Critical Theory as an Approach to the Ethics of Information Security

Abstract

Information security can be of high moral value. It can equally be used for immoral purposes and have undesirable consequences. In this paper we suggest that critical theory can facilitate a better understanding of possible ethical issues and can provide support when finding ways of addressing them. The paper argues that critical theory has intrinsic links to ethics and that it is possible to identify concepts frequently used in critical theory to pinpoint ethical concerns. Using the example of UK electronic medical records the paper demonstrates that a critical lens can highlight issues that traditional ethical theories tend to overlook. These are often linked to collective issues such as social and organisational structures, which philosophical ethics with its typical focus on the individual does not tend to emphasise. The paper suggests that this insight can help in developing ways of researching and innovating responsibly in the area of information security.

Canvas White Paper 1 Cybersecurity and Ethics

“…Many papers address security and privacy problems regarding EHR (i.a. Barrows & Clayton 1996;Dong et al 2011;Ozair et al 2015;Rahim et al 2013;Stahl et al 2014). In those papers, different approaches of how to deal with security and privacy could be identified: particularly, that includes technical solutions (e.g.…”

“…-This regards firstly the concerns regarding access control, which comprises everything from an unclear data access authorization (Dong et al 2012;Stahl et al 2014) over lacking some control (Ikonen & Kaasinen 2008;Motti & Caine 2015;Olmsted et al 2015;Olvingson et al 2003) to a complete loss of control with regard to personal information (Barrows & Clayton 1996;Caulfield et al 2008). -The consequence could be unauthorized access by others (Buckovich et al 1999;Greenbaum et al 2011;Myhre et al 2016), e.g.…”

“…-A form of misuse is unauthorized modification (Barrows & Clayton 1996;Stahl et al 2014;Wang et al 2013), manipulation (Kaplan & Litewka 2008;Kluge 2011), or sabotage of data (Williams 2008). -Furthermore, data theft (i. a.…”

Considering the Human Implications of New and Emerging Technologies in the Area of Human Security

“…Where Kreissl ends, Stahl et al (2013) start. These authors investigate the possibility to use critical theory as ''a critical lens'' to highlight issues that traditional ethical theories tend to overlook.…”

Cybersecurity in health – disentangling value tensions

“…Many of the studies that we reviewed particularly address security and privacy problems regarding EHR (i.e. Barrows and Clayton, 1996;Dong et al, 2012;Ozair et al, 2015;Rahim et al, 2013;Stahl et al, 2014). Different approaches of how to deal with security and privacy could be identified, such as solutions based on technology (for biometric authentication, e.g.…”