Cyber Ethics
Cyber Ethics
The chapter 12 narrative by Joseph Menn, “Hackers Live by Own Code”, establishes the claim that hackers have several ways to justify their actions. In order to illustrate this claim Menn uses the example of Mary Ann Davidson. It all started when Davison, the chief security officer for Oracle Corp., received a fax from a hacker in the Middle East stating that he was able to pilfer information from corporations such as Boeing Co., Ford Motor Co. and the CIA (Lawrence Hinman, 463). It is no surprise that once Davidson was aware of this she took immediate action and contacted the hacker. However, what was surprising is that after she contacted the hacker, Davidson described him as a “nice guy” (Hinman, 463). The significance of this example is that Menn is emphasizing the point that despite public opinion hackers are just like any ordinary person. Menn continues to elaborate on this idea by highlighting the so-called purpose of a hacker’s actions, which is to help by making “software more secure” (Hinman, 463). In their minds hackers believe they are helping because they are pointing out software’s weaknesses such as loopholes that allow them easy access to private information. Menn describes this concept by describing hackers as “the sort of people who set aside the instruction manual and take a machine apart to see how it works” (463). This description eliminates the negative image one typically associates with hackers, and instead it portrays them as curious individuals who seek a deeper understanding of how things operate. I, for one, disagree with this position because hackers are invading private information whether it is from a corporation or an individual. It is clear that corporations and people do not want an outsider viewing their confidential information. Therefore, the act of finding ways to view this type of data is equal to that of intruding. This notion of intruding proves to be an underlying theme in Oxford scholar, Luciano
The chapter 12 narrative by Joseph Menn, “Hackers Live by Own Code”, establishes the claim that hackers have several ways to justify their actions. In order to illustrate this claim Menn uses the example of Mary Ann Davidson. It all started when Davison, the chief security officer for Oracle Corp., received a fax from a hacker in the Middle East stating that he was able to pilfer information from corporations such as Boeing Co., Ford Motor Co. and the CIA (Lawrence Hinman, 463). It is no surprise that once Davidson was aware of this she took immediate action and contacted the hacker. However, what was surprising is that after she contacted the hacker, Davidson described him as a “nice guy” (Hinman, 463). The significance of this example is that Menn is emphasizing the point that despite public opinion hackers are just like any ordinary person. Menn continues to elaborate on this idea by highlighting the so-called purpose of a hacker’s actions, which is to help by making “software more secure” (Hinman, 463). In their minds hackers believe they are helping because they are pointing out software’s weaknesses such as loopholes that allow them easy access to private information. Menn describes this concept by describing hackers as “the sort of people who set aside the instruction manual and take a machine apart to see how it works” (463). This description eliminates the negative image one typically associates with hackers, and instead it portrays them as curious individuals who seek a deeper understanding of how things operate. I, for one, disagree with this position because hackers are invading private information whether it is from a corporation or an individual. It is clear that corporations and people do not want an outsider viewing their confidential information. Therefore, the act of finding ways to view this type of data is equal to that of intruding. This notion of intruding proves to be an underlying theme in Oxford scholar, Luciano