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Lecture 3
Special Topic Technique (STT)
Part - 1
Today’s Goals:
(Social Implications of Computing)
We will try to understand the impact of computing on: –Business –Work –Living –Health –Education
Introduction
•It should be clear to you that - for better or worse - the future of computing and the future of humankind are highly interdependent •Computers have solved many problems for the humankind but have created a few tricky ones as well •Today we will discuss both, but first … •Why is it important to discuss the social implication of computing?
Why should we, as computing professionals, be interested in studying the
social implications of our creations?
•Computing technology has changed our way of life like no other technology •We need to study how it has done it to highlight the mistakes and success stories of the past •We need to do it so that we can learn from them and select our future direction accordingly
Let’s Start with the Dilemma of Computing
•Computers keep on becoming more and more powerful and gaining more and more autonomy •They are being equipped with fail-safe and self-healing technologies •Are we heading towards a future where the role of the masters and the slaves will be switched? •Should we slow down or even reverse some of the technology advances to avoid that dark scenario?
Powerful Global Corporations
•Internet-based communication is allowing business entities to coordinate the activities of their globally-spread units with greater accuracy •The knowledge gained by one unit becomes available to all others very quickly •All this has made these business entities very powerful, even more powerful than many nation-states
The Network Organization
•The network paradigm (all connected to many others) is becoming the preferred organizational structure of more and more organizations as time goes by •This new organization is replacing the old-style layered, tree-structured organizational model •The organizations are learning that business can be done in a more effective manner if emphasis is placed upon cooperation, shared responsibility and networking: –Within the organization –And also with their customers and suppliers The structure of the networked organization is flexible (although, at times a bit chaotic!), and changes according to the demand of the times •It shares knowledge and decentralizes the control of the operation so that network works effectively to meet the business goals of the organization •The workers: –Can spend more time doing creative work as they have immediate access to all of the required info through various computer-based technologies –Have a sense of ownership in the organization
•While old professions are being eliminated …
•Typists •Bank tellers •Telephone operators
Number of Temporary Workers is on the Rise
•Even technical professionals of high-quality must now define themselves as temporary consultants, able to move from project to project within in an organization as well as among different organizations •In the old days, loyalty was important, now professionalism and ability to perform are the watch words! •The focus now in many computer-centric organizations is not belonging to the organization, but on professional competency and quality of work
Businesses Monitoring Their Employees
•Systems are available that monitor almost every key stroke that an employee makes on a computer •Systems are available that read and censor all incoming and outgoing email •It is quite straight forward to monitor where you surf, and when
Distances Are Increasing
•Television was bad enough; Video games and the Web has made the situation even worse •Families are spending less & less time together in spite of the physical closeness. This may have a very detrimental effect on the emotional well-being of the children, … and parents •Solitude is the order of the day as many children & adults spend their free time surfing, chatting, playing computer games, instead of spending it on interacting with friends or family
Virtual Communities
•Interest-based, instead of geography-based communities •Ex: Ta’suv’voof, tennis, telepathy, cancer •Members with common interest share ideas, ask questions, post answers and make announcements through mailing-lists, news groups or message boards •These communities are definitely very different from traditional ones •There are generally no bars on membership based on gender, race or religion •However, they may lack the respect for the individual and civility that are the norm within conventional, geography-based communities
A Society under Surveillance
•While surfing, we are being watched, constantly
•Our every click is recorded and analyzed to extract patterns and behaviors •Those patterns are then used to persuade us to do things that those Web sites want us to do •Webcams are becoming common. Providing a cheap way for parents to watch their children's every move
The Changing Face of Education
•Distance learning has received a boost due to the low-price of Internet communication and the availability of Web-based interactive content •It has also become possible for students to interact in real-time with other students as well as teachers located a long distance from them •Physical location is less of a hindrance now •Students enrolled in distance-education programs have more control over what they want to learn, how they want to learn, and when •The lack of face-to-face interaction and immediate to-and-fro questions and answers may, however, reduce the amount of knowledge that can be transferred from the teacher to the student •In spite of that problem, computer-based distance education may be the only source of high-quality education for many, especially those in remote locations •The fact, however, remains that the best mode of education is the conventional one, which has become more effective with the augmentation of computer-based learning aids
Info Gathering
•We are turning more and more towards online resources of info •The info that just a few years back involved effort and time to pull together before it could be used is now literally a few key strokes away •The time and effort spent on gathering info can now be spent on using it •This capability has made the computer an active (and integral) part of our creative process
Telemedicine
•How can we place a doctor specializing in, for example, skin-related diseases or neurology in every district’s hospital? •We cannot! What then? Ignore all those not residing in big cities? •Solution: Internet-based telemedicine •An audio/video/text connection combined with a few remote medical instruments and a trained assistant can enable a remote doctor to examine and prescribe medicine to a patient far, far away
Is Progress Necessary?
•Progress is being made every day in the field of computing. The question that we need to ask is: “Are we going in the right direction?” •Is it OK to make available all sorts of info to everyone? Does everyone need to know how to build an H-bomb? •Is it OK to keep on investing in surveillance technologies? Does personal privacy have no place in our technologically advanced future? •Is it OK to automate everything that we lay our eyes on? Or certain things (e.g. caring for an infant) should remain with us old-fashioned human beings
Closure
•Your answers to the questions that I just raised may differ from mine, and I respect your opinion All I say is, yes, progress is inventible, however, you – the creators of my future – should be a bit thoughtful about what you do I command you to “go and invent the future,” it is your duty and you may not desist from it, but, please, do think about the social implications and consequences of what you are doing before actually doing it
Today’s Lecture:
(Social Implications of Computing)
We discussed the impact of computing on: –Business –Work –Living –Health –Education
Working from Home
•Computing has made it possible for some to avoid going the office for their work •They can do their work from home and communicate their ideas, questions, and answers to their colleagues through the Internet •This gives them more time to spend with their families due to the time they save on commuting to their place of work
From Mass- to Personalized-Marketing
•The Web has changed marketing forever, redirecting it from a mass focus to a single- person focus
The Political Process
•Through computer discussion forums, newsgroups and mailing-lists, public and politicians may engage in a free, open exchange of ideas without leaving the comfort of their not-so- comfortable and very comfortable homes, respectively
Distances Have Contracted
•Because of the ever-decreasing costs of verbal, text, video communications, it is becoming easier to stay in touch with anyone, regardless of their physical location
Distances Are Increasing
•Solitude is the order of the day as many children & adults spend their free time surfing, chatting, playing computer games, instead of spending it on interacting with friends or family
Virtual Communities
•Interest-based, instead of geography-based
A Society Under Surveillance
•While surfing, we are being watched, constantly
The Changing Face of Education
•Distance learning has received a boost due to the low-price of Internet communication and the availability of Web-based interactive content
The Changing Face of Education
•The fact, however, remains that the best mode of education is the conventional one, which has become more effective with the augmentation of computer-based learning aids
Info Gathering
•The time and effort spent on gathering info can now be spent on using it
Telemedicine
•An audio/video/text connection combined with a few remote medical instruments and an on-site trained assistant can enable a doctor to examine and prescribe medicine to a patient far, far away
Closure
•I command you to “go and invent the future,” it is your duty and you may not desist from it, but, please, do think about the social implications and consequences of what you are doing before actually doing it
Today’s Goals:
(The Computing Profession)
•To discuss several roles and associated responsibilities of modern computer professionals •To discuss a few tricky situations where knowledge of professional ethics would help
IT: Information Technology
The group of technologies concerned with the capture, processing and transmission of information in the digital-electronic form
Who is a computing professional?
•Professionals involved in the development and/or maintenance of SW and/or computer HW •Computer scientists, software engineers, computer engineers, and some of the telecom engineers are generally classified as computing professionals
Architect
•Responsibilities: –Technology selection –High-level design –Makes certain that the implementation remains true to the design •Profile: –10-15 years of development experience –In-depth exposure to several domain areas –In-depth experience in several technologies
–MS or PhD in a technical discipline
Team Lead
•Responsibilities: –Planning and tracking of the project –Detailed design –Professional development of team members –In case of small teams, development activities •Profile: –5+ years of development experience –Excellent interpersonal skills –Good planning skills –Good design skills
Developer
•Responsibilities: –Module-level design –Coding –Unit-testing •Profile: –Technical BS
Executive Team
•CEO – Chief Executive Officer
–Developer of the vision of the organization
–Great PR skills
–Great knack for spotting talent
•COO – Chief Operating Officer
–Responsible for the day-to-day operations
–Great organizational & interpersonal skills
•CMSO – Chief Marketing & Sales Officer
–Responsible for bringing in work
–Innovative
Support Team
•2-3 members •Members possess expertise in both HW & SW •Responsible for the maintenance, expansion, improvement of the infrastructure consisting of: –Workstations, servers, printers –Networking equipment (router, switch, hub) –SW (OS, development SW, productivity SW, etc.) –Network security That brings us to the end of our discussion on various roles and the associated responsibilities in the computing profession Now we move on to another topic related to our profession, Ethics!
Ethics
•Ethics is a collection of heuristics that, when followed, improves our way of life •I find them wonderful as they simplify my life
•For example, if you believe in the heuristic always tell the truth, your life becomes much simpler •Now, you don’t have to think before you make every statement that you make “Shall I tell the truth, or lie?”
Professional Ethics
•Professional ethics are a category of ethics, and here we discus the professional ethics relevant to computing •Awareness of professional ethics is gaining importance with time as the decision-making process in the work place keeps on increasing in complexity •The professional ethics provide a way of simplifying that decision making process
Let us now discuss a few situations where I will request you for your ethical opinions
Situation 1: Illegal Use
•A person is using a piece of SW without the author’s permission and says: “I’m not really using it, I’m just evaluating it before I make a firm decision on buying” •That person is “evaluating” that piece of SW for 13 months now! •Is the conduct of that person ethical?
Situation 2: Vaporware
•A small company announces a new SW product •A larger, more established competitor hears about that product, and starts a whispering campaign that she is also working on a similar product that will be released soon •Potential customers decide to wait for the product instead of making the more riskier purchase from the smaller company •The new company’s sales become sluggish, and it fails to earn back the investment that it has put into developing that new product. That results in her closure •The larger company never releases the promised product •Is the conduct of that large company unethical or a reasonable business tactic?
Situation 3: Whistle Blower
•SW bugs, at times, have catastrophic consequences •While Bhola sahib was working for a contractor at NASA, he found such a bug and reported it to his boss, Murphy sahib, who ordered him to never mention it to any one, or he will get fired •Bhola sahib got scared, and did as he was told •Did Bhola sahib’s behave in an ethical manner? Would you hire him in your company?
Situation 4: Trade Secrets
•Bhola sahib was working at BholiSoft •He leaves it to work for a competitor, SuperSoft •Even before starting at SuperSoft, he already has divulged many of the trade secrets of BholiSoft during his interviews at SuperSoft, giving them an advantage over BholiSoft •Do you agree with Bhola Sahib’s ethics? Would you hire him in your company?
Today’s Lecture: (Part – 2)
(The Computing Profession) •We discussed several roles and associated responsibilities of modern computer professionals •We also discussed a few tricky situations where a knowledge of professional ethics would have helped
Part - 3
Today’s Lecture:
Cyber Crime
•To find out about several types of crimes that occur over cyber space (i.e. the Internet) •To familiarize ourselves with with several methods that can be used to minimize the ill effects of those crimes
07 February 2000
•Users trying to get on to the Web sites of Yahoo, couldn’t! •Reason: Their servers were extremely busy! •They were experiencing a huge number of hits •The hit-rate was superior to the case when a grave incident (e.g. 9/11) occurs, and people are trying to get info about what has happened •The only problem was that nothing of note had taken place!
The Aftermath
•None of the Yahoo computers got broken-into; The attackers never intended to do that •None of the user data (eMail, credit card numbers, etc.) was compromised •Ill-effects: –Yahoo lost a few million’s worth of business –Millions of her customers got annoyed as they could not access their eMail and other info from the Yahoo Web sites
Who Done It?
•The DoS SW is not custom SW, and can be downloaded from the Internet. Therefore, it is difficult to track the person who launched the attack by analyzing that SW •After installing the DoS SW on the drones, setting the target computer and time, the attackers carefully wipe away any info on the drone that can be used to track them down •End result: Almost impossible to track and punish clever attackers
How to stop DoS attacks from taking place?
•Design SW that monitors incoming packets, and on noticing a sudden increase in the number of similar packets, blocks them •Convince system administrators all over the world to secure their servers in such a way that they cannot be used as drones •BTW, the same type of attack brought down the CNN, Buy, eBay, Amazon Web sites the very next day of the Yahoo attack
DoS Attack: A Cyber Crime
•DoS is a crime, but of a new type - made possible by the existence of the Internet •A new type of policing and legal system is required to tackle such crimes and their perpetrators •Internet does not know any geographical boundaries, therefore jurisdiction is a key issue when prosecuting the cyber-criminal
Cyber crime can be used to …
•Damage a home computer •Bring down a business •Weaken the telecom, financial, or even defense-related systems of a country
Cyberwar!
•In 1997, blackouts hit New York City, Los Angeles •The 911 (emergency help) service of Chicago was shut down •A US Navy warship came under the control of a group of hackers •What was happening? A cyber attack! •All of the above did not happen in reality, but in a realistic simulation •The US National Security Agency hired 35 hackers to attack the DoD’s 40,000 computer networks •By the end of the exercise, the hackers had gained root-level (the highest-level!) access to at least 3 dozen among those networks
Cyberwarfare:
A clear and present threat as well opportunity for the entire world’s armed force!
More cybercrimes …
Mail Bombing
•Similar in some ways to a DoS attack •A stream of large-sized eMails are sent to an address, overloading the destination account •This can potentially shut-down a poorly-designed eMail system or tie up the telecom channel for long periods •Defense: eMail filtering
Break-Ins
•Hackers are always trying to break-in into Internet-connected computers to steal info or plant malicious programs •Defense: Intrusion detectors
Credit Card Fraud
•A thief somehow breaks into an eCommerce server and gets hold of credit numbers and related info •The thief then uses that info to order stuff on the Internet •Alternatively, the thief may auction the credit card info on certain Web sites setup just for that purpose •Defense: Use single-use credit card numbers for your Internet transactions
Software Piracy
•Using a piece of SW without the author’s permission or employing it for uses not allowed by the author is SW piracy •For whatever reason, many computer users do not consider it to be a serious crime, but it is! •Only the large rings of illegal SW distributors are ever caught and brought to justice •Defense: Various authentication schemes. They, however, are seldom used as they generally annoy the genuine users
Industrial Espionage
•Spies of one business monitoring the network traffic of their competitors •They are generally looking for info on future products, marketing strategies, and even financial info •Defense: Private networks, encryption, network sniffers
Commonsense Guidelines
•Download SW from trusted sites only •Do not open attachments of unsolicited eMails •Use floppy disks and CDROMs that have been used in trusted computers only •When transferring files from your computer to another, use the write-protection notches •Stay away from pirated SW •Regularly back your data up •Install Antivirus SW; keep it and its virus definitions updated
Antivirus SW
•Designed for detecting viruses & inoculating •Continuously monitors a computer for known viruses and for other tell-tale signs like: –Most – but, unfortunately not all – viruses increase the size of the file they infect –Hard disk reformatting commands –Rewriting of the boot sector of a hard disk •The moment it detects an infected file, it can automatically inoculate it, or failing that, erase it
Other Virus-Like Programs
•There are other computer programs that are similar to viruses in some ways but different in some others •Three types: –Trojan horses –Logic- or time-bombs –Worms
Trojan Horses
•Unlike viruses, they are stand-alone programs •The look like what they are not •They appear to be something interesting and harmless (e.g. a game) but when they are executed, destruction results \
Logic- or Time-Bombs
•It executes its payload when a predetermined event occurs
•Example events: •A particular word or phrase is typed –A particular date or time is reached
Worms
•Harmless in the sense that they only make copies of themselves on the infected computer •Harmful in the sense that it can use up available computer resources (i.e. memory, storage, processing), making it slow or even completely useless Designing, writing, or propagating malicious code or participating in any of the fore- mentioned activities can result in criminal prosecution, which in turn, may lead to jail terms and fines!
Today’s Lecture: (Part – 3)
•We found out about several types of computer crimes that occur over cyber space •We familiarized ourselves with several methods that can be used to minimize the ill effects of these crimes
