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Essay on Cyber Security And Privacy
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Added on 2020-02-19
Essay on Cyber Security And Privacy
Added on 2020-02-19
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Running head: CLASSICAL ETHICAL THEORIESCyber Security: The Balance Between Security And PrivacyEssay Writing [Student Name Here][Institution’s Name Here] [Professor’s Name Here][Date Here]
CLASSICAL ETHICAL THEORIES2IntroductionCybersecurity has always been a contentious issue owing to the nature of its operationalenvironment i.e. the internet. In essence, the internet was originally designed to be a seamlessplatform having extended accessibility and user freedom. However, the same defining factorslimit its effectiveness today as intruders or malicious individuals use these factors to compromisesystems which have led to the ethical dilemmas and issues seen today. Moreover, the politicalclimate exhibited today where different states and countries hold different priorities incybersecurity makes it difficult to enforce the critical laws of safeguarding userinformation[ CITATION Lie16 \l 1033 ]. In addition to this, a multitude of operational factors areattributed to the problems seen in cyber systems where people’s security, privacy and evenintellectual property is regularly lost. Now, this report analyses the ethical issues in cybersecuritybased on the four classical ethical theories.CybersecurityAccording to an article written by Liew Jason, the biggest ethical dilemma facing cybersecurityis the balance between information privacy and security. In essence, the users of the internetdemand freedom and liberty based on their existing rights of communication as well asinformation. However, the same rights are exploited by intruders to carry out attacks on innocentcivilians which today has even extended beyond the digital world to include physical attack suchas those of terrorism. Furthermore, there have been many incidences of cyber intrusion wherebusinesses, governments and even non-profit institutions have been hacked affecting their overallcredibility[ CITATION Lie16 \l 1033 ].
CLASSICAL ETHICAL THEORIES3Classical ethical theoriesUtilitarianism – the internet by all accounts was met to expand the mind and operationalenvironment of the human species. This objective led to its original design which is facilitated bya borderless and extensive network. Again, based on this account the utilitarian principles arefully maximized where the general good of the people is at the helm of operations, boostingbusiness outcomes, communication and even socialization. However, with the emergence ofcybercrime, the unethical stature of the users emerge where the same structure promote harm andnot happiness, a key component of utility principles[ CITATION Dri14 \l 1033 ]. Remember, as anethical theory, utilitarianism advocates for the general good of the people where the actionsimposed should promote the overall happiness of the majority.This outcome raises a serious ethical issue on the cyber security features put in place whereagain, the users’ liberty and freedom is short-lived to safeguard them. In fact, the ethical issues athand, stand as dilemmas as governments must weigh two critical moral components; privacy andsecurity. On one hand, promoting utmost security will mean accessing users’ confidentialinformation to evaluate their actions hence mitigate malicious individuals. On the other hand,extended freedom will result in extensive attacks, which places the utilitarian principles under aconstant conflict as a dynamic balance is needed[ CITATION Gan07 \l 1033 ].Deontology – In his article, Liew highlights the countless attacks conducted by cybercriminalswhere medical records, government’s defence institutions and even adultery websites arebreached. These attacks signal the duties (or lack of duties) by the perpetrators as well as thesecurity agencies. In essence, these parties should hold several ethical/moral duties to the societyat large. For one, they should exercise prohibitory duties where their moral code should stopthem from executing the attacks. However, even more, critical are the duties held by the security
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