Chapter

13

Security and Ethical Challenges

McGraw-Hill/Irwin

Copyright 2009 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights

Learning Objectives
Identify several ethical issues in how the use
of information technologies in business affects
Employment
Individuality
Working conditions
Privacy
Crime
Health
Solutions to societal problems

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Learning Objectives
Identify several types of security
management strategies and defenses,
and explain how they can be used to
ensure the security of business
applications of information technology
Propose several ways that business
managers and professionals can help to
lessen the harmful effects and increase
the beneficial effects of the use of
information technology
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Case 1: Ethics, Moral Dilemmas, and

Tough Decisions
The pervasive use of IT in organizations and
society present individuals with new ethical
challenges and dilemmas.
If companies dont set ethical policies and
guidelines, or dont make sure that
employees know what they are and
understand them, companies cannot hold
workers accountable for their unethical
behavior.
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Case Study Questions

1. Companies are developing ethical policies and guidelines
for legal reasons, but also to clarify what is acceptable and
what is not. Do you think any of the issues raised in the
case required clarification? Would you take exception to
any of them being classified as inappropriate behavior?
Why do you think these things happen anyway?
2. In the first example (Bryans), it is apparent that he did not
believe justice had been ultimately served by the decision
his company made. Should he have taken the issue to the
authorities? Or, was it enough that he reported the
problem through the proper channels and let the
organization handle it, as was the recommendation of Linn
Hynds? Provide a rationale for the position you are willing
to take on this matter.
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Case Study Questions

3. In the case, Gary chose not to stop his boss
from installing unlicensed software, although
he refused to do it himself. If installing
unlicensed software is wrong, is there any
difference between refusing to do it versus not
stopping somebody else? Do you buy his
argument that it was not really going to hurt
anybody? Why or why not?

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IT Security, Ethics, and Society

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IT Security, Ethics, and Society

Information technology has both

beneficial
and detrimental effects on society
and people
Manage work activities to minimize the
detrimental effects of information
technology
Optimize the beneficial effects
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Business Ethics

Ethics questions that managers

confront as part of their daily
business decision making include
Equity
Rights
Honesty
Exercise of corporate power

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Categories of Ethical Business Issues

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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
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Corporate Social Responsibility Theories

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

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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

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Principles of Technology Ethics

Justice
The benefits and burdens of the technology
should be distributed fairly.
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
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AITP Standards of Professional Conduct

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Responsible Professional Guidelines

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

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Computer Crime
Computer crime includes
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
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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
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Common Hacking Tactics

Denial of Service
Hammering a websites 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
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Common Hacking Tactics

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
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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
computers resources, modify files on the hard
disk, send fake email, or steal passwords

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Common Hacking Tactics

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

Buffer Overflow
Crashing or gaining control of a computer by
sending too much data to buffer memory
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Common Hacking Tactics

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 companys garbage to find
information to help break into their
computers
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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 dont reveal that they have
been targets or victims of cybercrime

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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
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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
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Software Piracy

Software Piracy
Unauthorized copying of computer
programs

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 industrys revenues are lost to

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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

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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
Copy routines spread the virus

Commonly transmitted through

The Internet and online services

Email and file attachments
Disks from contaminated computers
Shareware

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Top Five Virus Families of all Time

My Doom, 2004
Spread via email and over Kazaa file-sharing
network
Installs a back door on infected computers
Infected email poses as returned message
or one that cant be opened correctly, urging
recipient
to click on attachment
Opens up TCP ports that stay open even
after termination of the worm
Upon execution, a copy of Notepad is
opened, filled with nonsense characters
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Top Five Virus Families of all Time

Netsky, 2004
Mass-mailing worm that spreads by
emailing itself to all email addresses
found on infected computers
Tries to spread via peer-to-peer file
sharing
by copying itself into the shared folder
It renames itself to pose as one of 26
other common files along the way
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Top Five Virus Families of all Time

SoBig, 2004
Mass-mailing email worm that arrives as
an attachment
Examples: Movie_0074.mpg.pif, Document003.pif

Scans all .WAB, .WBX, .HTML, .EML, and

.TXT files looking for email addresses to
which it can send itself
Also attempts to download updates for itself

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Top Five Virus Families of all Time

Klez, 2002
A mass-mailing email worm that arrives
with a randomly named attachment
Exploits a known vulnerability in MS
Outlook to auto-execute on unpatched
clients
Tries to disable virus scanners and then copy
itself to all local and networked drives with a
random file name
Deletes all files on the infected machine and
any mapped network drives on the 13th of all
even-numbered months
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Top Five Virus Families of all Time

Sasser, 2004
Exploits a Microsoft vulnerability to
spread
from computer to computer with no
user intervention
Spawns multiple threads that scan
local subnets for vulnerabilities

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The Cost of Viruses, Trojans, Worms

Cost of the top five virus families
Nearly 115 million computers in 200
countries were infected in 2004
Up to 11 million computers are believed to
be permanently infected
In 2004, total economic damage from virus
proliferation was $166 to $202 billion
Average damage per computer is between
$277 and $366

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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 users permission
or knowledge
Captures information about the user and sends
it over the Internet

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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

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Privacy Issues
The power of information technology to
store and retrieve information can have a
negative effect on every individuals 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

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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.

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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
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Privacy Issues
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

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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
Dont reveal personal data and interests on
online service and website user profiles
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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
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Privacy Laws
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
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Computer Libel and Censorship

The opposite side of the privacy debate
Freedom of information, speech, and press

Biggest battlegrounds
Bulletin boards
Email boxes
Online files of Internet and public networks

Weapons used in this battle

Spamming
Flame mail
Libel laws
Censorship

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Computer Libel 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
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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
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Cyberlaw
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

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Other Challenges
Employment
IT creates new jobs and increases productivity
It can also cause significant reductions in job
opportunities, as well as requiring new job skills

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

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Other Challenges
Working Conditions
IT has eliminated monotonous or obnoxious tasks
However, 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

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Health Issues
Cumulative Trauma Disorders (CTDs)
Disorders suffered by people who sit at a
PC or terminal and do fast-paced repetitive
keystroke jobs

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Painful, crippling ailment of the hand
and wrist
Typically requires surgery to cure

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Ergonomics

Designing healthy work

environments
Safe, comfortable, and pleasant for
people
to work in
Increases employee morale and
productivity
Also called human factors engineering
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Ergonomics Factors

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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

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Societal Solutions

The detrimental effects of

information technology
Often caused by individuals
or organizations not
accepting ethical
responsibility for
their actions

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Security Management of IT
The Internet was developed for interoperability, 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

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Case 2: Raymond James Financial, BCD

Travel, Houston Texans, and Others
For companies like Raymond James, leakage of
sensitive customer data or proprietary information is
a new priority.
Companies are starting to focus on keeping
sensitive information within their boundaries.
Companies are deploying Outbound content
management tools to monitor outgoing information.
Companies not only have to monitor e-mail
messages, but also the explosion of alternative
communication mechanisms that employees are
using, including instant messaging, blogs, FTP
transfers, Web mail, and message boards.
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Case Study Questions

1. Barring illegal activities, why do you think that employees in
the organizations featured in the case do not realize
themselves the dangers of loosely managing proprietary and
sensitive information? Would you have thought of these
issues?
2. How should organizations strike the right balance between
monitoring and invading their employees privacy, even if it
would be legal for them to do so? Why is it important that
companies achieve this balance? What would be the
consequences of being too biased to one side?
3. The IT executives in the case all note that outbound
monitoring and management technologies are only part of an
overall strategy, and not their primary defense. What should
be the other components of this strategy? Which weight
would you give to human and technological factors? Why?
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Security Management

The goal of security

management is the
accuracy, integrity,
and safety of all
information system
processes and resources

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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

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Public/Private Key Encryption

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Internetworked Security Defenses

Firewalls
A gatekeeper system that protects a
companys 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
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Internet and Intranet Firewalls

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Denial of Service Attacks

Denial of service attacks depend on

three
layers of networked computer
systems
The victims website
The victims Internet service provider
Zombie or slave computers that have
been commandeered by the
cybercriminals
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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 Victims Website

Create backup servers and network
connections
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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
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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
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Other Security Measures

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
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Other Security Measures

In the event of a system failure, faulttolerant 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
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Other Security Measures

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
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Information System Controls

Methods and devices that attempt to
ensure the accuracy, validity, and
propriety of information system activities

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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
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Protecting Yourself from Cybercrime

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Case 3: Cyberscams and Cybercriminals

Cyberscams are todays fastest-growing
criminal niche
87 percent of companies surveyed reported
a security incident
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission says
identity theft is its top complaint
eBay has 60 people combating fraud;
Microsoft has 65
Stolen credit card account numbers are
regularly sold online
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Case Study Questions

1. List several reasons cyber scams are todays
fastest growing criminal niche. Explain why the
reasons you give contribute to the growth of cyber
scams.
2. What are several security measures that could be
implemented to combat the spread of cyber scams?
Explain why your suggestions would be effective.
3. Which of the four top cyber criminals described in
this case poses the biggest threat to businesses? To
consumers? Explain the reasons for your choices,
and describe how businesses and consumers can
protect themselves from these cyber scammers.
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Case 4: Lowes, TCI, Bank of America,

ChoicePoint, and Others
Security Breach Headlines
Identity thieves stole information on 145,000
people from ChoicePoint
Bank of America lost backup tapes that held
data on over 1 million credit card holders
DSW had its stores credit card data
breached; over 1 million had been accessed

Corporate America is finally owning up to

a long-held secret
It cant safeguard its most valuable data
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Case Study Questions

1. Why have there been so many recent
incidents of data security breaches and
loss of customer data by reputable
companies?
2. What security safeguards must
companies have to deter electronic
break-ins into their computer networks,
business applications, and data
resources like the incident at Lowes?
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Case Study Questions

3. What security safeguards would

have deterred the loss of customer
data at TCI, Bank of America, and
ChoicePoint? Defend your
proposed security measures to
avoid the incidents that occurred at
each company.

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