What Will the Future of Cybersecurity Bring Us, and Will It Be Ethical? The Hunt for the Black Swans of Cybersecurity Ethics

Abstract

Although the ethics of cybersecurity might seem to be simple, the matter can be surprisingly complicated. This paper discusses the results of an extensive study aimed at uncovering the anticipated, emerging ethical issues related to cybersecurity. First, it discusses the “strong signals”, i.e., the “mainstream” worries and concerns. Then, it uncovers the “weak signals” - the hidden, less-discussed concerns, which may still define the upcoming future of the ethics of cybersecurity. The results of the study are also compared to the outcomes of a similar experiment conducted two years ago, in order to see if the upcoming ethical dilemmas anticipated back then have in fact become a reality.

Keywords

• Cybersecurity
• ethical issues
• ethics
• weak signals