Curriculum development for cyber ethics with a focus on law enforcement

Abstract

The goal of this paper is to share the methodology and results of the United States Coast Guard Academy's approach to developing a Cyber Ethics course for its Cyber Systems major with an additional focus on Law Enforcement. This paper seeks to apply an ethical framework to an emerging and ever-changing field of cybersecurity. Assessments from the first offering are shared as well as end of course student feedback. These are utilized as a basis of analysis for future improvement. The area of Cyber Ethics is a critical, relatively immature, interdisciplinary, and dynamic field that requires an understanding of ethical frameworks across history and an understanding of the technical details of cyber actions in order to make judgments on the ethical implications of such actions. This course has sought to extend ethical principles to the cyber domain while introducing many of the legal and policy considerations appropriate. Through the use of vibrant in class discussion, research and presentations, and a final project, students learned about, explored, and sought to discern the ethical implications of cybersecurity within the context of society, especially as it pertains to military and law enforcement. Student feedback validated that the course challenged them, offered them an opportunity to present their views, and extended what they had learned in their classic ethics class into the cyber domain. Based upon lessons learned, adjustments are being made for the second offering of this course in order to improve the flow and delivery of the class and the evaluation criteria. Changes are also being made to account for the increased class size from single to double digits.