Illegal Surveillance Despite Anonymity: Ethical Considerations

Problem Action Consequences Techniques

Discuss about the Illegal Surveillance Despite Anonymity.

In the report, the ethical issue that has been discussed here is illegal surveillance of user data despite anonymity. The usage of World Wide Web to hide the personal information of an individual from the websites they have visited is known as anonymous web browsing. By sending the web activity information through a number of routers, a user can easily browse the web anonymously. But this does not guarantee server anonymity as the data is vulnerable to traffic analysis (Jardine, 2015). An ethical issue rises here against the tracking of data without the authorization of the user.  It raises an ethical issue about personal information privacy as the data from the browser plugins and cookies can be used to track the user even if the user has hidden his or her IP address.

Despite the usage of proxy sites and anonymous servers, the internet users are repeatedly monitored by government authorities in the name of protection. Cyber criminals have misused the anonymity provided by the proxy servers to perform illegal activities but the consequences of their action has trickled down on the common public. Without proper authorization from the users, the authorities collect personal information to get hold of the criminals which has created an ethical issue (Kandpal & Singh, 2013). The ethical dilemma occurs when the question rises about whether the remote monitoring of the public information to catch a handful of criminals is justifiable or not.

A common misconception is that anonymity helps to encourage disinhibition and is often abused by cyber criminals to get into dishonest activities. As the proxy is not aware of the IP address of the user, the information can be turned over to other users. If the user is not using a secure connection to the proxy server, other individuals can easily monitor the web activities of the individual (Yar, 2013). Hackers often use free proxy servers to lure individuals to use the service and steal their personal information. For example, in US, a cyber-attack from the Chinese was used as a key argument to formulate the CISPA or Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act which will allow the authorities to check personal information of users without the need of a warrant (Ablon, Libicki & Golay, 2014). The internal as well as cyber-attacks to national security is used to justify the government’s surveillance measures on normal users. The freedom of expression of the user is highly diminished in these cases which raises an ethical consideration. In many countries, people cannot access internet (in cyber cafes also) without proper identification and the cyber cafes as well as ISPs are obligated to maintain logs of the user’s browsing history. These illegal mass surveillance of data and computers creates a data interference that affects a huge number of users.

Reason for the ethical problems

The people responsible for creating this ethical issue is the government and the hackers who use unscrupulous methods to collect user information. Without the consent of the individuals, the government utilizes mass surveillance to track the personal data of the user when clearly the user does not want anyone to track his or her activities but in this modern digital age, nothing remains confined which is a huge ethical issue that must be addressed (Reddy, & Reddy, 2014). Hackers use spywares and bots to collect personal information despite the usage of anonymous software which is a major issue.

The web information (the computer information and the IP address) of an individual becomes visible in the server of the target web page when the individual opens a particular web page. This data is utilized to track the individual. Even if the individual uses a VPN or proxy server, it can be avoided by using an improper browser (Hyman, 2013). These particular servers work by not sending information from the user directly but by sending a request to the target browser. The anonymous servers work by putting a proxy (anonymous in nature) between the website and the user and can be used to bypass restrictions where particular site is blocked in a particular school, office or country. Users make use of this feature to protect their personal identity.  

It can be accomplished with the help of VPNs or Virtual private networks, anonymous programs such as Tor and proxy servers. The anonymous web server are used for two reasons primarily. Firstly, it helps the user to get access to certain parts of the webpage which are not accessible and secondly, it allow the user to bypass any application that blocks the web site accessibility (Loader & Thomas, 2013). This helps the individual feel secure. Other solutions such as using Hidemyass.com helps to provide a triple bypass layer to mitigate the history of the web activity that the user is conducting enabling him to remain completely anonymous.

The better action of this ethical dilemma would be for the government to acknowledge the mass surveillance program on the common people and ask whether or not they are ready to share their personal information in the name of security.  The government might face a huge backlash after this revelation but ethically it is the right thing to do.

The government should organise a meeting with the IT experts as well as conduct a project whether mass surveillance is a feasible action for mitigating this issue. Citizens will always choose security over anything else and the government must realize that being a democracy, opinions may vary from person to person. The option to install infrastructures for proper surveillance should be also explored by the authorities as well (Broadhurst et al., 2014).

People responsible

The government officials are the only people who can take the best action related to this ethical dilemma. The related IT experts and people who are related to the ethical dilemma such as the stakeholders can also help in mitigating this ethical issue by voicing their concerns and providing possible solutions.

Although the counter measures that are enforced for cyber criminals by the government (to track user data) may affect the private users for using private enhanced technologies, the measures are equally justified in certain cases. The scale of cyber-attacks have doubled in the past few years. To protect the rights of citizens, the government have to employ counter measures and tracking mechanisms for finding out the point of origin of the attack. This cannot be done simultaneously while protecting the citizen’s right as well as the attackers (Choo, & Grabosky, 2013). As user’s are getting aware of the risks of cyber-attacks, more people are wanting adequate safeguards from the concerned authorities for protecting their data. Although the private users may get affected due to the counter measures, it can prove beneficial for the entire community in the long run.

The consequences of the best action will be an overall justifiable mass surveillance system that collects user information after the consent of the user. The system will incorporate advanced technologies which can collect personal information up to a certain extent (Reddy, & Reddy, 2014). Hackers will rejoice the consequences as their internet blueprint will be reduced but the users will also enjoy the new system knowing that no one is checking their personal information without their consent.

Conclusion

To conclude the report, it can be stated that discontinuation of openly expressing public opinions can result in violation of democratic rights of the individual. Although the anonymous services can be used to steal private data and the government can justify their mass surveillance in one way or the other, accessing private information without the user’s permission creates an ethical dilemma which can be thoroughly debated by both parties. Understanding the threats is the first step in mitigating the dilemma and prepare for the future where no one have to think about whether they are tracked 24x7. Realizing the benefits of anonymity can help the online communities to understand the utilitarian benefits of the service and enable them to use their rights of privacy and freedom of expression in a proper way.

References

Ablon, L., Libicki, M. C., & Golay, A. A. (2014). Markets for cybercrime tools and stolen data: Hackers' bazaar. Rand Corporation.

Anderson, R., Barton, C., Böhme, R., Clayton, R., Van Eeten, M. J., Levi, M., ... & Savage, S. (2013). Measuring the cost of cybercrime. In The economics of information security and privacy (pp. 265-300). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg.

Broadhurst, R., Grabosky, P., Alazab, M., Bouhours, B., & Chon, S. (2014). An analysis of the nature of groups engaged in cyber crime.

Choo, K. K. R., & Grabosky, P. (2013). Cyber crime.

Hyman, P. (2013). Cybercrime: it's serious, but exactly how serious?. Communications of the ACM, 56(3), 18-20.

Jardine, E. (2015). Global cyberspace is safer than you think: real trends in cybercrime. Browser Download This Paper.

Kandpal, V., & Singh, R. K. (2013). Latest Face of Cybercrime and Its Prevention In India. International Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences, 2(4), 150-156.

Loader, B. D., & Thomas, D. (Eds.). (2013). Cybercrime: Security and surveillance in the information age. Routledge.

Reddy, G. N., & Reddy, G. J. (2014). A Study of Cyber Security Challenges and its emerging trends on latest technologies. arXiv preprint arXiv:1402.1842.

Yar, M. (2013). Cybercrime and society. Sage.