
Cybersecurity, Ethics, and Collective Responsibility
Oxford University Press Inc
Published on 29. August 2024
Book
Hardback
384 pages
978-0-19-005813-5 (ISBN)
Description
This is an open access title. It is made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 International licence. It is available to read and download as a PDF version on the Oxford Academic platform.
The advent of the Internet, exponential growth in computing power, and rapid developments in artificial intelligence have raised numerous cybersecurity-related ethical questions in various domains. The dual use character of cybertechnology-that it can be used to provide great benefits to humankind but can also do great harm-means that business (data security, data ownership and privacy), public communication (disinformation and computational propaganda), health (privacy, ransomware attacks), law enforcement (data security, predictive policing) and interstate conflict (cyberwar, autonomous weapons) are of vital interest to cybersecurity ethics.
This work analyses the key ethical concepts in the field, such as privacy, freedom of communication, security, and the right to self-defence, and develops sets of ethical guidelines for the regulation of cyberspace in these various domains. From a liberal democratic perspective, Seumas Miller and Terry Bossomaier seek to protect individual rights while ensuring the collective good of cybersecurity. They also pay close attention to institutionally embedded collective moral responsibilities that function as 'webs of prevention' against cyberattacks. These webs, they argue, need new regulation and the redesign of institutional roles, as well as technical countermeasures to cyberattacks, such as passwords, encryption, firewalls, and 'patching.' At times, webs of prevention also involve offensive and defensive measures. In their expert analysis and guidance, Miller and Bossomaier reinforce just how much is at stake in the field of cybersecurity ethics.
The advent of the Internet, exponential growth in computing power, and rapid developments in artificial intelligence have raised numerous cybersecurity-related ethical questions in various domains. The dual use character of cybertechnology-that it can be used to provide great benefits to humankind but can also do great harm-means that business (data security, data ownership and privacy), public communication (disinformation and computational propaganda), health (privacy, ransomware attacks), law enforcement (data security, predictive policing) and interstate conflict (cyberwar, autonomous weapons) are of vital interest to cybersecurity ethics.
This work analyses the key ethical concepts in the field, such as privacy, freedom of communication, security, and the right to self-defence, and develops sets of ethical guidelines for the regulation of cyberspace in these various domains. From a liberal democratic perspective, Seumas Miller and Terry Bossomaier seek to protect individual rights while ensuring the collective good of cybersecurity. They also pay close attention to institutionally embedded collective moral responsibilities that function as 'webs of prevention' against cyberattacks. These webs, they argue, need new regulation and the redesign of institutional roles, as well as technical countermeasures to cyberattacks, such as passwords, encryption, firewalls, and 'patching.' At times, webs of prevention also involve offensive and defensive measures. In their expert analysis and guidance, Miller and Bossomaier reinforce just how much is at stake in the field of cybersecurity ethics.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
Dimensions
Height: 239 mm
Width: 162 mm
Thickness: 38 mm
Weight
666 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-005813-5 (9780190058135)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Seumas Miller | Terry Bossomaier
Cybersecurity, Ethics, and Collective Responsibility
E-Book
04/2024
OUP eBook
€24.99
Available for download

Seumas Miller | Terry Bossomaier
Cybersecurity, Ethics, and Collective Responsibility
E-Book
04/2024
OUP eBook
€24.99
Available for download
Persons
Seumas Miller is Professor of Philosophy at Charles Sturt University, a Distinguished Research Fellow at the University of Oxford, and Honorary Fellow, Digital Ethics Centre, Delft University of Technology. He is the author or co-author of 22 books and over 250 academic articles in philosophy, including Shooting to Kill: The Ethics of Police and Military Use of Lethal Force (Oxford, 2016).
Terry Bossomaier is Adjunct Professor of Computer Science, Charles Sturt University. He has worked in complex systems, imaging science, and high-performance computing, and was a super consultant and researcher at the Australian National University.
Terry Bossomaier is Adjunct Professor of Computer Science, Charles Sturt University. He has worked in complex systems, imaging science, and high-performance computing, and was a super consultant and researcher at the Australian National University.
Author
Professor of PhilosophyProfessor of Philosophy, Charles Sturt University
Adjunct Professor of Computer ScienceAdjunct Professor of Computer Science, Charles Sturt University
Content
Glossary
Introduction
Chapter 1 - Cybersecurity: Threats, Countermeasures and the Institutional Landscape
Chapter 2 - Privacy and Confidentiality: Bulk Data, Surveillance, and Encryption
Chapter 3 - Freedom of Political Communication and Computational Propaganda: Rights, Responsibilities and Truth-aiming by Reasoning with Others
Chapter 4 - Criminal Justice, Artificial Intelligence and Liberal Democracy
Chapter 5 - Public Health, Pandemics and Cybertechnology: Individual Rights and Collective Goods
Chapter 6 - Cyber Conflict: Covert Political Action, Cognitive Warfare and Cyberweapons
Chapter 7 - Individual and Collective Responsibility for Cybersecurity: Webs of Prevention
Conclusion: Ethical Guidelines
Bibliography
Index
Introduction
Chapter 1 - Cybersecurity: Threats, Countermeasures and the Institutional Landscape
Chapter 2 - Privacy and Confidentiality: Bulk Data, Surveillance, and Encryption
Chapter 3 - Freedom of Political Communication and Computational Propaganda: Rights, Responsibilities and Truth-aiming by Reasoning with Others
Chapter 4 - Criminal Justice, Artificial Intelligence and Liberal Democracy
Chapter 5 - Public Health, Pandemics and Cybertechnology: Individual Rights and Collective Goods
Chapter 6 - Cyber Conflict: Covert Political Action, Cognitive Warfare and Cyberweapons
Chapter 7 - Individual and Collective Responsibility for Cybersecurity: Webs of Prevention
Conclusion: Ethical Guidelines
Bibliography
Index