Question

Both Lucy and Ricardo are attending a hacker conference, TestudoCON, in College Park. Ricardo has discovered a vulnerability in a popular loT device that allows him to achieve limited remote code execution. He has attempted to contact the manufacturer of the device, but after 4 months of documented emails and phone calls he has never been able to contact the company to disclose the vulnerability. He believes the company may no longer be in business. Ricardo gives a brief at the conference where he outlines the details of the vulnerability, shows a working exploit, and provides a link to a GitHub repository where others can find a functioning proof of concept source code. Is this an example of ethical or unethical disclosure, why?

Answer 1

This is an example of ethical disclosure. Ricardo responsibly tried to contact the manufacturer about the vulnerability for several months before making it public.

Step-by-step explanation:

This is an example of ethical disclosure. Ethical disclosure occurs when a security researcher responsibly discloses a vulnerability to the affected party with the intention of protecting potential victims and giving the company a chance to fix the vulnerability. In this case, Ricardo made numerous attempts to contact the manufacturer and disclose the vulnerability but was unsuccessful in reaching them. He then chose to disclose the vulnerability at the conference to raise awareness and provide a proof of concept source code for others to understand and potentially find a solution.

While Ricardo's actions may be considered ethical, it's important to note that responsible disclosure typically involves giving the affected party a reasonable amount of time to fix the vulnerability before making it public. In this case, Ricardo made extensive attempts to contact the manufacturer over a span of 4 months. However, it's always advisable to consult legal and ethical guidelines specific to cybersecurity and responsible disclosure in your jurisdiction.