Hackers are doing no harm and changing nothing. The hacking cannot cause assault and battery to anybody. Hacking merely learns how systems operate. Hacking doesn’t disturb human natural life.
But in my opinion the hacking has another “wrong” side. Although hacking doesn’t cause assault and battery to anybody directly, it usually performances activities like breaking into protected computer systems, releasing viruses, stealing passwords or other sensitive data, denial of service so on. And public announcements of hacking may affect customer trust and privacy. So hacking is damaging computer ethics, people’s privacy, and human rights.
Hacking has already perpetrated a crime. So we need to detect and overcome hacking. But overcoming and detecting hacking usually spends high cost of time, resource, and money. So hacking is the reason to run to waste.
In conclusion, if it performances following the ethical standard, hacking will seemed to be right and should be developed. If it perpetrates a crime and does harm to human and society, hacking will seemed to be wrong and be overcome.
Section 3
An identification of the primary, secondary and implied participants in the issue.
Primary participants
- Hacker has extraordinary programming skill, cleverness in the face of difficulty, an ability to suspend all other activities while producing a solution to a problem, an appreciation for a clever solution to a seemingly insignificant problem and uses a computer to gain unauthorized access to another computer system.
- Company, be hacked, computer system be broke in or password is stolen, the casualty in hacking crime.
Secondary participants
- Programmer, has sound programming skill, responsible for developing system and maintaining system
- System analyst, responsible for doing researching and analyzing system, making decisions in the development of the system, and testing the system.
- The customer, who is the customer of the company that is hacked, who is the user of the software or system that is hacked
Implied participants
- Students, be clever, have enough time to commit a crime, love computer, and have extraordinary programming skill. [primary implied participant]
- Programmer, who built software to detect system or software security problems and the software, is misused by hacker. [primary implied participant]
- Company white collar, uses computer every day and has sound internet skill. [secondary implied participant]
Section 4
Outline of key points, actions or decisions in the issue, and a justification or discussion about those key points, actions or decisions. You should try to use ethical and professional principles in your justification discussion.
The motivation of hacking
I read an article about the hackers in a magazine. A pressman asks a hacker:” why do you hack?” The hacker answers:” For money.” Most of hacker hack computer for heist money. They use their greater computing skill and knowledge to gain unauthorized access to another computer system easily. After they break in the system, they can heist money as they wish. There is a case about the economic motive of hacking: In late 1980s, First National Bank of Chicago is the victim of a $70-million computer heist.[www.sptimes.com/Hackers/story_level.html; Article Title: A history of hacking] According the case above, we can see in that event First National Bank lost 70 millions dollars. First National Bank is the direct victim of this event. And the customer is the indirect victim of this event. The hacking has damages the customer’s natural life and human rights. The hacking in this case has perpetrated a crime and not been ethical.
Some employers don’t satisfy the employees. Therefore the employers hack the company’s computer system to retaliate the employer. The employers break in the company’s computer system to distribute computer virus, maliciously delete company’s important files, or make some changes of company’s account to obtain fraudulent credit. If the employers do like that, the employers have perpetrated a crime. Because the employers damage the company, and customer trust and privacy by hacking. Finally the employer will be punished by lawing.
Some companies usually find some hackers to hack companies’ new system. Every company wants to build a security and safe computer system. But there is no one hundred percent security and safe system in the real-world. The company wants to find the bugs, flaws and any other problems with the help of hacking system. So the company finds some hackers using different great computing skill to hack the new system to detect the problems as soon as possible before the system is used. Hacking can advance the development of computing system. In that way, hacking will be professional ethical.
- To find stimulate and challenge
Some people like to hack computer systems because they want to find stimulate challenge. Most of this kind of people is student. Student has enough time, computing skill or knowledge, and curiosity to hack computer systems. I heart a case that several years ago, two students hacked U.S. National Defense Department computer system. At last, the two students were caught. Because hacking a computer system without the permission of the host or the owner of the system is an illegal activity. Breaking into computer system with unauthorized access is also not ethical, because it damages the department security.
All above show that, if the motivation of hacking is for self economic motive, heist money, retaliation or any other things, it will be seemed not ethical. If the motivation of hacking is for advancing the development of system or software, it will be seemed professional ethical. In another word to say if you hack a computer system with the permission of the host or the owner of the system, your action will be ethical and legal. If not, your action will be not ethical and illegal. And greater the crime you perpetrated, higher the gallows you will be punished.
Characteristic of hacking
- Learning something special of a programming language or system
Hacking is a special skill in using programming language that cannot be learned from the lecture of university. Someone wants to learn the special things of programming or system from that.
- Producing and practicing the programming is better than just theorizing about it
Hacking is more important in practicing programming. If you just theorizing programming and never producing/practicing programming, you will never hack system successfully.
- Appreciating someone else's hacking
Hacking doesn’t only need great skill and knowledge, it also needs interesting. Some hacker doesn’t know what is hacking before becoming a hacker. He will know hacking from appreciating someone else’s hacking. He is interesting in hacking and start to learning harking.
- Learning a new programming language fast
A good hacker must have the capable to learn a new programming language fast. In the real-world, the technology is changing and increasing fast. And the system is building more security and safe using different and new technology. So a good hacker should have the capable to learn a new programming language fast to fit the real world.
- Hacking needs great computing skill and knowledge
Hacking a system means breaking in a system. It doesn’t only need to know how to build a system, but also needs to know how to find a bug or flaws in the system to break in the system. So hacking need great computing skill and knowledge.
From the characteristics of hacking you can know hacking is a very professional speciality. It needs a person have great programming skill and knowledge, cleverness in the face of difficulty, an ability to suspend all other activities while producing a solution to a problem, an appreciation for a clever solution to a seemingly insignificant problem. If the hacking doesn’t follow the computing ethical standard that damaging computer ethics, people’s privacy, human rights and our natural life, it must be overcome as soon as be detected. If the hacking follows the computing ethical standard that advance the development of system and IT industry, it will be gone on developing.
Section 5
An outline of the solutions I think most appropriate to the issue, using (and showing) my understanding of professional and ethical theory.
Solution 1: All information should be free.
There is a greater freedom of information. All the information should be free. Nothing needs password, firewall, and anti hacking software to be protected. Every system is open. Every computer can gain authorized access to another computer system. As the way above, hacking will disappear because hackers have nothing to hack.
Solution 2: Do not put any data which you don’t like any other people to see on web server.
The networks are all publicly accessible and hence easy to attacks. The hacker often attacks, break, disruptions, theft of information, modification of files through the computer networking. If you never put any data that hacker is interesting at on web server, hacker won’t commit a crime. Your privacy will also be protected.
Solution 3: Increase skill to detect and overcome hacking
- Increase skill to detect the flaws or bugs in the software or system.
If there are few bugs and flaws in the system or software, it will be difficult for hacker to hack the system of software.
- Improve knowledge to development more powerful security software.
Increase skill to ensure the security software and alarm as soon as hacking happen. Improve the skilful of firewall to overcome hacking.
Section 6
My selection of one of the solutions indicated in section 5. I should substantiate the reasons for selecting the solution I have chosen.
Increase skill to detect and overcome hacking
First, “know the enemy and know yourself, and you can fight a hundred battles with no danger of defeat”. [Chinese Militarist Mr. Sun]
We should understand hacking. Newer and newer ways of detecting hacking is necessary, with newer and newer ways of hacking into computer systems. Therefore in order to detect a hacking, we must understand how a hacker operates and thinks. We must know what skill and technology a hacker using to hack computer system or software. Then we should improve the extraordinary skill to overcome hacking.
Then, increase skill to detect the flaws or bugs in the software or system.
Before hacking a system or software, hackers usually find out the bugs and flaws of the system and software. Hackers usually hack into the system or software from the bugs or flaws. We should increase the skill to detect the flaws or bugs in the system or software during development. If there are few bugs and flaws in the system or software, it will be difficult for hacker to hack the system of software.
Finally, improve knowledge to development more powerful security software.
One way is we should increase skill to develop more powerful security software that can raise the alarm as soon as hacking happens. With the help of powerful security software, we can discover the direction and address hacking from. Then we can catch the hacker as soon as possible. Another way is improving the skilful of firewall to overcome hacking. With the skilful firewall, whatever the hackers use, hackers still cannot hack into the system.
Section 7
References and Bibliography
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“Do IT Professionals Need a Code of Ethics?” Beyond Computing Magazine Johnson, D (1999)
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“Workers Engaged in Unethical Activities” Mujica, A and Petry, E (1999)
- http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/ BBC News UK New force to tackle cybercrime.htm
