For my Engineering/Ethics class, a large portion of the grade is dependent upon the “term paper”. It’s not a research paper but more of an Op-Ed piece. I thought I’d make this blog a little more useful and perhaps flesh it out here. Who knows, maybe I’ll attract some feedback or other views on it.
So the idea is to write about the ethical implications of some kind of technology based on at least one or two of the ethical dilemmas we’ve surveyed in class, and our stance on it. The topic or “technology” I’m working on is Cyberwarfare.
The idea is based on this article from the New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/02/us/politics/02cyber.html?_r=1
“In 2003, the Pentagon and American intelligence agencies made plans for a cyberattack to freeze billions of dollars in the bank accounts of Saddam Hussein and cripple his government’s financial system before the United States invaded Iraq. He would have no money for war supplies. No money to pay troops….
But the attack never got the green light. Bush administration officials worried that the effects would not be limited to Iraq but would instead create worldwide financial havoc, spreading across the Middle East to Europe and perhaps to the United States.
Fears of such collateral damage are at the heart of the debate as the Obama administration and its Pentagon leadership struggle to develop rules and tactics for carrying out attacks in cyberspace.”
Now I need to examine the ethical dilemmas regarding state sanctioned cyberattacks against another country knowing the potential fallout could include civilian infrastructure?
One might think…what’s the big deal it’s just computers getting attacked as opposed to human beings? However, think of all the areas controlled or affected by computers. Electricity, Traffic lights, water treatment, hospitals, air traffic control, mass transit, communication…etc., etc.
I’m not 100% sure what my stance is on it but I’m leaning towards the NOT side. I guess that’s why I’m diving into this further. More later.
