Ethical hazards and safeguards in penetration testing

Abstract

Penetration testing entails attacking a system to identify and report insecurity, but doing so without harming the system nor encroaching on the dignity of those affected by it. To improve the interaction between penetration testers and their processes and technology, we need to understand the factors that affect decisions they make with ethical import. This paper presents four ethical hazards faced by penetration testers, and three safeguards that address them. We also present preliminary results validating the hazards and safeguards.