Ethics

Image by pittigliani2005 via Flickr

As I put the final preparations together for the Computer Science rollout, this story comes in from the BBC.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/click_online/7932816.stm

In an effort to show computer security, an online bot was acquired and reportedly turned loose on  22000 computers in the United Kingdom.  The report goes through and explains the results and what could have happened had this bot been used for evil.

Obviously, this opens the door for a lot of great discussions about viruses and other malware that you can run into on the internet.  Part of the new Computer Studies guidelines talks about setting up a home computer and network and steps that need to be taken to secure it.

A related report:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/click_online/7778395.stm

gives advice about what is needed to make your home computer safe and secure.

Above and beyond learning about the steps needed to be secure, it seems that this opens the door for a great discussion about ethics. 

• Is it OK to turn a bot loose like this for research purposes? 
• What’s the difference between this and what a person with evil intents would have? 
• Could the same results have not been generated in a controlled environment? 
• How many other activities like this (evil and not evil) are run all the time? 
• How do you determine what is a good activity and what is not so good? 
• How do you know that an experiment like this stays within the scope of the 22000 computers?  What would have happened if the bot got out of control?
• How do you turn it off?
• How do you track it down?
• If the BBC could do this, what’s to stop anyone from doing the same thing?
• Why don’t operating systems just ship with appropriate firewall settings?
• What’s the difference between the firewall that ships with your operating system and open source and commercial products?

There are lots of news stories daily that can be used to start great classroom discussions.

Powered by ScribeFire.

Advertisement

links for 2009-03-11

• Jennifer 8. Lee hunts for General Tso | Video on TED.com
  Talks Jennifer 8. Lee: Who was General Tso? and other mysteries of American Chinese food
  (tags: food video ted culture history humor cooking China chinese)
• Revolutionary British search engine will be 'as important as Google' | Mail Online
  A renowned British physicist is launching a new internet search engine in May, which experts said could be as important as Google.
  (tags: SEARCH google wolfram engine search_engine)
• Main Page – Teampedia
  Teampedia is a collaborative encyclopedia of free team building activities, free icebreakers, teamwork resources, and tools for teams that anyone can edit!
  This site is designed for a wide audience including: team leaders, trainers, teachers, managers, camp directors, counselors, and youth groups.
  (tags: icebreakers games training wiki collaboration teaching tools resources teambuilding teamwork team)
• The Dynamic Earth @ National Museum of Natural History
  Nearly 4.6 billion years ago, within a vast cloud of interstellar space, a small pocket of gas and dust collapsed under its own gravity and our Solar System was born.
  (tags: Science earth interactive education Geography space visualization Astronomy geology rocks minerals)
• Fliggo – Create Your Own Video Site
  Create a video site in seconds
  Build a video blog, the next YouTube or just a private place to share videos.
  (tags: web2.0 video youtube videos social hosting free tools)
• Memory Project
  Created in 2001, The Memory Project is the Dominion Institute’s flagship educational programme, designed to connect veterans and students online and in classrooms across the country. The Memory Project Speakers’ Bureau includes 1,500 veteran volunteers from across Canada visiting classrooms and community groups to share their stories with youth.
  (tags: canada history canadian interactive war military research resources)
• Krumlr: Social Tweet-Marking on Twitter —Login
  With Krumler your tinyURLs stay with you — giving you more "juice" as you tweet. Krumlr is a social bookmarking site with a Twitter twist that bookmarks the page Krums you find and then tweets them to Twitter in one click.
  (tags: web2.0 marketing social tweet bookmarking)