Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
a fan of eliminating anonymity if that is the price for security” [96]. Will eliminating
anonymity make computers more secure?
16.
Are there conditions under which the release of a worm, virus, or Trojan horse would be
morally justifiable?
17.
When his worm program did not perform as expected, Robert Morris Jr. contacted two
old friends from Harvard to decide what to do next. One of them, Andy Sudduth, agreed
to email an anonymous message apologizing for the worm and describing how to protect
computers from it, without disclosing Morris as the creator of the worm [25]. Was this
the right thing for Sudduth to do?
18.
Kalamazoo College requires that all computers connected to the campus network be
running up-to-date antivirus software. When a student's computer is discovered to have
a virus, its network connection is cut until a staff member can remove the virus. If it
turns out that the computer was not running up-to-date antivirus software, the student
is fined $100 [97]. Is this a morally justifiable policy?
19.
Adam and Charlene are good friends. Both attend East Dakota State University. One
day when Adam is off campus interviewing for a part-time job, someone asks him how
many credit hours of computer science courses he has completed. Adam calls Charlene
and asks her to access his student records by logging into the campus mainframe as if she
were Adam. He provides Charlene with his student identification number and password
so that she can do this. Is it wrong for Adam to share this information with Charlene? Is
it wrong for Charlene to retrieve this information for Adam?
20.
Carnegie Mellon University, Harvard University, and the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology denied admission to more than 100 business school applicants because they
took an online peek at the status of their applications. These students learned how to
circumvent the program's security, and they used this knowledge to view their files
and see if they had been accepted. Students could see information about their own
application, but could not view the status of other students' applications. In many cases
the students learned that no admission decision had yet been made. Do you feel the
response of these universities was appropriate?
21.
Millions of American homes are equipped with wireless networks. If the network is
not made secure, any nearby computer with a wireless card can use the network. The
range of home wireless networks often extends into neighboring homes, particularly in
apartment complexes. If your neighbor's wireless network extends into your home, is it
wrong to use that network to get free Internet access?
22.
Is it morally acceptable to use a denial-of-service attack to shut down a Web server that
distributes child pornography?
23.
Some would argue that technological development is inevitable. If Butler had not cre-
ated Firesheep, someone else would have. Every invention can be put to good or bad
uses. Therefore, creators of new technologies bear no moral responsibility for their in-
ventions. In contrast, the author argues that people who create a tool making it easier for
someone to do something immoral share some moral accountability for the misdeeds
done by people using the tool. Which perspective do you find more compelling?
24.
Suppose it is true that Israeli Defense Forces were reponsible for unleashing the Stuxnet
worm, which caused a temporary shutdown of Iran's nuclear program by damaging
centrifuges processing uranium. Was unleashing this worm morally justifiable?
