Let’s deepen our understanding of Aristotle’s Golden Mean by reflecting on our own experiences. Try to recall any situations in your cybersecurity work where you faced an ethical dilemma. What were the key considerations that influenced your decision? If you haven’t faced such a situation, imagine a potential scenario and think through how you might respond.
Here are some fictive examples to help guide your reflection:
1. Balancing Transparency and Security
Imagine you are a security professional who discovered a significant vulnerability in your company’s product. You believe in transparency and feel the company should notify its users about the vulnerability. However, the management fears that such transparency could expose the company to hackers and risk the company’s reputation. You are torn between the need for transparency (an extreme of oversharing) and the need for security (an extreme of withholding information).
2. Using Hacking Skills Responsibly
Consider a situation where you, as an ethical hacker, found a way to breach a competitor’s security system. On one hand, you are curious about exploring the system further, potentially uncovering major vulnerabilities. On the other hand, you understand that unauthorized access is against the law and could have severe consequences.
3. Decision-Making Under Pressure
Suppose a cyberattack is in progress on your organization’s network. You believe you can stop the attack, but it would involve temporarily shutting down critical services, impacting the organization’s operations. The choice here is between preventing potential damage from the attack and maintaining uninterrupted service.
In each scenario, applying Aristotle’s Golden Mean could involve finding a balanced, moderate position that doesn’t lean excessively towards either extreme.
Activity Template for Teachers
As a teacher, guide your students in reflecting on their experiences or hypothetical situations using the following questions:
- Identifying the Dilemma: Can you recall a situation where you faced an ethical dilemma in your cybersecurity work? What were the competing considerations or values? If you can’t think of a real example, imagine a potential scenario.
- Applying the Golden Mean: How did you (or would you) navigate the dilemma? Can you identify the extremes in this situation? How could Aristotle’s concept of the Golden Mean guide your decision-making?
- Reflecting on the Outcome: If this was a real situation, were you satisfied with the decision you made? If it was a hypothetical scenario, do you feel prepared to handle such a situation in the future?
The purpose of this exercise is to help students apply Aristotle’s Golden Mean to real-world situations, enhancing their ability to navigate ethical dilemmas in cybersecurity.