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Chapter 13 security and ethical challenges

This document discusses security and ethical challenges related to information technology. It covers topics like corporate social responsibility theories, principles of technology ethics, privacy issues, computer crimes like hacking and cybertheft, and measures to protect security such as encryption, firewalls, and auditing. Business professionals have an ethical responsibility to promote proper IT use and ensure security, privacy, and informed consent regarding technology risks.

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Chapter - 13 Security & Ethical Challenges
Introduction • Use of IT in business can – Present major security challenges – Poses serious ethical questions – Affect society in significant ways • IT has both beneficial & detrimental effects on society and people – Manage work activities to minimize the detrimental effects of IT – Optimize the beneficial effects
Ethical responsibility of business professionals • Business professionals have responsibility to promote ethical uses of information technology in the workplace • Should you electronically access your employees’ personnel records or workstation files? • Should you sell customer information extracted from transaction processing systems to other companies?
Categories of Ethical Business Issues
Corporate Social Responsibility Theories • Stockholder Theory – Managers are agents of the stockholders – Their only ethical responsibility is to increase the profits of the business without violating the law or engaging in fraudulent practices • Social Contract Theory – Companies have ethical responsibilities to all members of society, who allow corporations to exist • Stakeholder Theory – Managers have an ethical responsibility to manage a firm for the benefit of all its stakeholders – Stakeholders are all individuals and groups that have a stake in, or claim on, a company
Principles of Technology Ethics • Proportionality - The good achieved by the technology must outweigh the harm or risk; there must be no alternative that achieves the same or comparable benefits with less harm or risk • Informed Consent - Those affected by the technology should understand and accept the risks • Justice – Fair and equal distribution of benefits and burdens of the technology – Those who benefit should bear their fair share of the risks, and those who do not benefit should not suffer a significant increase in risk • Minimized Risk - Even if judged acceptable by the other three guidelines, the technology must be implemented so as to avoid all unnecessary risk
Ethical Guidelines • Most policies specify that company computer workstations and networks are company resources that must be used only for work-related uses • A responsible professional – Acts with integrity – Increases personal competence – Sets high standards of personal performance – Accepts responsibility for his/her work – Advances the health, privacy, and general welfare of the public
Computer Crime • Unauthorized use, access, modification, or destruction of hardware, software, data, or network resources • The unauthorized release of information • The unauthorized copying of software • Denying an end user access to his/her own hardware, software, data, or network resources • Using or conspiring to use computer or network resources illegally to obtain information or tangible property
Cybercrime Protection Measures
Hacking • Hacking is – The obsessive use of computers – The unauthorized access and use of networked computer systems • Electronic Breaking and Entering – Hacking into a computer system and reading files, but neither stealing nor damaging anything • Cracker – A malicious or criminal hacker who maintains knowledge of the vulnerabilities found for private advantage
Common Hacking Tactics • Denial of Service – Hammering a website’s equipment with too many requests for information – Clogging the system, slowing performance, or crashing the site • Scans – Widespread probes of the Internet to determine types of computers, services, and connections – Looking for weaknesses • Sniffer – Programs that search individual packets of data as they pass through the Internet – Capturing passwords or entire contents • Spoofing – Faking an e-mail address or Web page to trick users into passing along critical information like passwords or credit card numbers
Common Hacking Tactics • Trojan House – A program that, unknown to the user, contains instructions that exploit a known vulnerability in some software • Back Doors – A hidden point of entry to be used in case the original entry point is detected or blocked • Malicious Applets – Tiny Java programs that misuse your computer’s resources, modify files on the hard disk, send fake email, or steal passwords • War Dialing – Programs that automatically dial thousands of telephone numbers in search of a way in through a modem connection • Logic Bombs – An instruction in a computer program that triggers a malicious act
Common Hacking Tactics • Buffer Overflow – Crashing or gaining control of a computer by sending too much data to buffer memory • Password Crackers – Software that can guess passwords • Social Engineering – Gaining access to computer systems by talking unsuspecting company employees out of valuable information, such as passwords • Dumpster Diving – Sifting through a company’s garbage to find information to help break into their computers
Cyber Theft • Many computer crimes involve the theft of money • The majority are “inside jobs” that involve unauthorized network entry and alternation of computer databases to cover the tracks of the employees involved • Many attacks occur through the Internet • Most companies don’t reveal that they have been targets or victims of cybercrime
Unauthorized Use at Work • Unauthorized use of computer systems and networks is time and resource theft – Doing private consulting – Doing personal finances – Playing video games – Unauthorized use of the Internet or company networks • Sniffers – Used to monitor network traffic or capacity – Find evidence of improper use
Internet Abuses in the Workplace – General email abuses – Unauthorized usage and access – Copyright infringement/plagiarism – Newsgroup postings – Transmission of confidential data – Pornography – Hacking – Non-work-related download/upload – Leisure use of the Internet – Use of external ISPs – Moonlighting
Software Piracy • Software Piracy – Unauthorized copying of computer programs – Software is an intellectual property • Licensing – Purchasing software is really a payment for a license for fair use – Site license allows a certain number of copies A third of the software industry’s revenues are lost to piracy
Theft of Intellectual Property • Intellectual Property – Copyrighted material – Includes such things as music, videos, images, articles, books, and software • Copyright Infringement is Illegal – Peer-to-peer networking techniques have made it easy to trade pirated intellectual property • Publishers Offer Inexpensive Online Music – Illegal downloading of music and video is down and continues to drop
Viruses and Worms • A virus is a program that cannot work without being inserted into another program – A worm can run unaided • These programs copy annoying or destructive routines into networked computers • Commonly transmitted through – The Internet and online services – Email and file attachments – Disks from contaminated computers – Shareware
Adware and Spyware • Adware – Software that purports to serve a useful purpose, and often does – Allows advertisers to display pop-up and banner ads without the consent of the computer users • Spyware – Adware that uses an Internet connection in the background, without the user’s permission or knowledge – Captures information about the user and sends it over the Internet
Spyware Problems • Spyware can steal private information and also – Add advertising links to Web pages – Redirect affiliate payments – Change a users home page and search settings – Make a modem randomly call premium-rate phone numbers – Leave security holes that let Trojans in – Degrade system performance • Removal programs are often not completely successful in eliminating spyware
Privacy Issues • The power of information technology to store and retrieve information can have a negative effect on every individual’s right to privacy – Personal information is collected with every visit to a Web site – Confidential information stored by credit bureaus, credit card companies, and the government has been stolen or misused
Opt-in Versus Opt-out • Opt-In – You explicitly consent to allow data to be compiled about you – This is the default in Europe • Opt-Out – Data can be compiled about you unless you specifically request it not be – This is the default in the U.S.
Privacy Issues • Violation of Privacy – Accessing individuals’ private email conversations and computer records – Collecting and sharing information about individuals gained from their visits to Internet websites • Computer Monitoring – Always knowing where a person is – Mobile and paging services are becoming more closely associated with people than with places • Computer Matching – Using customer information gained from many sources to market additional business services • Unauthorized Access of Personal Files – Collecting telephone numbers, email addresses, credit card numbers, and other information to build customer profiles
Protecting Your Privacy on the Internet • There are multiple ways to protect your privacy – Encrypt email – Send newsgroup postings through anonymous remailers – Ask your ISP not to sell your name and information to mailing list providers and other marketers – Don’t reveal personal data and interests on online service and website user profiles
Privacy Laws • Electronic Communications Privacy Act and Computer Fraud and Abuse Act – Prohibit intercepting data communications messages, stealing or destroying data, or trespassing in federal-related computer systems • U.S. Computer Matching and Privacy Act – Regulates the matching of data held in federal agency files to verify eligibility for federal programs • Other laws impacting privacy and how much a company spends on compliance – Sarbanes-Oxley – Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) – Gramm-Leach-Bliley – USA Patriot Act – California Security Breach Law – Securities and Exchange Commission rule 17a-4
Computer Libel and Censorship • The opposite side of the privacy debate… – Freedom of information, speech, and press • Biggest battlegrounds - bulletin boards, email boxes, and online files of Internet and public networks • Weapons used in this battle – spamming, flame mail, libel laws, and censorship • Spamming - Indiscriminate sending of unsolicited email messages to many Internet users • Flaming – Sending extremely critical, derogatory, and often vulgar email messages or newsgroup posting to other users on the Internet or online services – Especially prevalent on special-interest newsgroups
Cyberlaw • Laws intended to regulate activities over the Internet or via electronic communication devices – Encompasses a wide variety of legal and political issues – Includes intellectual property, privacy, freedom of expression, and jurisdiction • The intersection of technology and the law is controversial – Some feel the Internet should not be regulated – Encryption and cryptography make traditional form of regulation difficult – The Internet treats censorship as damage and simply routes around it • Cyberlaw only began to emerge in 1996 – Debate continues regarding the applicability of legal principles derived from issues that had nothing to do with cyberspace
Other Challenges • Employment – IT creates new jobs and increases productivity – Cause significant reductions in some job opportunities – Jobs created by IT require new job skills • Internet Web masters, e-commerce directors, system analysts, user consultants • Computer Monitoring – Using computers to monitor the productivity and behavior of employees as they work – Criticized as unethical because it monitors individuals, not just work, and is done constantly – Criticized as invasion of privacy because many employees do not know they are being monitored
Other Challenges • Working Conditions – IT has eliminated monotonous or obnoxious tasks – Shift allows people to concentrate on more challenging and interesting assignments – Sadly data entry jobs are quite repetitive and routine – But some skilled craftsperson jobs have been replaced by jobs requiring routine, repetitive tasks or standby roles • Individuality – Dehumanizes and depersonalizes activities because computers eliminate human relationships – Inflexible systems due to strict adherence to standards – But it’s changing due to personalization in e-commerce
Health Issues • Cumulative Trauma Disorders (CTDs) – Disorders suffered by people who sit at a PC or terminal and do fast-paced repetitive keystroke jobs – Strained muscles, back pain, nerve damage • Carpal Tunnel Syndrome – Painful, crippling ailment of the hand and wrist – Typically requires surgery to cure
Ergonomics • Designing healthy work environments – Safe, comfortable, and pleasant for people to work in – GUI, hardware, job design ergonomics – Increases employee morale and productivity – Also called human factors engineering Ergonomics Factors
Societal Solutions • Using information technologies to solve human and social problems – Medical diagnosis – Computer-assisted instruction – Governmental program planning – Environmental quality control – Law enforcement – Job placement • The detrimental effects of IT – Often caused by individuals or organizations not accepting ethical responsibility for their actions
Security Management of IT • The Internet was developed for inter- operability, not impenetrability – Business managers and professionals alike are responsible for the security, quality, and performance of business information systems – Hardware, software, networks, and data resources must be protected by a variety of security measures
Security Management • The goal of security management is the accuracy, integrity, and safety of all information system processes and resources
Internetworked Security Defenses • Encryption – Data is transmitted in scrambled form – It is unscrambled by computer systems for authorized users only – The most widely used method uses a pair of public and private keys unique to each individual
Internetworked Security Defenses • Firewalls – A gatekeeper system that protects a company’s intranets and other computer networks from intrusion – Provides a filter and safe transfer point for access to/from the Internet and other networks – Important for individuals who connect to the Internet with DSL or cable modems – Can deter hacking, but cannot prevent it
Internet and Intranet Firewalls 38 Chapter 13 Security and Ethical Challenges
Denial of Service Attacks • Denial of service attacks depend on three layers of networked computer systems – The victim’s website – The victim’s Internet service provider – Zombie or slave computers that have been commandeered by the cybercriminals
Defending Against Denial of Service • At Zombie Machines – Set and enforce security policies – Scan for vulnerabilities • At the ISP – Monitor and block traffic spikes • At the Victim’s Website – Create backup servers and network connections
Internetworked Security Defenses • Email Monitoring – Use of content monitoring software that scans for troublesome words that might compromise corporate security • Virus Defenses – Centralize the updating and distribution of antivirus software – Use a security suite that integrates virus protection with firewalls, Web security, and content blocking features
Other Security Measures • Security Codes – Multilevel password system – Encrypted passwords – Smart cards with microprocessors • Backup Files – Duplicate files of data or programs • Security Monitors – Monitor the use of computers and networks – Protects them from unauthorized use, fraud, and destruction • Biometrics – Computer devices measure physical traits that make each individual unique • Voice recognition, fingerprints, retina scan • Computer Failure Controls – Prevents computer failures or minimizes its effects – Preventive maintenance – Arrange backups with a disaster recovery organization
Other Security Measures • In the event of a system failure, fault-tolerant systems have redundant processors, peripherals, and software that provide – Fail-over capability: shifts to back up components – Fail-save capability: the system continues to operate at the same level – Fail-soft capability: the system continues to operate at a reduced but acceptable level • A disaster recovery plan contains formalized procedures to follow in the event of a disaster – Which employees will participate – What their duties will be – What hardware, software, and facilities will be used – Priority of applications that will be processed – Use of alternative facilities – Offsite storage of databases
Information System Controls • Methods and devices that attempt to ensure the accuracy, validity, and propriety of information system activities
Auditing IT Security • IT Security Audits – Performed by internal or external auditors – Review and evaluation of security measures and management policies – Goal is to ensure that that proper and adequate measures and policies are in place
Protecting Yourself from Cybercrime