CIS 381: Social & Ethical Issues of Computing
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CIS 381: Social & Ethical Issues of Computing Security Dr. David Koop D. Koop, CIS 381, Spring 2019 Privacy • Privacy related to notion of access • Access - Physical proximity to a person - Knowledge about a person • Privacy is a "zone of inaccessibility" • Privacy violations are an affront to human dignity • Too much individual privacy can harm society • Where to draw the line? [M. J. Quinn] D. Koop, CIS 381, Spring 2019 !2 Solove’s Taxonomy of Privacy • Information collection: Activities that gather personal information • Information processing: Activities that store, manipulate, and use personal information that has been collected • Information dissemination: Activities that spread personal information • Invasion: Activities that intrude upon a person’s daily life, interrupt someone’s solitude, or interfere with decision-making [M. J. Quinn] D. Koop, CIS 381, Spring 2019 !3 Data Mining by the Government • Data mining: Process of searching through one or more databases looking for patterns or relationships among the data • Examples: - IRS Audits: match information from different sources and find returns that appear likely to have errors resulting in underpayment - Syndromic Surveillance Systems: search for patterns indicating the outbreak of an epidemic or bioterrorism - NSA Telecommunications Records Database: analyze calling patterns to detect terrorist networks - Predictive Profiling D. Koop, CIS 381, Spring 2019 !4 Code of Fair Information Practices • "Bill of Rights for the Information Age" (1970s) • Code - No secret databases - People should have access to personal information in databases - Organizations cannot change how information is used without consent - People should be able to correct or amend records - Database owners, users responsible for reliability of data and preventing misuse [M. J. Quinn] D. Koop, CIS 381, Spring 2019 !5 Information Dissemination • Legislation to restrict information dissemination - Family Education Rights and Privacy Act - Video Privacy Protection Act - Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act • Examples of information dissemination - Freedom of Information Act - Toll booth records used in court D. Koop, CIS 381, Spring 2019 !6 Invasion • Government actions to prevent invasion - Do Not Call Registry: shielding people from telemarketers judged to be greater than harm caused by limiting telephone advertising - CALM Act: ensure television commercials are played at same volume as programs they are interrupting • Invasive government actions - Requiring identification for pseudoephedrine purchases • used to make meth • require identification/signature and limit amount - Advanced Imaging Technology scanners at airports • initially created revealing images • TSA develops new software to show generic outlines [M. J. Quinn] D. Koop, CIS 381, Spring 2019 !7 Term Paper Topic Selection • Topics have been assigned • 4-5 people per group • Term papers are individual • Topic presentations are done in groups, but each person should speak for 3-4 minutes • As a group, rank your preferred presentation days - April 17, April 19, April 22, April 24, April 29, May 1 • Individual term papers are due May 6 (assigned exam date) • Need to evaluate issues using ethical frameworks • Groups can choose to examine different issues related to a topic or examine a similar issue using different frameworks D. Koop, CIS 381, Spring 2019 !8 Why is Security Important? • Computers getting faster and less expensive • Utility of networked computers increasing - Shopping and banking - Managing personal information - Controlling industrial processes • Increasing use of computers → growing importance of computer security [M. J. Quinn] D. Koop, CIS 381, Spring 2019 !9 Hackers, Past and Present • Original meaning of hacker: explorer, risk taker, system innovator (e.g. MIT’s Tech Model Railroad Club in 1950s) • Change in meaning from electronics to computers and networks • WarGames (1983): Hacking military supercomputer • Modern meaning of hacker: someone who gains unauthorized access to computers and computer networks [M. J. Quinn] D. Koop, CIS 381, Spring 2019 !10 Obtaining Login Names & Passwords • Guessing • Eavesdropping: watching keystrokes • Dumpster diving: discarded manuals sometimes have passwords • Social engineering: manipulating persons to gain access to info • Brute-force searches • Dictionary attacks [M. J. Quinn] D. Koop, CIS 381, Spring 2019 !11 Password Advice • Do not use short passwords • Do not rely solely on words from the dictionary • Do not rely on substituting numbers for letters • Do not reuse passwords • Give ridiculous answers to security questions • Enable two-factor authentication if available • Have password recoveries sent to a secure email address [M. J. Quinn] D. Koop, CIS 381, Spring 2019 !12 Computer Fraud and Abuse Act • Criminalizes wide variety of hacker-related activities - Transmitting code that damages a computer - Accessing any Internet-connected computer without authorization - Transmitting classified government information - Trafficking in computer passwords - Computer fraud - Computer extortion • Maximum penalty: 20 years in prison and $250,000 fine [M. J. Quinn] D. Koop, CIS 381, Spring 2019 !13 Sidejacking • Sidejacking: hijacking an open Web session by capturing a user’s cookie • Sidejacking possible on unencrypted wireless networks because many sites send cookies “in the clear” • Internet security community complained about sidejacking vulnerability for years, but ecommerce sites did not change practices [M. J. Quinn] D. Koop, CIS 381, Spring 2019 !14 Case Study: Firesheep • October 2010: Eric Butler released Firesheep extension to Firefox browser • Firesheep made it possible for ordinary computer users to easily sidejack Web sessions • More than 500,000 downloads in first week • Attracted great deal of media attention • Early 2011: Facebook and Twitter announced options to use their sites securely • Evaluate: Was this a good action? [M. J. Quinn] D. Koop, CIS 381, Spring 2019 !15 Act Utilitarian Analysis • Release of Firesheep led media to focus on security problem • Benefits were high: a few months later Facebook and Twitter made their sites more secure • Harms were minimal: no evidence that release of Firesheep caused big increase in identity theft or malicious pranks • Conclusion: Release of Firesheep was good [M. J. Quinn] D. Koop, CIS 381, Spring 2019 !16 Virtue Ethics Analysis • By releasing Firesheep, Butler helped public understand lack of security on unencrypted wireless networks • Butler’s statements characteristic of someone interested in protecting privacy • Butler demonstrated courage by taking responsibility for the program • Butler demonstrated benevolence by making program freely available • His actions and statements were characteristic of someone interested in the public good [M. J. Quinn] D. Koop, CIS 381, Spring 2019 !17 Kantian Analysis • Accessing someone else’s user account is an invasion of their privacy and is wrong • Butler provided a tool that made it much simpler for people to do something that is wrong, so he has some moral accountability for their misdeeds • Butler was willing to tolerate short-term increase in privacy violations in hope that media pressure would force Web retailers to add security • He treated victims of Firesheep as a means to his end • It was wrong for Butler to release Firesheep [M. J. Quinn] D. Koop, CIS 381, Spring 2019 !18 Malware • Viruses • Worms • Cross-Site Scripting • Drive-by Downloads • Trojan Horses • Rootkits • Spyware & Adware • Botnets [M. J. Quinn] D. Koop, CIS 381, Spring 2019 !19 Viruses • Virus: Piece of self-replicating code embedded within another program (host) • Viruses associated with program files - Hard disks, floppy disks, CD- ROMS - Email attachments • How viruses spread - Diskettes or CDs - Email - Files downloaded from Internet [M. J. Quinn] D. Koop, CIS 381, Spring 2019 !20 How an Email Virus Spreads [M. J. Quinn] D. Koop, CIS 381, Spring 2019 !21 Antivirus Software Packages • Allow computer users to detect and destroy viruses • Must be kept up-to-date to be most effective • Many people do not keep their antivirus software packages up-to- date • Consumers need to beware of fake antivirus applications [M. J. Quinn] D. Koop, CIS 381, Spring 2019 !22 Worm • Self-contained program • Spreads through a computer network • Exploits security holes in networked computers [M. J. Quinn] D. Koop, CIS 381, Spring 2019 !23 How a Worm Spreads 7.3 Malware 329 W W W W W [M. J. Quinn] Figure 7.4 A worm spreads to other computers by exploiting security holes in computer D. Koop, CIS 381, Spring 2019 !24 networks. punk: Outlaws and Hackers on the Computer Frontier, written by Katie Hafner and John Markoff [25]. BACKGROUND OF ROBERT TAPPAN MORRIS JR. Robert Tappan Morris Jr. began learning about the Unix operating system when he was still in junior high school. His father was a computer security researcher at Bell Labs, and young Morris was given an account on a Bell Labs computer that he could access from a teletype at home. It didn’t take him long to discover security holes in Unix. In a 1982 interview with Gina Kolata, a writer for Smithsonian magazine, Morris admitted he had broken into networked computers and read other people’s email. “I never told myself that there was nothing wrong with what I was doing,” he said, but he acknowledged that he found breaking into systems challenging and exciting, and he admitted that he continued to do it. As an undergraduate at Harvard, Morris majored in computer science. He