Computer Ethics, From the Grandstands

Computer Ethics, From the Grandstands
Mark Rasch, 2005-03-21

The recent security breach that exposed an individual's application status at top business schools raises moral and ethical questions about cyberspace.

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Computer Ethics, From the Grandstands 2005-03-22
Anonymous

Very interesting article. Seems well thought out and raises some important issues that certainly need to be looked at more often and more thoroughly. ...

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Computer Ethics, From the Grandstands 2005-03-22
Anonymous (2 replies)

If I drive by your house and the blinds are left open, does it make me a criminal if I look when anyone walks around in a state of undress?

The data should not have been left improperly secured. Even using a web application data can be replicated to a secure data storage and the orgininal remove...

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Computer Ethics, From the Grandstands 2005-03-22
Anonymous

I'm not sure that this is a good analogy, because looking at a naked person is not a criminal act.
I saw a debate once in France (I don't know if the law would be the same in the US) in which a lawyer said that voyeurism is not illegal. In fact, the voyeur could sue the voyee for indecent exposure,...

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Ethical To Peek? 2005-03-22
Anonymous

The quick answer is that it would be illegal to peek into the window. A peeping Tom a person who stealthily peeks into windows, other openings with the purpose of getting a sexual thrill from seeing women or girls undressed or couples making love. It is a slang term for a voyeur. Being a peeping to...

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Computer Ethics, From the Grandstands 2005-03-22
Anonymous (1 replies)

I don't really see the ambiguity here. They used a method to circumvent access control methods on the site. These methods where an effort by the operator of the website to prevent un-authorized access to the information. If you want a real world example; say I have a device that will unlock any k...

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Computer Ethics, From the Grandstands 2005-03-22
Anonymous

I think from all the replies you came the closest to blame. The "hacker" who posted this should have adhered to the unwritten rules of ethical disclosure of vulnerabilities. He should have made both the schools and the company handling the data aware of the flaw, then given them time to secure their...

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Computer Ethics, From the Grandstands 2005-03-22
Anonymous (1 replies)

It may have been unethical to snoop for this data, but I also think it should be reasonable to test a site that holds personal information about yourself to see whether they are doing a reasonable job of protecting that data. The hacker certainly was the one who sparked this issue, he should have si...

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Computer Ethics, From the Grandstands 2005-03-23
A.N. Onymous

You have nailed the essence of the problem. There are several factors that directly impede development of an ethical consensus for behavior over the internet.

First -- Reaction that is disproportionate to the offense. Note that the analogous physical offenses (c.f. the peeping tom statute noted a...

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Ethics, From the Armchair 2005-03-24
Anonymous

Not so much a "script, entered into a browser" as a modified URL (or even a modification of the normal URL).

Sounds a bit more like "the results have been posted early, but are not linked in yet" and "see if your results have been posted early".

Hardly a hack - more the use of an established t...

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Computer Ethics, From the Grandstands -- Inappropriate Repsonses to Inappropriate URLs 2005-03-25
alerter

One
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This incident is a specific case, involving applicants to BS (biz school) programs, that restrict entry/participation, in said programs, based, in part, on an *application process*. Historically, most of these applications processes *intentionally* have opaque and transparent components, ...

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Computer Ethics, From the Grandstands 2005-03-26
Anonymous

In Greek mythology crows were all white until they delivered bad news to a king who was so upset with the news that he turned all crows black.

Same reasoning here. If you find a security hole YOU are blamed for 'breaking' the security.

B-U-L-L !

From its beginnings the internet was design...

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Computer Ethics, From the Grandstands 2005-03-27
DMAnonymous

An excellent article.

A agree with the commentors note about walking through an unlocked door without any notice of restricted access upon it.

Much of whats morally and etically wrong is backed by law. There is nothing illegal about being immorral or unethical in itself. The punishment from ...

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Computer Ethics, From the Grandstands 2005-03-27
Not Anonymous. My IP is in the logs and traceable to me.

All of the following is strictly a matter of opinion. I do not presume to convey anything more and more should not be implied by the reader.

I do not think that we are looking at this matter from the correct perspective.

In the US, at least, we see information related to an individual as belo...

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Computer Ethics, From the Grandstands 2005-03-27
Anonymous

In my opinion, the real crime here is leaving hundreds (if not thousands) of students' personal information in the hands of some lame-o php scripter company....

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Part of the Problem 2005-03-28
Anonymous

As a computer professional (whatever that means) I feel we all have a responsibility to educate people about these issues. You cannot have a moral standard for cyberspace because there is not a good enough public understanding about how cyberspace works.

"Hackers" have been demonized due to the ...

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