1. Introduction to Cyber-ethics
Issues for ICT Professionals
School of Architecture, Computing, and Engineering
University of East London
5 March 2014
Dr Josephine Anne Stein
Principal Research Fellow in Innovation Studies emerita
Law and Social Sciences/LSS

2. Overview Ethical issues for ICT professionals
Definitions and basic concepts
Western moral tradition and evolution
What is the relevance of ethics to ICTs?
Cyber-ethics issues and dilemmas
Practical approaches to applying ethics
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3. Ethical issues for ICT professionals
Data protection and other legal matters
Hacktivism
Business computer ethics
Surveillance at work
Ethics in the Cloud
Online privacy
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4. British Computer Society Code of Conduct
Public interest
Awareness of legal environment
Avoid discrimination
Duty to relevant authority
Compliance and expert judgement
Confidentiality and disclosure
Manage task within time and budget
Duty to the profession
Professional competence and integrity
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5. Definitions: Ethics
The study and philosophy of human conduct, with emphasis on the determination of right and wrong. The basic principles of right action especially with reference to a particular profession (New International Webster’s Dictionary 1996)
a code of behaviour, especially of a particular group, profession or individual. The moral fitness of a decision, course of action, etc (Collins Dictionary 2002)
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6. Why ‘Cyber-ethics’? Computer ethics Internet ethics Cyber-ethics
Customised or bespoke software (machines)
Internet ethics
Netiquette (www, ) (content)
Cyber-ethics
LAN  Internet  Cloud (environment)
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7. Definitions: Morality
the quality of being moral; that which renders an action right or wrong; the practice of moral duties apart from religion; virtue......ethics (Chambers Dictionary 1998)
a set of shared rules, principles and duties applicable to all members of a group or society which we follow in our day-to-day living.....They help us to distinguish between right and wrong (E Turner)
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8. Moral philosophy and applied ethics
Moral Philosophy or “metaethics”: philosophical reflection on the nature of moral judgement
critical analysis, identifying moral principles
Applied ethics: practical approaches to under- standing real-world moral issues, making explicit beliefs and values based on philosophical principles:
individual rights and autonomy
ownership
authority and relativism
objectivity, trust, privacy
social distribution of responsibility, damage and risk
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9. The nature of authority
Expertise and subjectivity
validated knowledge and credentialed expertise
scientific method, experience, opinion
who is qualified concerning moral judgement?
An authority or someone in authority?
is doing the right thing about avoiding punishment?
is authority conferred or earned?
when and why does one reject authority?
From power-based to rule-based to value-based morality
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10. Ethics in the Old Testament
Ten Commandments, abridged and paraphrased (Exodus 20)
Honour your father and mother
Don’t commit murder or adultery
Don’t steal or covet what isn’t yours
Don’t lie
Other Old Testament examples
Don’t accept bribes (Exodus 23)
Do not mistreat an alien or oppress him (Exodus 22)
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11. Christian ethics Incarnation: God as taking human form
taking personal responsibility for one’s actions
....but external divine authority still available to judge, offer absolution from sin or punishment of the guilty
Teachings of Jesus Christ
loving all, including the outsider, the rejected, the enemy; faith, hope and charity, settings norms of humane behaviour
defying local authoritarian power, leading to JC’s execution
Resurrection
vindication of JC’s embodied human/divine authority
Rise of the Church and the Bible as authoritative
closing the biblical canon in 405 AD, ‘Christendom’
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12. The rise of secular humanism
Reformation and Protestantism (16th century)
Martin Luther and the rebellion against corruption
Henry VIII and the Church of England
Enlightenment (18th century)
rise of rationality and human-centred philosophy
Modernism (early 20th century)
triumph of “progress” in delivering prosperity now instead of promises in “eternity” or afterlife, based on universal scientific principles
Postmodernism (mid-late 20th century)
rejection of the “grand narrative” in favour of “constructed identity”, anti-realism and pluralism
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13. Systems of ethics: From ancient Greece to the 21st Century
Deontology: rules, rights and duties
Divine command ethics
Kantian ethics
Contractualism
Hobbes
Social contract
Consequentialism
Utilitarianism
Virtue ethics
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14. Deontology Rules, rights and duties
Divine command ethics: Claims made about obedience to God
“Son of Sam” murders
George W. Bush and the invasion of Iraq
Acceptability in academia
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15. Categorical moral obligations: Immanuel Kant (1724 - 1804)
Duties as fundamental
Morality a matter of objective, dispassionate rationality
Intent as the basis of moral judgement: autonomy assumed
Hypothetical (non-moral) imperatives:
If you want to be healthier, stop overeating
If you want to be happier, make more & better friends
If you don’t want to be killed, hand over your money
Categorical (moral) imperatives:
“common sense” rules that apply to all (universality)
does not distinguish means from ends
absolute: exceptions as never justifiable
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16. Contractualism Mutual advantage based on rational agreement
explicit, codified (formal contract)
implicit, understood (paying for a restaurant meal)
intuitive expectation of social behaviour (psychological contract)
Thomas Hobbes ( )
limits of altruism and sympathy
inequalities in power amongst people  need for absolute ruler
“social contract”, authority and governance
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17. Consequentialism and utilitarianism
Consequentialism: the consequences of an action alone determine its morality
the ends justify the means
Utilitarianism: not the same as usefulness....a goal
classical: “the ultimate good is something that most people actually desire”
modern: “satisfaction, rather than happiness”
ethical hedonism: pleasure the only ultimate good
the greatest happiness of the greatest number
In philosophy, pleasure, happiness and hedonism are more sophisticated concepts than as everyday terms, but....
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18. Virtue ethics Aristotle and purpose in life Augustine, Aquinas
Excellence, flourishing as source of happiness
Augustine, Aquinas
Specification of virtue in terms of health, aesthetics, knowledge, authenticity, integrity, justice, friendship, holiness
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19. Computer ethics Postwar period:
the rise of ‘artificial intelligence’ and fears of social domination by computers
large-scale computation enabling greater lethality of military weaponry
large-scale data manipulation enabling the centralisation of social control (especially government): privacy and dignity
Microcomputers, networking and personal computers
software and IPRs
hacking
Internet and bandwidth
privacy and protection from malicious individuals
dependency in the age of informational capitalism
Cloud computing
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20. Conceptualising computers and ethics
Software
Hacking
the Internet
the Cloud
“Computer and information technology creates new possibilities; it instruments human action in new ways. The ethical issues that are thereby created are not out of the realm of human under-standing, but they have unique features with which we must come to grips.” (Johnson)
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21. Computers and society: the case of software
Software (Johnson)
A series of mental processes that cannot be owned, an internal structuring of a computer that forms a part of the machine, or a standalone product with commercial value?
Traditionalist view: adapt existing tools such as patents and copyright? But can this approach capture the novel features and their (sometimes unintended) applications?
Social context: moral, cultural, political ideas
“the study of computer ethics turns out [to] be the study of human beings and society -- our goals and values, our norms of behavior, the way we organize ourselves and assign rights and responsibilities”
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22. Are computer ethical issues unique?
New entities: programmes, software, microchips, Websites, video games (MMORPGs), the Cloud
Scale of organised activity: data collection, calculation, statistical analysis
Scale of calculations: new types of knowledge in fields such as meteorology, economics, military technology
Inherent unreliability of computer systems: new ways of thinking about risk, accountability and liability
Power and pervasiveness: dependency on computers for all aspects of modern living, sometimes life itself
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23. Practical applications of ICT ethics
Personal choices: careers, ownership of consumer goods
Protection of children and vulnerable people in our care
Policy, regulation and law
both public and corporate policies
gender, race, disability, equality and dignity issues
regulation of service provision and content
intellectual property rights
rights to privacy
Conduct of democracy
Codes of professional conduct
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24. Data Protection Act (1984) DPA requirements include Eight principles
Registration of personal data
Description of purpose of use
Person responsible for subject access requests
Eight principles
Fairness, specification of purpose, appropriateness, adequacy, accuracy, timeliness, accessibility and security
The act is a mechanism to enforce 8 data protection principles which state that personal data shall
Be obtained and processed fairly and lawfully
Be held for specified purposes only
Be used or disclosed for those purposes only
Be adequate, relevant and not excessive in relation to its purpose
Be accurate and up to date
Be held for no longer than necessary
Be able to be accessed and corrected by the individuals to which it relates (This is the key principle of the act since it establishes the right of individuals to know what an organisation has on file about them.)
Be secure (Appropriate security measures must be taken against unauthorised access to alteration, disclosure or destruction of personal data)
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25. Data Protection Act (1998)
Implementing European standards as per the Legal protection of databases Directive (1996)
Registration
Enlargement of jurisdiction to cover more types of data systems
Manual data
Videotapes, CDs, etc.
Information Commissioner empowered to issue fines from 6 April 2010
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26. Implications of the Data Protection Act for ICT professionals
Awareness of requirements for registration; exemptions
Treatment of personal data
Use and disclosure of data
Adequate but not excessive
Accuracy and timeliness
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27. Data protection and the Internet (I)
Exemptions for personal use of data
DPA Section 55 at work
Pornographic websites
Sexually explicit s
Disclosure of data to third parties
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28. Data protection and the Internet (II)
Web site cookies, application forms and transparency
Confidentiality and public services
Use of personal data for secondary purposes
Authorisation
Public interest disclosure
Informed consent
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29. Computer Misuse Act (1990) Unauthorised access to a computer
Unauthorised modification of data held on a computer
Hacking
Infecting computers with viruses
Attempt to control international computer crime
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30. File-sharing, IPRs… and Democracy
Napster mp3 file sharing started in 1999 and was shut down in 2001 by judicial order
More than 60% of Internet traffic p2p sharing music, movies, books and games (June 2010)
Encryption and IP address migration
Piratbyrån - The Pirate Bay: 25 million visitors/month (2008) – only hosts bit-torrents and not files so cannot be shut down – but  conspiracy case
Market economy vs. capitalism (concentrated power)
Democracy and Human Rights: Piratpartiet and privacy
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31. Digital Economy Act (2010) Copyright/anti-piracy
Compels ISPs to report persistent offenders
Powers to restrict or cut off Internet access granted to the Secretary of State to instruct ISPs
Ofcom enforces ISPs obligations
Control of content:
Video game classification
Copyright material on websites
The controversy continues
Implementation wrt piracy delayed until 2015
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32. Professional responsibility v. Legal responsibility
Compliance with the law
Contribution to the formulation of law and professional practice
Technological expertise
Ethical/professional judgement
Disclosure (whistleblowing)
What if the law itself is ethically wrong?
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33. Business computer ethics
Ethical behaviour as essential to maintaining trust that is the basis for doing business:
clients, customers and suppliers
competitors, especially when collaborating
employees, shareholders and stakeholders
empirical observation: “ethical behaviour works” (Langford)
Computers pervasive in all aspects of business, and businesses of all sizes are highly dependent upon them
Computers allow very complex processes to take place which are not transparent to consumers or regulators
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34. Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (2000)
allows monitoring of by employers
legalises interception of by the security services
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35. Cloud computing and cyber-ethics
Control and responsibility
Users relinquish control over both computation and data
Dispersed responsibility for data and computational integrity
Disappearance of geographical and functional boundaries
Multi-purpose, multi-use
Accountability?
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36. Online Privacy : Why is it important?
Personal autonomy, security and dignity
Freedom of association
Political freedom and democracy
Intellectual property
Commerce and employment
Protection from cyber-crime
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37. What does secrecy mean in a virtual social environment?
Privacy
Anonymity
Identity
Security
Confidentiality
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38. Privacy Theories of privacy:
Non-intrusion privacy: being free from interruption and interference
Seclusion privacy: personal privacy and being alone
Control/access privacy: having control over information about oneself
Limitation privacy: context-dependent limits to access to one’s personal information
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39. Internet privacy Datagathering and cyberstalking Dataveillance
Merging electronic records
Personal data mining
Search engines
Social networking online
What is properly personal and private, and what is in the public domain?
Information Technology and Dataveillance
Roger Clarke (1987)
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40. Anonymity online Liberation (Cyborg Manifesto)
– or deception?
‘On the Internet, nobody
knows you're a dog’
Trust and accountability
(e.g. misrepresentation and hacking)
cartoon by Peter Steiner has been reproduced from page 61 of July 5, 1993 issue of The New Yorker, (Vol.69 (LXIX) no. 20)
Donna Harraway
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41. Identity in the virtual world
Personal, social and legal identity
Aliases
Constructed identities
Digital effigies
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42. Security: a highly emotive topic
Technological security (PETs)
Identity theft, impersonation and fraud
Surveillance and “counter-terrorism”
Psychological and sociological origins (“existential insecurity”; “risk society”)
Security through cooperation
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43. Confidentiality and trust
Friendship, kinship
Caring professions
Medical
Social
Educational
Religious
Employment
Social contracts, social capital
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44. Evolution of virtual society
Communities
Personal / family / diaspora
Occupational / professional
Interest group
Organisations and institutions
e-government
e-commerce
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45. The social regulation of the virtual world
Regulating human behaviour
Individual
Institutional
Social
Social values of the Internet
Development of expectations of identity in a postmodern medium
Confidence in secure transactions (financial, personal)
Anarchy, communism (Linux, open source software, freeware)
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46. Secrecy and governance in the virtual world
Technological approaches are insufficient
Formal and informal approaches to the governance of the www
Social norms differ according to national, religious, ethnic and other distinctive features of various societies – including online societies
Netiquette and the evolution of a digital society in a virtual world:
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47. Promoting an ethical approach and the problem of moral philosophy
Internet ethics is derived from Western moral philosophy, thus based on Judeao-Christian and European cultural heritage
The foundations of different ethical frameworks cannot be fully rationalised – and therefore, conceptualisations of ethical standards and approaches to governance (e.g. deontology, utilitarianism, notions of human rights etc.) don’t lend themselves to multicultural rationalisation
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48. Universal ethics Values? (worth, esteem, etc.)
Is privacy an intrinsic social value or is it instrumental ?
Truly universal ethics are based on virtues:
Honesty and trustworthiness
Benevolence and generosity
Excellence
Courage
Honour and respect
Justice
(e.g. as a means to achieve some desirable or undesirable social outcome)
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49. Virtual and virtuous ? Honesty and trustworthiness: Wikipedia
Benevolence and generosity: on-line petitions and appeals
Excellence: peer-reviewed journals
Courage: resistance to political oppression
Honour and respect: netiquette
Justice: ?
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50. Virtual secrecy?
No technological solutions to social problems, but no legal solutions either
Tailoring secrecy to purpose
Protection of legitimate confidentiality in professional and business/financial world
Protection of personal privacy and dignity
Social scepticism wrt identity – education
Informal and informed cooperative social promotion of on-line virtue
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51. Psychology of moral autonomy (Lawrence Kohlberg)
Preconventional level: self-benefit and the avoidance of punishment
Conventional level: family, group or social norms uncritically accepted as standards of morality
Postconventional level: individual recognition that right and wrong is not reducible to self- interest or social convention
autonomous individuals who think for themselves and do not assumes that customs are always right
seek to live by general, universal principles such as moral integrity, respect, and the “Golden Rule”
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52. Limits to rationalism
Feminist critique: “ethics of care” (Carol Gilligan)
context-dependent on maintaining personal relationships: masculine ethics based on abstract rights and rules contrasted with feminine context-oriented reasoning
Persistence of religious morality in contemporary society
empirical observation that religious experience (including conversion) is attributed to God
impossible to acquire religious belief through reasoning
fundamentalism mainly in text-based religions: no moral ambiguity -- also balanced ‘scripture, tradition and reason’
Computer Power and Human Reason (Joseph Weizenbaum)
Decision vs. choice
Judgement, compassion and wisdom
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53. Moral Heuristics
Is it honourable? Is there anyone from whom we would like to hide the action?
Is it honest? Does it violate any agreement, actual or implied, or otherwise betray a trust?
Does it avoid the possibility of conflict of interest? Are there other considerations that might bias your judgement?
Is it within your area of competence? Is it possible that your best effort will not be adequate?
Is it fair? Is it detrimental to the legitimate interests of others?
Is it considerate? Will it violate confidentiality or privacy, or otherwise harm anyone or anything?
Is it conservative? Does it unnecessarily squander time or otherwise valuable resources?
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54. Example: Ethical analysis of plagiarism
Identify and list as many different forms of plagiarism as possible
Select four of the most egregious forms of plagiarism
What are the main ethical issues?
Identify the stakeholders
What ethical principles apply?
What formal guidelines apply?
What are the long-term implications, including prevention strategies?
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55. Plagiarism…..don’t….. When to reference “Lifting” material
Padding
Over-reliance on sources
Other hazards:
Self plagiarism
Collusion
Commercial (dis-)services
UEL guidelines, policies and strategies
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