2022SPEAIT_Immo Fritze

     Over the years many different operating systems have been developed on the base of Linux. Due to its moldability the individual systems are tailored to a certain user-group and thus for a certain set of tasks. Distributions vary from versions for office users to systems for super computers, the range covers all aspects of operating systems. One of the more known systems are Ubuntu and Kali. Whilst Ubuntu focuses on Linux starters, offering a clean user interface and complementary applications such as LibreOffice, media players and browsers, Kali was designed for offensive cybersecurity. It has pre-installed tools that were developed for penetration testing and ethical hacking.      Kali is being developed by only a small team; thus, they concentrate on the cybersecurity specifications and use an existing operating system as a base. In 2010 and 2011 they used Ubuntu as their base, they since have changed to Debian and kept it. Ubuntu, which was also i...

 What society defines to be a hacker is a distorted version of its  original definition. While the definitions from inside the hackerdom have a rather social, goodhearted and innovative element, the non-IT society sees hackers as threats to their personal information. In his text “Hacker Ethic” the philosopher Pekka Himanen proposes seven ideals that hackers should abide. The ideals, although mentioning ethics at several points, do not define a clear limit, which I would expect to exist in a text defining the hackerdom. The ideals; passion and freedom, highlight the creativeness that should drive a hacker, which I agree with. Generally I agree that whatever one does should be pushing oneself, motivating to explore the depth of the field, however if that means violating other legal and ethical codes, that would be too much freedom. The original definition of a hacker, a passionate IT expert, does not imply an unethical use of its skills, however a hacker by the societally kno...

     Another disputed topic is online privacy, should we have complete privacy? It is a very complicated discussion as the counter argument is strong. Complete privacy also ensures a high degree of anonymity therefore making it more difficult for law enforcement to identify criminals or other wrong doers. However, an individual with no intentions of criminal activity will feel wrongfully treated.      The NSA and other security agencies run security checks on specific words, phrases and activities on certain websites. If the words “bomb”, “how to build a weapon” etc. are searched the user will most probably be registered by their system. In such cases I would agree that an increased interest in such topics should be monitored as they could pose a certain threat, but as somebody that studies engineering and is sometimes merely interested in knowing how things work and the science behind certain technologies, I feel uncomfortable doing research on such topi...

       Censorship is a strongly debated topic, whilst some states used it to control the content their citizens can access, limiting their rights and freedoms, some institutions argue that their censorship protects its networks users. One example are libraries or educational institutions, especially schools censor certain websites such as gaming website, adult websites and possibly others. Some are blocked with the argument that they should not be accessed by children and for certain websites it’s the distraction that is a factor.      At our school initially YouTube was blocked which teachers very quickly recognized as a problem as our school was digitally proactive and incorporated online resources into everyday class. Multiple other websites were taken off the ban, however the school office was reluctant to remove the ban completely. Teachers and staff were provided with a separate internet connection so that they were not required to circumvent a...

     When the Internet started to grow many threats started to appear and with it the need for security in the digital world. To protect its users, companies started to implement passwords, however that prompted the first generation of hackers. Who’s attempts to crack the feeble code structures that were supposed to “protect” the users created further distress. The constantly challenged systems prompted a varied development of security protocols and softwares. Whilst some passwords are meant to provide online security, others protect hardware and some softwares provide security for different digital threats such as viruses and trojans. However, the online space grows on a daily basis and is included into educational, state and everyday systems requiring increasing security measures.      Kevin Mitnick, hacker and IT-expert, defines security with three factors: technology, training and policy, depending on the digital culture of a country a different level...