Understanding Lock and Security Mechanisms, Apple vs FBI: A Case Study, Ethical Decision-Making, and

Question 1: Understanding Lock Mechanisms

(Question 1)

2 Locks. First lock has unlocking chances of an hour, second lock has unlocking chances of 15 minutes. Supposedly each of these locks were placed in the back and front door of a building. How will a thief be able to get inside if he has owned one of those locks?

(Question 2)

Your girlfriend wants to get a new laptop. Explain to her how a fingerprint security varies from a password security (Best practice by IBM for creating passwords).

(Question 3)

[Case study]

The FBI & Apple Security vs. Privacy

In December 2015, the FBI attained the iPhone of one of the shooters in an ISIS-inspired terrorist attack that killed 14 people in San Bernardino, California. As part of the investigation, the FBI attempted to gain access to the data stored on the phone but was unable to penetrate its encryption software. Lawyers for the Obama administration approached Apple for assistance with unlocking the device, but negotiations soon broke down. The Justice Department then obtained a court order compelling Apple to help the FBI unlock the phone. Apple CEO, Timothy Cook, publicly challenged the court in an open letter, sparking an intense debate over the balance between maintaining national security and protecting user privacy.

Apple and its supporters, including top technology companies such as Google and Facebook, made the case on several fronts that the court order threatened the privacy of all individuals. First, according to Apple, the order effectively required the company to write code, violating its First Amendment right to free speech by forcing the company to “say” something it did not want to say. Previous court cases had already established computer code as legally protected speech. Second, such a backdoor, once created, could fall into the wrong hands and threaten the privacy of all iPhone owners. Finally, it would set a dangerous precedent; law enforcement could repeatedly require businesses such as Apple to assist in criminal investigations, effectively making technology companies an agent of government.

Representatives from both sides of the political aisle offered several arguments in favor of the Justice Department’s efforts and against Apple’s stance. Their central claim was that the U.S. legal system establishes constraints on the government’s access to private information which prevent abuse of search and surveillance powers. At the same time, the law still allows authorities to gain access to information that facilitates prevention and prosecution of criminal activities, from terrorism to drug trafficking to child pornography. Critics of Apple also rejected the slippery slope argument on the grounds that, if Apple cooperated, it could safeguard the code it created and keep it out of the hands of others, including bad actors such as terrorists or criminal groups. Moreover, Apple was accused of being too interested in protecting its brand, and even unpatriotic for refusing to comply with the court order.

Question 2: Fingerprint Security vs. Password Security

Ultimately, the FBI dropped the case because it was able to circumvent the encryption on the iPhone without Apple’s help.

(a). Draw a decision tree diagram based on the case study above. (*need to refer “Reasonable Diagram Sample” PPT File to find make decision tree diagram)

(b). Discuss what the hell is wrong ethically with the case above use 3 Lists of IEEE and other code of ethics to support your argument. (*need to refer “software-engineering-code-of-ethics” Word File to explain the argument by finding 3 Lists of IEEE related to case study)

(c). Use the 4 steps framework to analyze the case to make an ethical decision-making. (*need to refer “Ethical Decision Making - 4 Step Process” PPT File to describe 4 steps)

(Question 4)

[Case study]

AI in customer security. Company A is an insurance company for example. Company A wants to hire an IT expert to improve their sales and customer service. Company A hires company B which is an AI expert company. Company B writes an AI program that could detect emotional levels of a human voice and use it to better company A’s customer service. It works by detecting for example if the customer is angry or is in a good emotional mood and is able to detect the outcome of the call. The program also gives real feedback on the customer service representative on their screen to measure how are they doing on their call to be able to surveil them while they are working. The customers are informed that the call will be recorded for audit purposes but are not informed of the other layers of analysis.

(a). Explain the following information security triads (Confidentiality, Integrity, Availability) based on ‘Question 4’ case study content paragraph.

(Question 5)

Case study on fair use. In 1789, Google was filed a lawsuit against some guy regarding their project to integrate all the library resources on a single platform which can be accessible to people. These resources or books are shared with Google by libraries that were in agreement to participate on that project. The lawsuit was dismissed by the US court and the case was dismissed. The verdict by the court was that Google did nothing wrong. Discuss why the case was dismissed and include the proper terms that are related to this case.

(Question 6)

Explain why one person should have exclusive rights over something that everyone could possess and use at the same time.

Question 3: Apple vs FBI Case Study

(Question 7)

Do you agree with the idea that all technology is not equally beneficial for us? If yes, what are your reasons? Name three technologies that you found beneficial. Were there any that caused you harm?

(Question 8)

Give four examples of how a social condition influences the development of new technology. Briefly explain your answer.

(Question 9)

You are the senior software engineer at a start-up company developing an exciting new mobile app that will allow salespeople to generate and email sales quotes and customer invoices from their smartphones. You were given stock options when you joined the company, and if it has a successful initial public offering of stock, you will be able to sell these options for at least $10 million.

Your company's sales force has led a major corporation to believe your product will be available next week.

Unfortunately, at this point the software still contains quite a few bugs. The leader of the testing group has reported that all of the known bugs appear to be minor, but it will take another month of testing for his team to be condent the product contains no catastrophic errors.

Because of the fierce competition in the mobile app industry, it is critical that your company be “first to market." To the best of your knowledge, a well-established company will release a similar product in a few weeks. If its product appears first, your start-up company will probably go out of business.

Consider at least three possible actions, and for each of them, answer the following questions:

• What are the most likely benefits and harms that will result from this action?

• Do you have any obligations to people who may be negatively affected by your action?

• Does this action require you to be dishonest, deceitful, or unfair to others?

(Question 10)

To what extent does the government have the right to invade your privacy? Do you believe the government has the right to read your email and texts? Discuss.

(Question 11)

Technological advancements in computer systems are taking place continually. Some- times we see more advancement in the software domain, and at other times, greater developments can be observed in the hardware domain. With the evolution of sophisticated software, there is a need to develop newer hardware to better exploit software potential. Similarly, advances in the field of hardware require new software.

“New inventions in the field of software led to new hardware development.”

Agree or Not Agree? Debate the proposition.