> A student at a school (which has stated NO policies, either verbal, physical
> or electronic) is going before a diciplanary commitiee because he copied some
> files that were world readable..
>
> The computer department is seeking expulsion because of a catch in the
> student manual which basically states that students are expected
> to behave according to the higest set of ethics.. Nothing more, no
> descriptions of what those ethics are, not even an ethics class (computer
> or otherwise)..
>
> So, with that said, was it ethical for the student to copy the file?
> And (more importantly) should the student be expelled (or even diciplined)?
> and if so, what should that be?
If the file was, say, /etc/passwd, and the purpose was to run crack, and
the user is not an administrator, then I agree with the administration
decision.
If the file was another student's project, and the user turned it in
as his own work, again, more power to the administration.
One reading of your question is, can people be held responsible for
their actions if the incompetence of others allows them to do things
they should not be doing? My answer is "yes, but it is easier to do
if the rules are written down".
Bryan Koch
Data Security Leader VOICE: +1-612-683-3129 (1-800-284-2729 x33129)
Cray Research, Inc. FAX: +1-612-683-3099
Eagan, Minnesota, USA EMAIL: btk @
cray .
com
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