Security & Ethical Challenges13

1. Chapter 13 Security and Ethical Challenges James A. O'Brien, and George Marakas.Management Information Systems with MISource 2007, 8 thed. Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill, Inc., 2007. ISBN: 13 9780073323091

Identify several ethical issues in how the use of information technologies in business affects: employment, individuality, working conditions, Privacy, crime, health, and solutions to societal problems

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 IT

Cyberscams are todays fastest-growingcriminal niche

87 percent of companies surveyed reporteda security incident

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission saysidentity theft is its top complaint

eBay has 60 people combating fraud;Microsoft has 65

Stolen credit card account numbers areregularly sold online

What are several reasons why cyberscams are todays fastest-growing criminal niche?

Explain why the reasons you give contribute to the growth of cyberscams

What are several security measures that could be implemented to combat the spread of cyberscams?

Explain why your suggestions would be effective in limiting the spread of cyberscams

Which one or two of the four top cybercriminals described in this case poses the greatest threat to businesses? To consumers?

Explain the reasons for your choices, and how businesses and consumers can protect themselves from these cyberscammers

IT has both beneficialand detrimental effects on society and people

Manage work activities to minimize the detrimental effects of IT

Optimize the beneficial effects

Ethics questions that managers confront as part of their daily business decision making include:

Equity

Rights

Honesty

Exercise of corporate power

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

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

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

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

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 generalwelfare of the public

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

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 forprivate advantage

Denial of Service

Hammering a websites equipment with too many requests for information

Clogging the system, slowing performance, or crashing the site

Widespread probes of the Internet to determine types of computers, services, and connections

Looking for weaknesses

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

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

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

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

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

Unauthorized use of computer systems and networks istime 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

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

Software Piracy

Unauthorized copying of computer programs

Licensing

Purchasing software is really a paymentfor a license for fair use

Site license allows a certain number of copies

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 isdown and continues to drop

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 tobe permanently infected

In 2004, total economic damage from virus proliferation was $166 to $202 billion

Average damage per computer is between$277 and $366

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 permissionor knowledge

Captures information about the user and sends it over the Internet

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

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 everyvisit to a Web site

Confidential information stored by creditbureaus, credit card companies, and the government has been stolen or misused

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.

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

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

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 andother marketers

Dont reveal personal data and interests ononline service and website user profiles

Electronic Communications Privacy Actand 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

Other laws impacting privacy and howmuch 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

The opposite side of the privacy debate

Freedom of information, speech, and press

Biggest battlegrounds - bulletin boards, email boxes, and online files of Internet and public networks

Weapons used in this battle spamming, flame mail, libel laws, 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

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

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

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

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

Cumulative Trauma Disorders (CTDs)

Disorders suffered by people who sit at aPC or terminal and do fast-paced repetitive keystroke jobs

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Painful, crippling ailment of the handand wrist

Typically requires surgery to cure

Designing healthy work environments

Safe, comfortable, and pleasant for people to work in

Increases employee morale and productivity

Also calledhuman factors engineering

Using information technologies to solve human and social problems

Medical diagnosis

Computer-assisted instruction

Governmental program planning

Environmental quality control

Law enforcement

Job placement

The detrimental effects of IT

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

The Internet was developed for inter-operability, not impenetrability

Business managers and professionals alikeare responsible for the security, quality, and performance of business information systems

Hardware, software, networks, and dataresources must be protected by a varietyof security measures

Security Breach Headlines

Identity thieves stole information on 145,000 people from ChoicePoint

Bank of America lost backup tapes that helddata 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

Why have there been so many recent incidents of data security breaches and loss of customer data by reputable companies?

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?

What security safeguards would have deterred the loss of customer data at

Bank of America

ChoicePoint?

The goal of security management is theaccuracy, integrity,and safety of all information systemprocesses and resources

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

Firewalls

A gatekeeper system that protects a companys intranets and other computer networks fromintrusion

Provides a filter and safe transfer point foraccess 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

Denial of service attacks depend on threelayers of networked computer systems

The victims website

The victims Internet service provider

Zombie or slave computers that have been commandeered by the cybercriminals

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

Email Monitoring

Use of content monitoring software that scansfor 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

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

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

In the event of a system failure,fault-tolerant systemshave 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

Adisaster recovery plancontains 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

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

IT Security Audits

Performed by internal or external auditors

Review and evaluation of security measuresand management policies

Goal is to ensure that that proper and adequate measures and policies are in place

OCTAVE Security Process Methodology

Risk Evaluation

Self-direction by people in the organization

Adaptable measures that can change with technology

A defined process and standard evaluation procedures

A foundation for a continual process that improves security over time

Risk Management

A forward-looking view

A focus on a critical few security issues

Integrated management of security policies and strategies

Organizational and Cultural

Open communication of risk information and activities build around collaboration

A global perspective on risk in the context of the organizations mission and business objectives

Teamwork

What are security managers doing to improve information security?

How does the OCTAVE methodology workto improve security in organizations?

What does Lloyd Hession mean when he says information security is not addressed simply by the firewalls and antivirus tools that are already in place?

Security professionals have 7 to 21 days before hackers tools used to exploit the most recent vulnerabilities become available on the Internet

Microsofts monthly patch-release date isknown as Patch Tuesday

Security software companies go to work immediately to update their products

Update must be thoroughly tested beforebeing deployed

What types of security problems are typically addressed by a patch-management strategy?

Why do such problems arise in the first place?

What challenges does the process of applying software patches and updates pose for many businesses?

What are the limitations of the patching process?

Does the business value of a comprehensive patch-management strategy outweigh its costs, its limitations, and the demands it placed on the IT function?

Security & Ethical Challenges13

Documents

ethical responsibility

ethical challenges james

ethical issues

ethical responsibilities

security measures

online chapter

public chapter

cyberscammers chapter