Ethics in Cybersecurity. What Are the Challenges We Need to Be Aware of and How to Handle Them?

Abstract

In the field of research, the role of ethics grows more and more every year. One might be surprised but even in the field of technology there is a necessity for experts to understand and to implement ethical principles. Ethics itself could be understood as a code or a moral way by which a person lives and works. But within the field of information technology and cybersecurity research there is a chance that even the most technical appropriate solution does not go in line with the corresponding ethical principles. Experts need to implement fundamental ethical principles in their technical products in order not to cause harm or have any negative effect on their users. To the vast majority of challenges that will be reflected in this chapter are discussed within the EU-funded project GUARD, namely what are the proper actions which need to be taken to ensure ethical compliance. Challenges such as ensuring the privacy of the users, reporting and handling incidental findings, testing the technological product, mitigating biases etc. could have different negative effect on humans if not dealt with properly. The current chapter would explore the questions posed above alongside a description of a methodology resulting in the combined efforts of experts both in the field of cybersecurity and ethics.