Peer-to-Peer Networks The IT Manager was excited about your plans to implement software restriction policies in the new network Peer-to-Peer Networks Peer-to-Peer Networks upgrade. They have been experiencing problems with employees downloading unlicensed software off of peer-to-peer networks and installing them on company computers. Discuss these challenges with your team. What are the ethical and moral dilemmas in using peer-to-peer networks? Are they fundamentally right or wrong? Describe at least two successful legislations related to computer security, information privacy, or Internet crime. Did they effectively address the issues? How could they do better?

Peer-to-Peer Networks

Peer-to-peer networks provide various benefits, such as increasing the ease of sharing files between users, providing fault tolerance in a network, and addressing the issue of censorship in the network. Despite the various benefits of peer-to-peer networks, they also present challenges that raise ethical and moral dilemmas. An example of an ethical issue raised by peer-to-peer networks includes the unrestricted sharing of copyrighted files (Christin, 2011). Apart from sharing copyrighted files, the issue of sharing illegal files is associated with peer-to-peer networks. Various aspects have to be considered to determine whether peer-to-peer networks are fundamentally right or wrong. These aspects include the end-users, the content providers, and Internet Service Providers (ISPs). From the end-users perspectives, peer-to-peer networks provide an opportunity to access the content they require by paying the least possible charge. While content providers note the loss of revenue from the presence of peer-to-peer networks, changes in their business models can address copyright infringement issues (Christin, 2011).

Do you need urgent assignment help ? Contact us. We are determined to provide you with excellent service.

According to Christin (2011), ISPs can throttle the bandwidth of peer-to-peer networks to discourage end-users from accessing copyrighted information. However, the purchase of better bandwidth connectivity by end-users provided a moral dilemma for the ISPs. According to Small et al. (2012), monitoring peer-to-peer networks can be essential when addressing copyright infringement and security issues. However, this can present privacy issues in the network. Therefore, determining whether peer-to-peer networks are right or wrong depends on the perspective of the different parties involved in the peer-to-peer networks. Examples of some of the legislation that addresses computer security, information privacy, and internet crime include the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). The CFAA addresses aspects of network security such as trafficking of passwords, unauthorized access, and transmission of extortion threats. On the other hand, HIPAA addresses privacy, security, and even breach notification aspects. Legislations, such as the CFAA, effectively address various possible security issues such as hacking, denial-of-service, phishing, malware, and even identity theft.

References

Christin, N. (2011). Peer-to-peer networks: Interdisciplinary challenges for interconnected systems. In Information Assurance and Security Ethics in Complex Systems: Interdisciplinary Perspectives (pp. 81-103). IGI Global.

Cybersecurity 2020: Laws and Regulations: USA: ICLG. (2019, October 22). Retrieved October 14, 2020, from https://iclg.com/practice-areas/cybersecurity-laws-and-regulations/usa

Small, N., Meneghello, J., Lee, K., Sabooniha, N., & Schippers, R. (2012). A discussion on the ethical issues in peer-to-peer network monitoring.