ethics final project

Victoriya Poplavskaya PHI 3270

Professor: Sophia BishopDecember 23,2013

IntroductionLiving in digital world can cause positive and negative

affects on our life. On one hand it is much more

convenient to keep in touch with relatives all around

the world, and share files with people without meeting

them in person. And what about the online shopping?

Good things are always good, however there is

something called Cyber Crime.

So what is Cyber Crimes and what types of cyber

crimes do we face everyday.

Cyber Crime

“Cyber crime encompasses any criminal act dealing

with computers and networks (called hacking).

Additionally, cyber crime also includes traditional

crimes conducted through the Internet.”[1]

Types of Cyber crimes

• Hacking

• Theft

• Cyber Stalking

• Identity Theft

• Malicious Software

• Child soliciting and Abuse

In this presentation I will discuss and try to

distinguish two very similar and commonly

used terms:

•Hacking

•Cracking

Hacking

“In the computer security context, a hacker is someone who seeks and exploits

weaknesses in a computer system or computer network. Hackers may be

motivated by a multitude of reasons, such as profit, protest, or challenge.The

subculture that has evolved around hackers is often referred to as the computer

underground and is now a known community.”[2]

Cracking on the other hand is hacking with criminal intent. A

cracker is the common term used to describe a malicious hacker.[3]

There are two main types of cracking

•Password cracking

•Software cracking

Password cracking

In cryptanalysis and computer security password cracking is the

process of recovering passwords from data that have been stored in

or transmitted by a computer system. A common approach is to

repeatedly try guesses for the password.[4]

Software cracking

“Software cracking is the modification of software to remove or disable

features which are considered undesirable by the person cracking the software,

usually related to protection methods: ( copy protection, protection against the

manipulation of software), trial/demo version, serial number, hardware key, date

checks, CD check or software annoyances like and screens and adware.” [5]

How can Hackers be distinguished from

Crackers?

“The word "hacker" gets used in a pejorative sense by journalists an awful lot. Some people think

this is perfectly reasonable; others find it offensive, and recommend an alternative term for that

meaning.” (Techrepublic) [6]

The use of the word in press and in public creates a confusion for people who are less involved in

the computer world.

Hacking is usually done by a person who knows the computer systems and is incredibly curious to

learn more about the product. Hackers do it for satisfaction and inspiration. Usually hacking can be

good , or bad. Where on the other hand Crackers can harm not only the machine that is affected

but also the personal information that is stored on the machine. As a result of that many people can

be affected because of the stolen data bases and damaged computers.

Hacking: Positive side• Hacking can be used to prevent a loss of information

by companies and individuals before the actually

attacked. So called cyber security ( group of hackers)

will try to attack you system to find the weakness.

• Hackers do not actually damage or ruin the system or

machine it self.

Is hacking ethical? • If we will look at hacking from a Utilitarian [7] point of view, hacking

does maximizes our happiness by protecting the systems from Cracking.

• Moreover, It stimulates the computer Geeks to create new products and

systems that are different from each other, which is an overall happiness

again, because progress is always good.

• Hacking can be also compared to burglary. It is trespassing to the

personal space of other person. However, there is no way to clarify the

amounts of personal space online.

In 2002 on Twenty First Century Conference, a senior security

analyst for Microsoft, Steven Lipner admitted that hackers help

to develop and improve new product.

“We work very cooperatively with a lot of them (hackers) and

we will work with anybody who reports information to us that

we need to know to protect our customers. We do ask them

(hackers) when they report to keep those vulnerabilities private

until we can fix the problem, assuming there is one”.[8]

What is-an ethical hacker?

Negative side of Hacking : Cracking

• This is where the issue of distinguishing the hacking and cracking

really occurs. As long as the actions are done for good, and the

intent of this action was curiosity and improvement it is hacking.

But as soon as it becomes to getting profits, gathering the

information, or modifying the system, it becomes Cracking.

• The law has no clear separation between those two types of cyber

crimes. Which in some perspective makes thing very complicated.

Conclusion

• It is very hard to legally or ethically distinguish

hacking from cracking. The only way to do so is to

find an intent and interest of the hacker. As well as to

analyze the results of the action. The law should be

separated for hacking and cracking.

Works Cited:

[1]“Cyber Crime." Webopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Dec. 2013. < http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/C/cyber_crime.html >[2]"Hacker (computer Security)." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 22 Dec. 2013. Web. 23 Dec. 2013. < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hacker_%28computer_security%29 >.[3]"What Is the Difference between Hacking and Cracking?" WikiAnswers. Answers, n.d. Web. 23 Dec. 2013. < http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_difference_between_hacking_and_cracking >.[4]"Password Cracking." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 18 Dec. 2013. Web. 23 Dec. 2013. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Password_cracking>.

[5]

"Software Cracking." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 20 Dec. 2013. Web. 23 Dec. 2013.

< http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_cracking >.

[6]

"Hacker vs. Cracker." TechRepublic. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Dec. 2013. <

http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/it-security/hacker-vs-cracker/ >.

[7]

"Utilitarianism." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 22 Dec. 2013. Web. 23 Dec. 2013.

< http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utilitarianism >.

[8]

PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 23 Dec. 2013.

<http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/hackers/whoare/outlaws.html>