Security and Ethical Challenges

James A. O'Brien, and George Marakas. Management Information Systems with MISource 2007, 8th ed. Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill, Inc., 2007. ISBN: 13 9780073323091

Learning Objectives

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
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Case 1 Cyberscams and Cybercriminals

Cyberscams are todays fastest-growing criminal niche 87 percent of companies surveyed reported a security incident The U.S. Federal Trade Commission says identity theft is its top complaint eBay has 60 people combating fraud; Microsoft has 65 Stolen credit card account numbers are regularly sold online
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Case Study Questions

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
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IT Security, Ethics, and Society

IT has both beneficial and detrimental effects on society and people Manage work activities to minimize the detrimental effects of IT Optimize the beneficial effects

Business Ethics

Ethics questions that managers confront as part of their daily business decision making include: Equity Rights Honesty Exercise of corporate power

Categories of Ethical Business Issues

Corporate Social Responsibility Theories

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
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Principles of Technology Ethics

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
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AITP Standards of Professional Conduct

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Responsible Professional Guidelines

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 general welfare of the public

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Computer Crime

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
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Cybercrime Protection Measures

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Hacking

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 for private advantage
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Common Hacking Tactics

Denial of Service Hammering a websites equipment with too many requests for information Clogging the system, slowing performance, or crashing the site Scans 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
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Common Hacking Tactics

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
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Common Hacking Tactics

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

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Cyber Theft

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

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Unauthorized Use at Work

Unauthorized use of computer systems and networks is time 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
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Internet Abuses in the Workplace

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
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Software Piracy

Software Piracy Unauthorized copying of computer programs Licensing Purchasing software is really a payment for a license for fair use Site license allows a certain number of copies

A third of the software industrys revenues are lost to piracy

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Theft of Intellectual Property

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 is down and continues to drop
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Viruses and Worms

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
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Top Five Virus Families of all Time

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
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Top Five Virus Families of all Time

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
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Top Five Virus Families of all Time

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

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The Cost of Viruses, Trojans, Worms

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 to be permanently infected In 2004, total economic damage from virus proliferation was $166 to $202 billion Average damage per computer is between $277 and $366
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Adware and Spyware

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 permission or knowledge Captures information about the user and sends it over the Internet
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Spyware Problems

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
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Privacy Issues

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 every visit to a Web site Confidential information stored by credit bureaus, credit card companies, and the government has been stolen or misused

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Opt-in Versus Opt-out

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.

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Privacy Issues

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
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Protecting Your Privacy on the Internet

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 and other marketers Dont reveal personal data and interests on online service and website user profiles
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Privacy Laws

Electronic Communications Privacy Act and 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 how much 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
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Computer Libel and Censorship

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
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Cyberlaw

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
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Other Challenges

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
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Health Issues

Cumulative Trauma Disorders (CTDs) Disorders suffered by people who sit at a PC or terminal and do fast-paced repetitive keystroke jobs Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Painful, crippling ailment of the hand and wrist Typically requires surgery to cure

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Ergonomics

Ergonomics Factors

Designing healthy work environments Safe, comfortable, and pleasant for people to work in Increases employee morale and productivity Also called human factors engineering

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Societal Solutions

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
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Security Management of IT

The Internet was developed for inter-operability, not impenetrability Business managers and professionals alike are responsible for the security, quality, and performance of business information systems Hardware, software, networks, and data resources must be protected by a variety of security measures

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Case 2 Data Security Failures

Security Breach Headlines Identity thieves stole information on 145,000 people from ChoicePoint Bank of America lost backup tapes that held data 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 longheld secret It cant safeguard its most valuable data
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Case Study Questions

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
TCI Bank

of America ChoicePoint?
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Security Management

The goal of security management is the accuracy, integrity, and safety of all information system processes and resources

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Internetworked Security Defenses

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

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Public/Private Key Encryption

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Internetworked Security Defenses

Firewalls A gatekeeper system that protects a companys intranets and other computer networks from intrusion Provides a filter and safe transfer point for access 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
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Internet and Intranet Firewalls

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Denial of Service Attacks

Denial of service attacks depend on three layers of networked computer systems The victims website The victims Internet service provider Zombie or slave computers that have been commandeered by the cybercriminals

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Defending Against Denial of Service

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

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Internetworked Security Defenses

Email Monitoring Use of content monitoring software that scans for 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
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Other Security Measures

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
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Other Security Measures

In the event of a system failure, fault-tolerant systems have 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 A disaster recovery plan contains 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
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Information System Controls

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

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Auditing IT Security

IT Security Audits Performed by internal or external auditors Review and evaluation of security measures and management policies Goal is to ensure that that proper and adequate measures and policies are in place

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Protecting Yourself from Cybercrime

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Case 3 Managing Information Security

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
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Case 3 Managing Information Security

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

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Case Study Questions

What are security managers doing to improve information security? How does the OCTAVE methodology work to 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?

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Case 4 Maintaining Software Security

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 is known as Patch Tuesday Security software companies go to work immediately to update their products Update must be thoroughly tested before being deployed
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Case Study Questions

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?
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