Exploring Ethical Hacking within a Canadian University by Baha Abu-Shaqra A thesis submitted to ...

139 Pages·2015·0.6 MB·English

Technoethics and Organizing: Exploring Ethical Hacking within a Canadian University
by
Baha Abu-Shaqra
A thesis submitted to the
Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the
MA degree in Communication
Department of Communication
Faculty of Arts
University of Ottawa
© Baha Abu-Shaqra, Ottawa, Canada 2015
Abstract
Ethical hacking is one important information security risk management strategy business and
academic organizations use to protect their information assets from the growing threat of
hackers. Most published books on ethical hacking have focused on its technical applications
in risk assessment practices. This thesis addressed a gap within the organizational
communication literature on ethical hacking. Taking a qualitative exploratory case study
approach, the thesis paired technoethical inquiry theory with Karl Weick’s sensemaking
model to explore ethical hacking in a Canadian university. In-depth interviews with key
stakeholder groups and a document review were conducted. Guided by the Technoethical
Inquiry Decision-making Grid (TEI-DMG), a qualitative framework for use in technological
assessment, findings pointed to the need to expand the communicative and social
considerations involved in decision making about ethical hacking practices. Guided by
Weick’s theory, findings pointed to security awareness training for increasing sensemaking
opportunities and reducing equivocality in the information environment.

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Table of Contents
Abstract ii
Table of Contents iii
Chapter 1: Introduction 1
Hacking: A Growing and Evolving Problem 2
Hacking and Ethical Hacking 4
Thesis Rationale, Research Question, and Theoretical Framework 5
Thesis Organization 9
Chapter 2: Literature Review 11
Risk Management and Risk Assessment 12
Ethical Hacking Theory and Research 15
The Epistemological Roots of Empirical Pragmatism 19
Bunge’s Pragmatic Value Theory 22
Technoethical Scholarship 23
Applied Ethics in Technoethical Scholarship 26
Applying Technoethical Inquiry Theory 28
Weick’s Theory of Organizing 30
Applying Weick’s Theory of Organizing 34
Chapter Conclusion 36
Chapter 3: Methodology 38
Methodological Justification 38
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The Case Study Methodology 39
Data Collection and Analysis 41
Access to Organizational Data 44
Reliability and Validity 45
Data Validation Protocols 46
Ethical Considerations 47
Chapter Conclusion 48
Chapter 4: Findings 49
Document Review 50
Semi-structured Interviews 50
Theme 1: Intended ends and possible side effects of ethical hacking 51
Theme 2: Perceived means of ethical hacking 53
Theme 3: Perceived value of ethical hacking 54
Theme 4: Management uses and practices of ethical hacking 55
Theme 5: Technical uses and practices of ethical hacking 56
Theme 6: Communicative uses and practices of ethical hacking 57
Theme 7: Ethical hacking meanings 59
Theme 8: Ethical hacking ethics 60
Chapter Conclusion 60
Chapter 5: Advanced Analysis and Discussion 62
Coding and the Analytic Strategy 63
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RQ. What are the Meanings, Ethics, Uses and Practices, and Value of Ethical Hacking in
a Canadian University? 64
Sub-question a) What is the value, and what are the management and technical uses
and practices of ethical hacking in a Canadian university? 65
Sub-question b) What are the meanings, ethics, and communicative uses and
practices of ethical hacking in a Canadian university? 80
Assessment and Recommendations 91
Technological assessment 92
Recommendations: Technological assessment 93
Analysis of communicative aspects 95
Recommendations: Communicative aspects 96
Chapter Conclusion 99
Chapter 6: Conclusion 101
Summary of the Findings 101
Importance of the Findings 102
Contributions to Communication Research, Communication Theory,
and Technoethics 106
Limitations of the Study 111
Recommendations for Future Research 112
References 114
Appendices 127
Invitation Letter to Participants 127
v
The Meta-ethics of Ethical Hacking Table 128
Ethics Approval Certificate 132
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Technoethics and Organizing: Exploring Ethical Hacking within a Canadian
University
There is no doubt that the frequency and severity of the cyber threat is accelerating.
Protecting Canadians in cyberspace will be a constantly evolving challenge. To
effectively address this challenge will require a range of actions and responses. (Public
Safety Canada, 2013A)
The threat of cyber-attacks on information assets in the private and public sectors is a
growing and evolving threat, warns Public Safety Canada (Public Safety Canada, 2013A,
2013B, 2013C). Individuals, industry, and governments in Canada are embracing the
advantages of a digital infrastructure. Canada’s governments are increasingly dependent on
the Internet. The federal government, for example, offers more than 130 commonly used
services online, including tax returns, student loan applications, and employment insurance
forms. About 75% of Canadian households paid for Internet service in 2008. A McMaster
University study finds 1.7 million Canadians were victims of identity theft in 2008. Identity
theft is costing Canadians nearly $1.9 billion each year (Public Safety Canada, 2013A). Over
two-thirds of Canadian adults were subject to cyber-crime in 2012 (Public Safety Canada,
2013B). Between 2006 and 2008 about 85% of large Canadian organizations suffered at least
one cyber-attack. The loss of intellectual property as a result of these attacks doubled during
this period. The increasing reliance on cyber technologies makes Canadians “more
vulnerable to those who attack our digital infrastructure to undermine our national security,
economic prosperity, and way of life,” cautions Minister of Public Safety Vic Toews (Public
Safety Canada, 2013A).
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Cyber attacks include the unintentional or unauthorized access, use, manipulation,
interruption or destruction (via electronic means) of electronic information and/or the
electronic and physical infrastructure used to process, communicate and/or store that
information. The severity of the cyber attack determines the appropriate level of
response and/or mitigation measures: i.e., cyber security. (Public Safety Canada,
2013A)
Cyber-security is a defensive measure, adopted in response to cyber-attacks. It can be
understood as a process of applying information security measures to protect the
confidentiality, integrity, and availability (CIA) of information. Hackers pose a security risk
in that they can compromise the CIA of information. Information security management is
concerned with countermeasures to protect the CIA of information assets from various
threats, using principles, best practices, and technologies. Once hackers access a computer
system, they can steal or alter the information stored on it, or corrupt its operations and
program it to attack other computer systems (Dhillon, 2007; Peltier, 2005; Reynolds, 2012;
Stamp, 2011).
Hacking: A Growing and Evolving Problem
Most cyber-attacks share four characteristics that, in part, account for their growing
popularity. First, they are often inexpensive. Many hacking tools are cheap to buy or can be
downloaded for free from the Internet. Second, they are easy to use. Attackers with only
basic skills can cause significant damage. Third, they are effective. Even minor attacks can
cause extensive damage. Finally, they are low risk. Attackers can evade detection and
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prosecution by hiding their tracks through a complex web of computer networks (Public
Safety Canada, 2013A, 2013B).
The evolution of cyber-attack tools and techniques has accelerated dangerously in the
recent past (Public Safety Canada, 2013A, The Threat, para. 1). The frequency of hacker
attacks increases year after year. And every year “those seeking to infiltrate, exploit or attack
our cyber systems are more sophisticated and better resourced than the year before,” says
Public Safety Canada (2013A, Introduction, para. 5). Governments have responded to the
changing technical environment and the new threats it raises with bureaucratic and legal
frameworks. Launched on 3 October 2010, Canada’s Cyber Security Strategy is the federal
plan against cyber-security threats. The main objectives of the strategy are to secure
government systems and to work with others to secure systems outside of government. The
strategy is built on three pillars: securing government systems, partnering to secure vital
cyber systems outside the federal government, and helping Canadians to be secure online.
The Canadian Cyber Incident Response Centre operates within Public Safety Canada and is
more concerned with cyber-security outside the federal government. The 2010-2015 Action
Plan developed by Canada’s Cyber Security Strategy outlines several countermeasures and
initiatives, including the bureau Shared Services Canada, which aims to streamline and
secure the management of federal information technology infrastructure; GetCyberSafe, a
national public awareness campaign on cyber-security; $155 million in federal funding to
reinforce the security, stability, and resilience of the digital infrastructure; as well as
supporting cyber-security research and development. In the US, the Government Information
Security Reform Act of 2000 makes it mandatory for federal agencies to develop and
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implement risk-based, cost-effective policies and procedures for information security
management. One important countermeasure to cyber-security threats used by the public and
private sectors is ethical hacking.
Hacking and Ethical Hacking
Ethical hacking can be conceptualized through three disciplinary perspectives: ethical,
technical, and management. First, from a broad sociocultural perspective, ethical hacking
can be understood on ethical terms, by the intentions of hackers. In a broad brush, ethical
hackers espouse benevolent intentions and are considered white hats. Black hats espouse
malevolent or unethical intentions. Hackers may be motivated by a multitude of reasons,
including profit, protest, challenge, or publicity (Sterling, 1993). Engebretson (2011) argues
if hackers have the intent to provide the organization “a realistic attack simulation so that the
company can improve its security through early discovery and mitigation of vulnerabilities,
the attacker should be considered a white hat” (Setting the Stage, para. 10). In contrast, if the
intent is to “leverage information for personal profit or gain, the attacker should be
considered a black hat” (Setting the Stage, para. 10). Second, from an organizational
perspective, ethical hacking can be defined in technical terms as security testing or risk
assessment. Third, from a management perspective, ethical hacking can be defined as a risk
management strategy. In the computer security context, a hacker is someone who seeks and
exploits weaknesses in a computer system or computer network (Sterling, 1993). Cyber-
terrorism is,
the intentional use of threatening and disruptive actions, or attacks waged through
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