Philosophy of information. Social Sciences Assignment

PHILOSOPHY OF INFORMATION
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Introduction
The current age of information technology has opened up new possibilities that would initially be unimaginable. Increased connectivity through the use of computers and the internet has meant that people can easily meddle into the affairs of others without permission. This can be termed as espionage or even breach of personal privacy. When it comes to international matters, cyber technology has made it possible for countries to spy on each other, especially on issues to do with the military. Spying on the security matters of a foreign nation can even be considered as an act of war. This brings to the forth the issue of military cyber conflict concerning the ethical protocols.
Cyber Conflict
Cyber conflict can be defined as the utilization of the available technological resources at a country’s disposal to cause some significant degree of harm to another country; in a manner comparable to what is done in war. It always manifests itself in various ways that can sometimes start as simple spams in mails, to system jams, and even large scale disruption of communication networks. It is often correlated to cyber terrorism, as the impacts on a target country can sometimes border on catastrophic. It would be unimaginable to assess the threat posed by such intrusion, on nuclear power installations.[, Valeriano, Brandon, and Ryan C. Maness. 2015. Cyberwar versus cyber realities: cyber conflict in the international system.]
Cyber conflict presents the biggest weakness of the computer system; its ability to be hacked or infiltrated with or without knowledge of the owner. As a new frontier in the battle for internal security and even regional domination, militaries around the world have embarked on their own set of programs geared towards defense against or attack using cyber technology. While foreign armies might pose threats, there is also the underlying reality that some of these attacks can be from isolated individuals trying out their stuff. With the complex nature of network technologies across the globe, it becomes clear how complicated cyber conflict can get.[. David Weissbrodt, Cyber-Conflict, Cyber-Crime, and Cyber-Espionage, 22 Minn. J. Int'l L. 347 (2013), available at https://scholarship.law.umn.edu/faculty_articles/223.]
It brings to the fore the determination of state and non-state actors. Hackers are always scouring the internet, trying to find any loopholes in the security systems around critical installations. A field day for them can entail shutting down of entire government websites, or even hijacking the operations of the said systems or also coming up with clones of the same. As for fraudsters, this can be a chance for them to siphon funds and other relevant information from the systems secretly. All in all, cyber conflict provides an entirely new frontier for the military and security systems across the world.[Ventre, Daniel. 2012. Cyber conflict: competing for national perspectives. London: ISTE. http://site.ebrary.com/id/10660597.]
PART A: Virtue ethics and consequentialism as protocols for Ethical decision making in military cyber conflict.
* Ethical Responsibility of Technological Systems
When it comes to ethics concerni...