Computer and Network Security
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Instructions

Part 1
Choose 2 questions. Apply five:

• Kantianism
• Act Utilitarianism
• Rule Utilitarianism
• Social Contract Theory
• Virtue Ethics

theories to each question. 

Please remember that each post must be at least 250 words. (Any sentences that do not directly contribute to your argument and any sentences that repeat what has already been stated also do not count towards the word minimum.) Make sure your response is focused on how the ethical theory supports your argument.

1. 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?
2. When his worm program did not perform as expected, Robert Morris Jr. contacted two friends 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. Was this the right thing for Sudduth to do?
3. 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. Is this a morally justifiable policy?
4. 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?
5. Is it morally acceptable to use a denial-of-service attack to shut down a Web server that distributes child pornography?
6. Some would argue that technological development is inevitable. If Butler had not created 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 inventions. In contrast, one can argue 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. Support one of these perspectives by using the theories you have learned.
7. The United States and Israel cooperated to unleash the Stuxnet worm, which apparently slowed down Iran’s nuclear program by damaging centrifuges processing uranium. Was unleashing the Stuxnet worm morally justifiable?
8. Should the government allow online voting from home computers?
9. The University of Calgary offered a senior-level computer science course called “Computer Viruses and Malware.” The course taught students how to write viruses, worms, and Trojan horses. It also discussed the history of computer viruses and taught students how to block attacks. All course assignments were done on a closed computer network isolated from the Internet. Some computer security experts criticized the university for offering the course. One researcher said, “No one argues criminology students should commit a murder to understand how a murderer thinks.” Was the University of Calgary wrong to offer the course?
10. A distributed denial-of-service attack makes the Web site for a top electronic retailer inaccessible for an entire day. As a result of the attack, nearly a million customers are inconvenienced, and the retailer loses millions of dollars in sales to its competitors. Law enforcement agencies apprehend the person who launched the attack. Should the punishment be determined strictly by considering the crime that was committed, or should the identity of the culprit be taken into account? For example, if the identity of the culprit may have been: a teenager who launched the attack out of curiosity vs. an adult dedicated to fighting the country’s overly materialistic culture vs. a member of a terrorist organization attempting to harm the national economy.
11. The Chemical Weapons Convention outlaws the production and use of chemical weapons. Should the United States work to create an international ban on cyber attacks, similar to this convention? Or should the United States strive to become preeminent in cyber attack technology?
12. Is it morally acceptable for a company to hire a former malicious hacker as a security consultant?