Ethics and Legal Responsibilities Assignment

Due: Thursday, Aug 28, 2025 by 6:00 PM

Purpose

In this course, you will gain hands-on experience with networking tools, protocols, and techniques—including some that have been used in real-world cyberattacks. Understanding these concepts is essential for building secure and robust systems. However, with this knowledge comes ethical and legal responsibility.

Legal and Institutional Guidelines

You are expected to act lawfully and ethically at all times. Activities such as probing, exploiting, or intercepting data on unauthorized systems—even if done with good intentions—can be violations of:

• Federal Law, such as the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act CFAA.
• York College’s Acceptable Use Policy
• International regulations and industry codes of conduct

Unauthorized use of these techniques can result in serious consequences, including expulsion, civil or criminal penalties, and jail time.

If you are ever unsure whether an action is permitted or ethical, consult your instructor first.

Notable Real-World Cases (abbreviated and contextualized)

Here are some examples of individuals who faced serious consequences for unethical or illegal use of computer networking knowledge:

• Audrey Strauss - Sentenced to 12 years for JP Morgan Chase data breach.
• Onur Kopçak - Received a record-setting sentence for large-scale phishing and bank fraud.
• Albert Gonzalez - Sentenced to 20 years for masterminding a data breach affecting 170 million credit card numbers.
• Roman Seleznev - Sentenced to 27 years’ imprisonment for running Organized Cybercrime Ring.
• Max Butler - Received 13-Year Prison Sentence for identity theft.
• Sarah Palin E-mail Prankster - Sentenced to 1 Year in Custody.
• Samy Kamkar - Created a MySpace worm as a prank, resulting in legal restrictions and probation.

These examples serve as a reminder that even seemingly harmless actions can lead to major legal and ethical consequences.

Your Responsibility

You are expected to:

• Understand and follow relevant laws and policies.
• Use course tools only on authorized systems or lab environments.
• Never attempt to exploit or interfere with real-world systems or networks.
• Maintain the highest standards of academic and professional integrity.

Assignment

In your own words, respond to the following:

Why is ethical behavior important in the field of computer networking? Describe a situation where a networking professional might face an ethical dilemma, and explain how you think it should be handled.

Your response should be thoughtful and show that you’ve considered the real-world impact of ethical decision-making in this field.

Response:

Please acknowledge that you understand the responsibilities and risks associated with the material covered in this course.

I have read and understood the expectations for lawful and ethical conduct in this course.
I agree to abide by all institutional and legal policies and to use the knowledge gained responsibly.

Name: ____________

Date: ____________

Signature: ____________