-Virus Protection Physical Protective Measures Install surface locks, cable-locking devices, and fiberoptic loops to prevent equipment theft. Locate the computer and data storage away from outside windows and walls to prevent damage from external events. Install strong doors and locks to the computer room to prevent equipment theft and tampering. Reinforce interior walls to prevent break-ins. Extend interior walls to the true ceiling. Restrict access to computer facilities to authorized personnel Procedural and Operational Protective Measures Classify information into categories based on importance and confidentiality Install software access control mechanisms. Design audit trails into your computer applications Establish procedures for recovering your operating system if it is destroyed Review automated audit information and control reports to determine if there have been repeated, unsuccessful attempts Encrypt confidential data stored in computers or transmitted over communication networks. Anti-Virus Protection Do not bring disks in from outside sources. Scan demo disks from vendors, shareware, or freeware sources for viruses. Restrict use of electronic bulletin boards. Scan downloaded fi les for viruses. Avoid downloading executable files. Make regular backups to aid in recovery. The Computer Criminal Pass Computer Crime Prevention Laws Enforcement of Criminal Laws Moral Education Pass Computer Crime Prevention Laws Local and national governments should pass laws directed toward computer crimes including: computer tampering, computer fraud, and other computer crimes. So that if a person commits a computer crime offense, when knowingly and without the authorization of a computer’s owner, or in excess of the authority granted that person, if found guilty, should serve a court sentence consonant to the extent of his or her crime. Enforcement of Criminal Laws We cannot fight computer crimes, whether or not we have laws on the books, unless those laws can be enforced. Thus, one way of reducing computer crime is to aggressively enforce computer crime laws with just but stiff sentences that send a message to would-be criminals that they will pay the price if they perpetuate computer crimes. Moral Education There is a need for computer ethics education that includes an ethical framework which may make the would-be criminal reflect on the pending act. Computer ethics education, just like all types of education, is a long- time investment especially in the youth, not only to build their character but also to guide their actions throughout their lives. The Innocent Victim Personnel Policies Monitor activities of employees who handle sensitive or confidential data Change security password codes to block further access by employees who leave or are fired. Establish rules for computer use by employees, including removal of disks or printed output. Educating the Computer User Need to educate the user to be aware of possible sources of computer crime and what to do if and when one becomes a victim of a computer crime. Ethics for Computing Professionals Cyberbullying Objectives 1. Understand circumstances surrounding cyberbullying. 2. Understand the legal defi nition of cyberbullying. 3. Describe the different types of cyberbullying. 4. Learn about the evolution of cyberbullying in tandem with the evolution of online social media. 5. Learn the evolving legislation landscape of cyberbullying. 6. Recognize the difficulties and effects of cyberbullying. 7. Be able to identify and recognize the victims of cyberbullying. 8. Acquire the techniques and skills of handling cyberbullying. 9. Recognize the difficulties of managing cyberbullying. Background a social network is a theoretical mesh network, where each node is an individual, a group, or an organization that independently generates, captures, and disseminates information Individual nodes must collaborate to propagate the information in the network. The links between nodes represent relationships and social interactions Many online social network groups have become established The rapid growth of the Internet, and fast access to online services, contributed to the creation of an exciting, seemingly unlimited virtual environment in which anything is possible with the least effort. Anonymity and telepresence are almost assured, creates a certain degree of individual confidence that may sometimes reach realms of danger Cyberbullying Cyberbullying is an action of harming or harassing an individual or individuals, mostly in the online social network environment, which we refer to most commonly in the public commons as social media, but also via any other digital networks, in a repeated and deliberate manner. Actions that use information and communication technologies to support deliberate, repeated, and hostile behavior by an individual or group, that is intended to harm another or others. Use of communication technologies for the intention of harming another person. Use of Internet service and mobile technologies such as Web pages and discussion groups as well as instant messaging or SMS (short message service) text messaging with the intention of harming another person. Cyberstalking Stalking, is defined as unwanted and/or obsessive attention given to an individual or group by a perpetuator or perpetuators. Cyberstalking, a cousin of cyberbullying, then is digital stalking, usually using online media. Cyberstalking comes in many versions, including but not limited to, sending threatening messages to the victim, monitoring the victim, extortion , false accusations, altering a victim’s information, identity theft, and the list goes on. The actions of a cyberstalker are usually repeated, persistent, and often illegal. Cyber Harassment to harass is to continuously and persistently annoy someone: to create an unpleasant or hostile environment for that individual, especially by uninvited and unwelcome verbal or physical conduct, and also to make repeated attacks against a victim [ 3 ]. Based on these definitions, then harassment is the act of doing one or more of the foregoing, intended for disturbing, tormenting, or annoying the victim. When these acts are done by a person or a group of people using online digital technology, then we have cyber harassment. Types of Cyberbullying Harassment Flaming Exclusion Outing Masquerading  Harassment harassment is the act of knowingly, purposely and repeatedly annoying; creating an unpleasant or hostile environment, especially by uninvited and unwelcome verbal or physical conduct; and making repeated attacks against the victim. Flaming Flaming is “burning fiercely inside and emitting flames” by someone as a way to express annoyance. In online networks and in social media, this may involve exchanged e-mails, instant messaging, or chat rooms among the parties involved. So if it is directed to an individual by a person or group of people, it is a form of harassment.  Exclusion Exclusion harassment is slightly more difficult to defi ne, but it involves the intentional exclusion of an individual or a group by another individual or group from an online space for the purpose of using that space to harass the victim(s). Outing Outing is the unwanted and uncalled-for online display in the public commons of a victim’s information and other attributes for no other purpose than harassment. Masquerading Because the digital online environment supports anonymity and telepresence, both of which can enable an individual or a group to hide their true identity, to acquire false identities, and to masquerade online with the intention of harassing others, online environments support masquerading as a form of cyberbullying. Areas of Society Most Affected by Cyberbullying Although the growth and popularity of communication technologies has equally affected all of us, user preferences of these technologies is stratified by a number of factors including age group, income level, and geographic location. Cyberbullying is more prevalent in school-age youth and in the working communities, especially among white-collar workers. Legislation Against Cyberbullying With more awareness and better reporting, direct bullying activities had been declining, until the Internet brought in a medium that supported both the anonymity and telepresence of the bully. So, anonymity , telepresence, and the ubiquity of the use of mobile technology have all led to a rapid growth of the vice, thereby increasing the number of victims and indeed even the number of suicides of young victims. Federal Laws Cyberbullying is a vice that affects all social strata and income levels. There have been many efforts for legislations to mitigate it. However, even if no federal law directly addressing cyberbullying has been passed, there are some cases where bullying overlaps with discriminatory harassment. State Laws There is a patchwork of state-sponsored cyberbullying laws. A great resource to learn about cyberbullying laws and legislations at the state level is the Cyberbullying Research Center For the time being, all these laws, whether state or local ordinances, are simply directing school districts to have a bullying and harassment policy, without stating the actual content of such policies. International Laws The rapid growth of the Internet, which has quickly engulfed the globe, and the plummeting prices of Web-enabled smart mobile devices that are bringing the rest of humanity into cyberspace, have made cyberbullying into a global problem. So, the desire to contain it is also global. Although the need is there and is growing, only a few countries and regions have passed legislation to combat it. Among these are the European Union (EU), Canada, Australia, Spain, UK, France , and Germany, but it is slow going. Effects of Cyberbullying cyberbullying is bullying using a new Internet supported medium. Statistics from different countries are showing that the vice is growing, hampered only by massive awareness campaigns, and hence is affecting more and more people. Similarly to all forms of bullying, cyberbullying affects everyone—the bully, the victim, and the bystanders—although in different ways. Thus, the effects vary by the type of bullying, the techniques used, and the role one plays in the bullying cycle. Kids Who are Bullied Kids who are bullied are more likely to experience: Depression and anxiety, increased feelings of sadness and loneliness, changes in sleep and eating patterns, and loss of interest in activities they used to enjoy. These issues may persist into adulthood. Health complaints Decreased academic achievement—by GPA and standardized test scores— and school participation. They are more likely to miss, skip, or drop out of school. Kids Who Bully Others Kids who bully are more likely to Abuse alcohol and other drugs in adolescence and as adults Get into fights, vandalize property, and drop out of school Have criminal convictions and traffic citations as adults Be abusive toward their others Bystanders Kids who witness bullying are more likely to Have increased use of drugs Have increased mental health problems, including depression and anxiety Miss or skip school Dealing with Cyberbullying Awareness Legislation Community Support Awareness Find ways of developing massive education campaigns about what cyberbullying is, who is affected, and its consequences, which may include death. Broad mass and targeted education campaigns are essential. These mass awareness education campaigns are meant to focus on targeted audiences. For example, if the audience is a school or school going children, techniques must be found to deliver the message in quantities and proportions that are relevant and acceptable to the targeted age group. If it is targeted to a work environment, the delivery techniques of the message are different. Legislation Mass education and awareness programs, however targeted they are, can go only so far in the absence of policies, statutes, and laws with corresponding enforcement. Thus, legislation at either the state or federal level is necessary, at least for schools. In businesses, the best approach is for the companies to draw up operating policies that involve guidelines of behavior for all workers. Such company policies must be enforced to be effective. Community Support Communities should also become involved in cyberbullying reduction and prevention. Cyberbullying public awareness activities must be included in community public activities, especially those directed to youth in the community. Part of the package of community cyberbullying awareness campaigns should include some form of reporting. Without it, the efforts are not likely to succeed. Ethics for Computing Professionals Ethical, Privacy, and Security Issues in the Online Social Networks – Part A Learning Objectives 1. Understand computer networks, social networks and online social networks. 2. Understand privacy issues affecting online social networks. 3. Discuss privacy issues in social networks. 4. Discuss ethical issues in online social networks. 5. Discuss security issues in online social networks. 6. Discuss the limitations of the legislation network to manage online social, privacy, and security issues. Brief Introduction – Types of Networks A computer network is a distributed system consisting of loosely coupled computing elements and other devices. In this configuration, any two of these devices can communicate with each other through a communications medium. A social network is a theoretical network in which each node is an individual, a group, or an organization that independently generates, captures, and disseminates information and also serves as a relay for other members of the network. Individual nodes must collaborate to propagate the information in the network. The links between nodes represent relationships and social interactions among individuals, groups, organizations, or even entire societies. Online social networks (OSNs) are social networks with underlining electronic communication infrastructure links enabling the connection of the interdependencies between the network nodes Types of Online Social Networks Chat Network Blog Network Instant Messaging Network (IMN) Online Social Networks (OSNs) Ethical and Privacy Issues in Online Social Networks Privacy is a human value consisting of a set of rights including: solitude, the right to be alone without disturbances; anonymity , the right to have no public personal identity; intimacy, the right not to be monitored; reserve, the right to control one’s personal information, including the dissemination methods of that information. These rights are part of our moral and ethical systems. With the advent of the Internet, privacy has gained even more value as information has gained value. The value of privacy comes from its guardianship of the individual’s personal identity and autonomy. Ethical and Privacy Issues in Online Social Networks Autonomy is important because: humans need to feel that they are in control of their destiny. The less personal information people have about an individual, the more autonomous that individual can be, especially in decision making. People challenge one’s autonomy depending on the quantity, quality, and value of information they have about that individual. People usually tend to establish relationships and associations with individuals and groups that will respect their personal autonomy , especially in decision making. Personal identity is a valuable source of information. Unfortunately, with rapid advances in technology, especially computer and telecommunication technologies, it has become increasingly difficult to protect personal identity. Privacy Issues in OSNs Privacy can be violated, anywhere including in online social network communities: through intrusion , misuse of information, interception of information, and information matching. In online communities, intrusion, as an invasion of privacy, is a wrongful entry, or acquiring of information or data belonging to other members of the online social network community. While online, we inevitably give our information to whomever asks for it to obtain services. Ther