Ethics in Cybertechnology Final Exam Study Guide

Vocabulary-style flashcards covering major ethical theories, cybersecurity, property rights, regulation, digital divides, and moral agency.

Logical malleability

Computers can be programmed to perform almost any task, making them a “universal tool”

Policy vacuums

A situation where no clear laws or policies exist for new technology or ethical issues

Utilitarianism Theory

The morally correct action is the one that produces the greatest overall happiness or benefit for society

Deontology Theory

Actions are right or wrong based on duties and rules, not consequences

Contract-Based Theory

Moral rules come from agreements between people in society

Character-Based Theory

Focuses on developing good character traits and habits

Normative approach

The philosophical method that asks how people should behave ethically, contrasted with the social sciences' descriptive approach

Privacy

The ability to keep your personal information, space, and decisions under your own control

Accessibility Privacy

The right to be left alone and free from unwanted intrusion into your personal or physical space

Decisional Privacy

The freedom to make personal choices and decisions without interference from others

Informational Privacy

Control over the flow of one's personal information, including its transfer and exchange

Data security

Unauthorized access to data, which either is resident in or exchanged

System security

Attacks on system resources like malware by malicious computer programs

Network security

Protecting computer networks and internet infrastructure

Hacktivism

A new form of civil disobedience involving hackers and groups of hackers

Cyber Terrorism

The use of information systems or media to gain an advantage over an opponent

Information Warfare

Operations that target or exploit information media to win an objective over an adversary

Cyber-related crimes

Crimes that involve computers or networks but are not completely dependent on cybertechnology to exist, such as cyberstalking or online fraud

Cyber-exacerbated crimes

A sub-category of cyber-related crimes where technology greatly increases the scale, speed, reach, or impact of the crime

Cyber-assisted crimes

Traditional crimes where a computer or internet is used only as a tool, such as filing a fraudulent tax return

Cyberpiracy

Using cybertechnology to reproduce or distribute copies of proprietary information across a network in an unauthorized way

Cybertrespass

Using cybertechnology to gain unauthorized access to an individual’s or organization’s computer system or password-protected site

Cybervandalism

Using cybertechnology to unleash programs that disrupt electronic transmissions or destroy data and computer resources

Intellectual property (IP)

Creations of the mind, such as software, music, books, and inventions, which are non-physical and non-exclusionary

Exclusionary property

A type of property where only one person can possess or use the objects at a time, preventing others from using it simultaneously; tangible property

Non-exclusionary property

A type of property that can be used or possessed by multiple people at the same time without taking it away from someone else; intellectual property

Scarcity

The measure of how limited a resource is; physical goods are naturally scarce, while digital information is non-rivalrous and less scarce

Labor Theory

A property rights theory associated with John Locke arguing that ownership is a “natural right” based on the labor invested in creation

Utilitarian Theory (Property Rights)

A property right is not a natural right; rather it is a conventional right granted by governments since they encourage creativity and benefit society

Personality Theory

The theory that property rights should be granted because the author's personality is invested in the creative work

Lessig’s four modalities

Law, Social norms, Market pressures, and Architecture (code)

Censorship by Suppression

Blocks or removes objectionable content completely such as deleting posts or banning websites

Censorship by Deterrence

Discourages speech through threats of punishment rather than directly removing the content such as fines, arrest threats, or suspensions

Net neutrality

The principle that ISPs should treat all internet traffic equally without blocking, slowing, or favoring specific companies

Moral Agent

A being capable of making moral decisions and being held responsible, such as adults, governments, or corporations

Moral Patients

Beings deserving moral consideration who can suffer harm but cannot be held responsible for actions, such as animals or children

Digital Divide

The gap between people who have access to cybertechnology and those who don’t

Factors that contribute to the Digital Divide

Income, Education, Race, Gender

Three ways cyber-technology can be used to strengthen democracy

Access to Information, Political Participation, Citizen Empowerment

Three ways cyber-technology can be used to threaten democracy

Misinformation, Polarization, Manipulation

Tangible property

Physical property that can be touched and owned