INVITATION TO CYBERSECURITY 286 transgressor. Persistent engagement recognizes cyberspace is fundamentally different from physical space, that deterrence in cyberspace is ineffective, and that territorial sovereignty need not be respected in the same way it is in physical space. Persistent engagement has helped establish international norms of behavior in cyberspace that respect international law and also reflect the uniqueness of the cyber domain. 10.4 Civil Disobedience “Rules that are judged unethical should be challenged. A rule may be unethical when it has an inadequate moral basis or causes recognizable harm. A computing professional should consider challenging the rule through existing channels before violating the rule. A computing professional who decides to violate a rule because it is unethical, or for any other reason, must consider potential consequences and accept responsibility for that action.” - Section 2.3, The ACM Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct As we have seen in this chapter, ethics, rights, and laws are related. Cybersecurity professionals need to understand how they interact and what to do if they ever come into conflict. Figure 10.1, shows how laws, including those that protect rights, and ethics, including those that are based on rights, relate to each other. The top-left square (legal-ethical) and bottom-right square (illegal-unethical) are obvious relationships. Examples of activities that are both legal and ethical include treating people fairly and telling the truth, and examples of activities that are both illegal and unethical are theft, assault, and fraud. Figure 10.1 The relationship between ethics and laws. The other two squares give rise to more interesting scenarios. The top-right square is the combination of legal-unethical. Many activities in this category are too trivial to demand the attention of law enforcement. Examples are lying and cheating. These are unethical but not illegal behaviors, although lying under oath (perjury) and cheating on one’s taxes are illegal. Also in this category of legal-unethical are ethical gray areas. For example, lying to protect another person’s feelings (a so-called “white lie”) is not illegal, but is potentially unethical. There are also activities, especially in spheres like cyberspace where
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