Ethics in Information Technology

Hackers/Hacking
The chosen topic for my term paper is Hackers/Hacking. The topic is essential in understanding the cybersecurity challenges that individuals, organizations, and governments continue to experience in the digital age. Hacking is manipulating or unauthorized access to networks, data, or computer systems. Some hackers are regarded as “black-hat hackers” because they apply their skills maliciously. In contrast, others are known as “white hat hackers” because they work ethically to identify computer or system vulnerabilities to improve security protocols (Sharma et al., 2023). Such differentiation is essential in exploring hackers’ different roles in society today. The paper will also provide an overview of the history and evolution of hacking with a focus on how early efforts of hacking resulted in the development of the current cybersecurity measures. White hat hackers have had a positive influence on industry standards and legal frameworks, and this is because their efforts are geared toward tackling vulnerabilities in systems (Dizon & Upson, 2021).
I will also explore what motivates people to engage in different hacking types, ranging from cybercrime for financial gains to hacktivism, which aims to promote social or political causes. For example, the 2017 WannaCry ransomware attack yielded massive disruptions in the UK’s National Health Service (NHS), which clearly showed the real impacts of malicious hacking (Ghafur et al., 2019). In addition, the paper will discuss the legal frameworks surrounding hacking and emphasize the achievement of a balance between criminalizing malicious hacking and promoting ethical hacking practices to secure systems (Li & Liu, 2021). Hacking impacts trust, privacy, and the world economy, which will be discussed in the paper. The paper will also examine hackers who test defense systems and prevent large-scale attacks, where ethical hackers work to protect the systems against evolving threats. Lastly, the paper will discuss the future of hacking, given that technological advancements will continue yielding change in the cybersecurity landscape.
 
References
Dizon, M. A. C., & Upson, P. J. (2021). Laws of encryption: An emerging legal framework. Computer Law & Security Review, 43, 105635. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clsr.2021.105635
Ghafur, S., Kristensen, S., Honeyford, K., Martin, G., Darzi, A., & Aylin, P. (2019). A retrospective impact analysis of the WannaCry cyberattack on the NHS. NPJ Digital Medicine, 2(1), 98.
Li, Y., & Liu, Q. (2021). A comprehensive review study of cyber-attacks and cyber security; Emerging trends and recent developments. Energy Reports, 7, 8176-8186. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egyr.2021.08.126
Sharma, R., Kumar, R., Choudhary, D., & Kaushik, H. (2023). Ethical Hacking and it’s role in Cyber security. Journal of Nonlinear Analysis and Optimization, 14(01).