The Legal System and Ethics in Information Security

Security plays a big part in today’s world of computers, e-commerce and the Internet. Technology however, has brought with it, the evils of crime. We thus need laws to protect those who maybe exposed to these new threats. In this paper, I will discuss the issues faced by the legal system in keeping up with the fast paced development of technology, the ways in which the current laws can help, and I will also enumerate a few of the laws that have been developed specifically to address computer crime in the United States. Finally, the paper describes the role that ethics have to play in the world of computer security, and how they must be developed hand in hand with laws and statutes to govern the rights and wrongs of the computer world. © S A N S In st itu te 2 00 2, A ut ho r r et ai ns fu ll ri gh ts . Key fingerprint = AF19 FA27 2F94 998D FDB5 DE3D F8B5 06E4 A169 4E46 Key fingerprint = AF19 FA27 2F94 998D FDB5 DE3D F8B5 06E4 A169 4E46 © SANS Institute 2002, As part of the Information Security Reading Room. Author retains full rights. Table of