Utilitarianism Applied to E-Property: Reporting Assault and Theft of E-Property in Government Databases

Many people believe that all accounts of hacking and/or theft of e-property should be reported and stored in a publicly available government database, in an attempt to track malicious activity and ultimately reduce cyber crime. Having property stolen or assaulted only benefits the thief, at least until they are caught. The complement of this verity, though, is what Joseph M. Kizza, the author of three computing impact books, would like to address.
Kizza: “Many of those who would have liked to report such crimes do not do so because of both economic and a psychological impact such news would have on both the shareholders’ confidence and the overall name of the company. Some companies are reluctant to report any form of computer attacks on their systems in fear that others, including shareholders, will perceive company management as weak with poor security policies” (Computer Network Security and Cyber Ethics, 57). Not only would reporting to a public database show harm that has already been inflicted upon a company, but further harm to that company, as well as the minds of those stakeholders involved, would ensue as a result.

James Riley, a reporter for The Australian, insists that a cyber-crime tracking database “would give authorities the best chance of collecting suitable evidence to present to a court” (http://the-other.wiretapped.net/). So it appears that a government database would be useful, for it would help in nabbing the criminals who assault e-property, and who many times end up stealing it. The number of stakeholders a company has is usually much larger than the number of employees a company has. So, by not reporting cyber intrusions or the theft of company documents as a result of such intrusions, thousands of people are spared the fear and hassle of evaluating the damage done to their company. This is contrary to the few people who would truly appreciate the value of knowing what has happened. Regardless of how many extra Internet criminals would be caught as a result of instituting a database system of this kind, overall criminal activity would, in all likelihood, still increase and still be rampant and uncontrolled. The happiness factor in this argument gives the win to Joseph Kizza, for his take on the topic creates by far the most social utility, for the most people.
It looks as though we are out of time for tonight. It’s clear that utilitarianism yields all kinds of different results, given the context in which it is applied. Many things that might be considered immoral, such as widespread file sharing involving copyrighted materials, are justified with utilitarianism, while things like spam and Windows source code remain taboo and protected. The bottom line is, file sharing creates a massive amount of social utility, while spam and a crash and burn of Windows can, and most likely would, take that utility right back. The focus of utilitarianism lies on what makes the most people happy, most of the time. Theoretically, all humans should act this way, thereby creating the most social utility, and everyone is then supposed to be happy. The message to be taken from the contexts in which we have placed utilitarianism tonight, is that the majority usually wins. It’s an elementary concept that if something makes more people satisfied than it does upset them, then the larger group gets what it wants. Millions of people engage in file sharing, and the thrill it provides all of them is far greater than what the RIAA and its affiliates would feel if file sharing were to cease. However, utilitarianism expands on the intangible feeling of happiness by leveraging it with ignorance. This is where the occasional minority, educationally superior on the topic at hand, conquers over the ignorant majority, as in the debate over whether or not to make available Windows source code. Despite what most people may want, what they do not know could end up hurting them dearly, hence making them very upset with the consequences that allowing this action would result in. Limitations to utilitarianism, primarily due to legislation, exist as well. An instance, creating and distributing spam e-mail creates social utility for those who choose to exercise their right to free speech, yet many times this seemingly wasteful act leads to legal action. Utilitarianism maintains a reputation for being a flexible theory in terms of characterizing morally correct actions, and tonight, this verity has once again proved to be true. Thanks for watching, and have a great night.

Other posts on Utilitarianism and online activites:
Utilitarianism Applied to E-Property
Utilitarianism Applied to E-Property: Should Spamming be Allowed?
Utilitarianism Applied to E-Property: Introduction
Utilitarianism Applied to E-Property: The Ethical Implications of File Sharing
Utilitarianism Applied to E-Property: The Openness of Windows Source Code
Utilitarianism Applied to E-Property: Reporting Assault and Theft of E-Property in Government Databases

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