Exploring ethical hacking from multiple viewpoints

Abstract

The Shiley School of Engineering, Dept. of Computer Science is using the KEEN module to develop an entrepreneurial mindset while meeting technical objectives in a 300 level Unix/Linux tools course. This paper describes a work-in-progress module for students to explore issues related to ethical hacking and its impact in the field of information security and cybersecurity. Ethical hacking was analyzed from multiple viewpoints including industry, governments and regulatory authorities, n white hat, grey hat and black hat hacking, and analyzing trends and perspectives from industry and research. Student engaged in activities including four corners to explore ethical hacking before and after reading case studies, and also participated in group and classroom discussions. After the initial exploration, students engaged in practical exercises exploring Kali Linux and learning basic penetration and defense techniques which introduced them to tools and skills utilized in the cybersecurity industry. The objectives and the design of the survey was to explore if the module increased students' curiosity and awareness of ethical hacking as they will be confronted with security issues in their software engineering careers. Students were asked to rank the learning objectives on a Likert scale of 1 to 5 where 1 was the worst ranking and 5 was the best ranking Generally, the results of the survey demonstrated students ranked the objectives well, with the lowest score for the objective about developing an action plan for ethics indicating ways to improve the module in future course offering. The highest values were given to considering multiple viewpoints, indicating the mindset aspects of the project may have been successful. Based on the outcome and student feedback recommendations for future implementation of the module in the curriculum is discussed.