CCBC Computer Crimes Hacking Cracking and Other Computing Crimes Brief Synopsis

Topics: Computer Crimes: Hacking/Cracking and Other Computing Crimes 

Directions:

1. There are six articles listed below:  Pick two. 

2. Ethical Part 1–  From each article:

Identify more than five facts from the article.

Identify the stakeholders who are/may be involved in the issue and explain how each are affected..

Identify one major ethical question.

From your identified ethical question, state the answer from the following theories’ perspectives:
Utilitarian Theory
Deontology Theory
Kant’s Categorical Imperative (Principle)
Social Contract Theory
Virtue Ethics Theory

3. Legal Part 2:

Find a legal (court) case that is similar to any issue(s) mentioned in the articles you picked.  (It does not matter that date of the case, however, the preference should be a current case.)

Give a brief synopsis of the case.

Article #1The Colonial pipeline ransomware hackers had a secret weapon: self-promoting cybersecurity firms Five months before DarkSide attacked the Colonial pipeline, two researchers discovered a way to rescue its ransomware victims. 

Then an antivirus company’s announcement alerted the hackers.Article #2Teens are teaching each other how to shoplift on TikTokI suspect the cops wouldn’t buy the idea it’s a form of anti-capitalist protest. (Vice)Article #32021 has broken the record for zero-day hacking attacksThe news: 

At least 66 zero-days exploits have been found in use in 2021—almost double the total for 2020, and more than in any other year on record. 

A what? A zero-day exploit is a way to launch a cyberattack via a previously unknown vulnerability. 

They are just about the most valuable thing a hacker can possess. 

These exploits can carry price tags north of $1 million on the open market. What does this mean?

 Powerful groups, including state-sponsored hackers, are pouring heaps of cash into zero-days to use for themselves—and they’re reaping the rewards. 

That feeds down the chain to the growing exploit industry, and a vast cybercrime sector. 

What was once prohibitively expensive and high-end is now more widely accessible.The good news:

 The fact that so many were spotted in 2021 doesn’t necessarily mean that there are suddenly way more zero-day attacks about. 

It’s actually a promising sign that defenders are getting better at catching hackers in the act. Read the full story.Article #4Chinese hackers posing as the UN Human Rights Council are attacking UyghursChinese-speaking hackers are targeting Uyghur Muslims with fake United Nations reports and phony support organizations, according to a new report.Article #5The wild story of a phone company run by drug traffickersI guess this is a logical outcome if you require the highest levels of security.

 (Vice)Article #6This US company sold iPhone hacking tools to UAE spiesThe clients: When the United Arab Emirates paid over $1.3 million for a powerful and stealthy iPhone hacking tool in 2016, the monarchy’s spies—and the American mercenary hackers they hired—put it to immediate use.The attack: The tool exploited a flaw in Apple’s iMessage app to enable hackers to completely take over a victim’s iPhone. 

It was used against hundreds of targets in a vast campaign of surveillance and espionage whose victims included geopolitical rivals, dissidents, and human rights activists.

 The mercenaries: Documents filed by the US Justice Department on Tuesday detail how the sale was facilitated by a group of American mercenaries working for Abu Dhabi, without legal permission from Washington to do so. 

But the case documents do not reveal who sold the powerful iPhone exploit to the Emiratis.The source:

 MIT Technology Review has confirmed that the exploit was developed and sold by an American firm named Accuvant.

 News of the sale sheds new light on the role played by American companies and mercenaries in the proliferation of powerful hacking capabilities around the world. Read the full story.

and do  for each :Ethical Part 1– From each article:Identify more than five facts from the article.Identify the stakeholders who are/may be involved in the issue and explain how each are affected..Identify one major ethical question.From your identified ethical question, state the answer from the following theories’ perspectives:

Utilitarian TheoryDeontology TheoryKant’s Categorical Imperative (Principle)Social Contract TheoryVirtue Ethics Theory.

 Legal Part 2:Find a legal (court) case that is similar to any issue(s) mentioned in the articles you picked. 

(It does not matter that date of the case, however, the preference should be a current case.)Give a brief synopsis of the case.State how this case is applicable to the issues in the article.State the position of each side of the case.Give the court’s decision.State whether you agree or disagree with the court’s decision.

Note the citation of the case.. Put parts 1 and 2 into one document and submit.Note:  a title page, a reference page