Cyber Espionage—An Ethical Analysis

Abstract

In June 2018, a cyber espionage campaign by Chinese group of hackers targeting two United States-based satellite firms was exposed, whose fundamental motive was to seize military and civilian communications of the victim nations. The hackers intentionally infected the systems, along with regulating the satellite to change the positions of the orbiting devices and disrupt data traffic. This case study may directly be pointing to instantiations of cyber-crime or unethical practices performed by misuse of technology in the ambit of cyber space, but the vital question which arises in this context is, ‘can such practices be justified on moral or socio-political grounds by any means?’ The implication of this case study is highly convoluted. On one hand, hacking is considered offensive as one try to intrude in other’s personal space without taking a legitimate moral consent, whereas on the other hand, an agent might be doing the same in order to ensure national security. Hence, the intention behind committing such a crime is dubious. The motive behind taking such a measure might be threat instead of intention to harm, which in turn, gives rise to few dilemmas, to ascertain whether such unethical acts can be justified for attaining an ethical end. This research work is an attempt to reconcile two disciplines. Skimming by the arguments of moral philosophers such as Immanuel Kant, J. S Mill, Aristotle a rigorous study is done, and logico-ethical arguments are presented to seek a solution for these complex yet extremely relevant issues.