Zhou 1

MeizhuoZhou
INFO450
Termpaper
Hackerethicsisacontroversialtopicastechnologyhasbecomeincreasinglypopular.
SpaffordtalkedabouttheethicsofhackerbreakinsinhisarticleArecomputerhacker
breakinsethical?Iwillbrieflypresenthispremisesandargumentsinpart1andrefutesome
ofhispremisesinpart2.AndIwillobjecttomyowncritiqueasSpaffordinpart3and
expressmyopinioninpart4.
PARTI
ThemainargumentthatSpaffordpresentsinhisessayisthattherightisdetermined
bytheaction,[Link],[Link],
computerhackings,evenwhennonoticeabledamageresults,[Link]
[Link]
therearephilosophiesthatconsidertheactastheultimatemeasureofanactivity,oursociety
[Link]
[Link]
thehypotheticalexamplethatifthegovernmentbeheadedonehundredsmokersonnational
television,thatwouldlikelymakeothersmokersquitsmoking,thusimprovingthehealthof
[Link],
everyonewouldconsiderthisactiontobeimmoralbecauseevenifmostpeoplebenefitfrom
theactivity,theexecutionofinnocentpeoplewillalwaysbeimmoral,evenifonlyoneman
[Link],[Link],hebelievesthat
evenifhackersarebringingtherightresult,eveninthecasewhensomeoneistryingtosave
alife,breakingintootherpeoplescomputersystemswillalwaysbeconsideredunethical.

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Spaffordalsodemonstratesthatweshouldnotconsidertheresultsofanactasthe
ultimatemeasureofgoodbecauseitisdifficulttodeterminethescopeandlongtermeffects
[Link]
ouractionscouldnotallowustoevaluateourcurrentactivitiesatthetimewhenwewould
[Link],ifwetrytojudgetheethicsofcomputerhackingsbythe
totalresult,[Link]
oftheresult,[Link],inthecaseofcomputerhacking,wecannot
knowifincreasedsecurityawarenessisbetterforsocietyinthelongtermorifitwillresultin
[Link]
[Link]
[Link],todetermine
themoralityofanactionimmediately,weshouldconsidertheactionitselfastheultimate
measureofgoodinsteadofusingtheresultasanindication.
Spaffordthenpresentsanddebatessomeofthemostcommonlyusedreasonsthat
[Link]
[Link]
argumentexplainsthateventhoughtheactionofbreakingintootherpeoplescomputer
systemsiswrong,theresultinalertingpeopletonotetheflawoftheirsystemmakesthe
[Link],hackersclaimthattheirhackingsareharmless,theyare
[Link]
thepurposeofcomputersinthefirstplaceistoserveastoolsandresources,notasexercises
[Link]
[Link]

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beconsideredmoral,thenbreakingintootherpeopleshousescanalsobemoralbecauseit
demonstratesthattheyaresusceptibletoburglars.
Inconclusion,Spaffordarguesthatcomputerbreakinsareunethicaleveniftheresult
isanimprovementinsecurity,becausetheactivityitselfisimmoralanddisruptive.
Computersareusedtoprotectourlives,nottomakeusloseourprivacyandproperty.
Therefore,nobreakinismoralandethical.
PART2
AlthoughSpaffordstatesgreatpointstosupporthisarguments,afewofhis
[Link],heassumesthatthesocietyisrunningundertheconception
[Link]
actasthefinalmeasureofrightisoftenimpossibleinreallifebecauseofthedifficultyin
[Link]
[Link]
suggeststhatrightorwrongdependsontheconsequencesofanact,andthatthemoregood
consequencesareproduced,[Link]
[Link]
[Link],whenweperformanaction,wetendtotry
topredicttheresultoftheactandassesshowwellitconformstocertainstableethical
[Link],wetendtomakedecisions
[Link]
measurementofmorality.
Moreover,peoplecantdecideifanactionorresultismoralornotexclusivelyby
[Link]
[Link],ifacriminalis

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kidnappingagirl,[Link]
itselfisobviouslybad;[Link],thekilling
ofthecriminalisconsideredtobemoralbysocietyandsupportedbythelawbecauseinthis
situation,theresultismoreimportant:thepolicemansavesthegirlandpreventsfurther
[Link],Spaffordsassumptionthatsocietyconsiderstheactionmore
importantiswrong.
Furthermore,Spaffordassumesthatoursocietyisincapableofdeterminingthelong
[Link],wewillnot
[Link],weshouldnotconsidertheresultofanaction
[Link]
statesthatWeshouldmakedecisionsbasedonwhatweknowoftheresultsofagiven
[Link],however,toanalyzeeverythingbasedonthelongterm
[Link],historyandstatisticsaretwopowerfultoolsforpeopletopredictthe
[Link],analyze,andinterpretrealworlddataanduseitasa
[Link]
utilization,resourceallocation,needsassessment,andqualityimprovementofgoodsand
[Link],weallknowthatif
westudyhard,wewillbemorelikelytoreceivebettergradesthanifwedonotstudyatall.
Thus,weareabletodeterminethelongtermresultofanactionbypreviousstatisticaldata.
Forcomputerbreakins,wecanalsoanalyzethedamageabreakincancauseandcompareit
[Link],ifahackerhacksacomputersystemsuccessfullyand
doesnotcauseanydamagetothesystem,theadministratorofthesystemwillcometothe
realizationthattherearesomeflawsinthesystem,[Link]
[Link],asecurityteam

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calledCodenomiconrecentlydiscoveredthesecuritybuginopensourceOpenSSL,called
[Link],Pinterest,
Tumblr,[Link],anycriminalwhointendtohackthese
websitesusingtheflawinthecodewouldhavebeenabletolookatyourprivateinformation.
Thus,harmlesshackingsexistandcanevenpreventfuturehackingandinternaloperation
[Link]
hackingcouldpreventworseresults.
Inconclusion,thepremisesSpaffordoffersinhisessay,thattheenddoesnotjustify
[Link],the
conclusionSpaffordprovidesthatcomputerbreakinsareunethicalisnotcorrect.
PART3
Thecritiqueinpart2statesthatoursocietyvaluesbothactionsandresultsequallyas
[Link]
[Link]
[Link]
words,ethicsistheindicationofwhatweoughttodoinagivensituationinsteadofwhat
[Link],weplacemoreimportanceonhowyouplay
[Link]
resultisnotsatisfying,[Link]
necessarilymaketheactivityabadactivity.
Ontheotherhand,ifoursocietyputsmoreweightonresultsthanactions,people
wouldtryeverythingtogetthebestresult,[Link]
[Link]
overallifweforciblystoppeoplefromwastingtheirtimeonuselessthingslikewatchingTV,

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drinking,partyingetc.,[Link]
wouldgiveaexamplesuchasifacriminalrobsabankandusesthemoneytohelpthepoor,
canwesaythatwhatthecriminaldoesismoral?No,becausetheactionisimmoralnomatter
[Link],inthecaseof
whenhackingcanbringgoodconsequences,[Link]
moralityonresultswillonlyencourageeveryhackertousethatasanexcuseforbreaking
intootherpeoplescomputersunnecessarily.
Todiscusstheexampleinpart2,althoughitistruewhenacriminaliskidnappinga
girl,thepolicehavetherighttokillthecriminal,Spaffordwouldarguethatitisavery
specialcasethatcannotbeusedtodrawconclusionsabouttheethicsofresultsindifferent
[Link]
[Link]
[Link],judgesdeterminetheguiltofa
potentialcriminalbasedonhisorheractions,[Link]
[Link]
[Link],theexampleyouusedinyourpart
2doesnotdefendyourcritique;youdonothaveenoughevidencetoshowthatoursociety
andcourtsbasetheirjudgmentsonresults.
ForthesecondobjectionofSpaffordspremise,hewouldarguewithanancient
Chinesephilosophycalledaloss,[Link]
[Link],
[Link],whyshouldIconcludethatitisnotfortunate?Several
monthslater,thehorsecamebackaccompaniedbyanotherstallion,soeveryone
[Link],whyshouldIconcludethiscouldnotbeunfortunate?Several

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monthslater,[Link]
themansaid,whyshouldIconcludethatthisisnotfortunate?Oneyearlater,thewarstarted
[Link]
wasnotchosenwasthemansson,[Link]
bedifficulttoforeseeanything,thatthefortunatecanturnouttobeunfortunateandvice
[Link],
[Link]
[Link]
whethertheresultsofanactionarepositiveornegative,itisnotpracticaltowaituntilevery
possibleresulthasoccurredbeforewejudgetheactionasgoodorbad.
Althoughthecritiqueinparttwosuggeststhatwecanusehistoricalandstatistical
datatohelpustopredicttheoutcome,Spafforddoesnotthinkwecanalwayspredictthe
[Link],differentcasesrequiredifferent
[Link];noonehastheabilityto
[Link],Istudiedhardandpracticedalotformymathexam
[Link],I
[Link],Imlearningphilosophy;Ipracticedalotofold
[Link]
[Link],Icantusemypreviousexperiencetopredictthesameresult.
[Link]
[Link],weshouldalwayslookattheactions.
Consequentialistsalsoagreethatweareabletopredictthetendencyofanactivitybutthatnot
[Link],EdgarMorinproposesthat,Mostconsequences

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[Link],someduetoourcognitive
inabilitytoknoweverything(Morin).
Therefore,becauseweareunabletoforeseetheoverallresultofanactivity,we
[Link],wecanttreat
[Link]
canincreasesecurityawareness,buttheycanalsoattractmorehackerstobreakintothe
computersystemandcausefurtherdamage.
PART4
Frommyperspective,[Link]
breakinsarealwaysunethicalandweshouldforbidpeoplefrombreakingintootherpeoples
computersystems.
Firstofall,Ithinkthathackingisaviolationofprivacyandadisrespectofthe
[Link],[Link]
[Link]
ourpropertyrights;itemslikebankbalances,medicalrecords,personaljournals,andeven
[Link],youdonotwantunauthorizedpersonsto
[Link],most
peoplewillnotfeelcomfortableknowingthatsomeonewhoiscompletelyastrangertoyou
[Link],companieshaveconfidentialinformationsuch
employeerecords,financialrecords,[Link],we
[Link]
notcauseanyharmtothecompany,theinformationwillnotbetrustworthyandmaycause
chaosandunnecessaryspending.

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Second,IhavethesameopinionasSpafford,thatweshoulduseactionsasthe
[Link]
onlyencouragepeopletoachievetheirgoalsthroughanymeansnecessary,nomatterhow
immoral,illegal,[Link]
[Link],itisoftendifficulttoknow
[Link],thebutterflyeffectsuggeststhatonesmallchangeinone
[Link]
[Link],somehackersinitiatehackingonlytocauseinternal
[Link]
[Link],weshouldnever
allowhackingtobemoralorlegal.
Lastly,thereisagroupofpeoplecalledethicalhackerswhoclaimthathackingis
[Link],[Link]
ethicalhackerisacomputerexpertwhoattacksacomputersystemtolooforvulnerabilities
[Link]
[Link]
[Link]
[Link]
forhackingtobeethical,ethicalhackersmustfollowtherulesforhacking:tohave
permissiontohackthecomputerandidentifypotentialsecurityrisks;onlylookforsecurity
flaws;andreportthesecurityvulnerabilitiesinsteadoflettingthesystemremaininsecure.
Althoughitmayseemthatwhatethicalhackersaredoingiscompletelyethicaland
canjustifythebehaviorofhacking,Idontthinkethicalhackersarehackersatall,butmerely
[Link],[Link]

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thesameconceptofyourhiringalocksmithtounlockyourdoorwhenyouforgetthekeys.
[Link]
[Link]
someoneelsesdoorwithoutpermissionisobviouslyunethicalanditiscalledbreakingand
[Link]
thief?No,[Link]
[Link],whyshouldwehirea
hackerbycallinghimorherethical?Theethicalhackershouldjustbeatemporary
[Link]
[Link]
[Link]
themethicalhackersistheend,[Link],sinceethicalhackingdoesnot
belongtotheactivityofrealhacking,myargumentthatallhackingsareethicalisstill
supported.
Inconclusion,Spaffordsuggestedthathackingisunethicalbecausetheactionitselfis
[Link]
insteadoftheresultasthemeasurementofmoralityandthatweareunabletoforeseethe
[Link]
considersbothactionandresultwhendeterminingwhatisethical,andwecanpredictthe
[Link]
thatifwealwaysconsidertheresultastheindicationofmorality,wewouldbedishonestand
[Link]
[Link].
Lastly,IagreewithSpaffordsopiniononcomputerhacking;Ithinkcomputerbreakinsare

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[Link]
[Link],allhackingsareunethical.

Notes
1. Morin,[Link],2008.3859
2. Spafford,[Link]?JournalofSystemsSoftware17
(ElsevierScienceInc.,1992).