2026-06-12 バッファロー大学（UB）
◆研究者らは、正当な環境でハッキング技術を繰り返し使用するうちに、その行為が日常化し、合法・違法の境界が曖昧になる「倫理的希薄化（ethical fading）」が生じる可能性を指摘している。また、理想主義や法規範を重視する倫理観を持つ人ほど不正ハッキングへの関心が低い一方、状況に応じて善悪を判断する相対主義的傾向が強い人は関心が高いことも判明した。研究チームは、サイバー人材の育成や採用では技術力だけでなく倫理教育や価値観の評価も重要であり、専門家が高度な技術を社会に有益な形で活用できる仕組みづくりが必要だと結論づけている。
＜関連情報＞
- https://www.buffalo.edu/news/news-releases.host.html/content/shared/mgt/news/to-hack-or-not-ethical-question.detail.html
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0160791X26001776
ハッキングするかしないか、それが問題だ：ハッキングにおける倫理的指向 To hack or not to hack, that is the question: Ethical orientation in hacking
Yuhui Zhang, Laura Amo, Charles Border, Dianna Cichocki, Joana Gaia, David Murray, G. Lawrence Sanders, Sean Sanders, Shambhu Upadhyaya
Technology in Society Available online: 15 May 2026
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2026.103388
Highlights
- Idealism and deontology are associated with significantly lower interest in white-hat hacking.
- Idealism reduces interest in black-hat hacking, while deontology notably deters interest in gray-hat hacking.
- Relativism is not associated with an interest in any type of hacking.
- White-hat intent aligns with gray-hat and black-hat hacking interest patterns, indicating hacking interest co-occurrence.
- Males are more likely to indicate an interest in hacking.
Abstract
Much of the cybersecurity behavior research focuses on the role of motivation and psychological factors that influence hacking behavior and performance. There is, however, limited research on how an individual’s ethical orientation is associated with distinct hacking interests. Building on cybersecurity and ethics research, this paper examines how three dimensions of ethical orientation, specifically, idealism, relativism, and deontology, are associated with white-hat, gray-hat, and black-hat hacking interests. We tested our model using partial least squares structural equation modeling by surveying 542 management students. The results indicate that idealism was negatively associated with interest in illegal and unauthorized hacking (i.e., black-hat and gray-hat hacking) and with ethical hacking. By contrast, deontology was negatively associated with interest in gray-hat and white-hat hacking. Relativism showed no significant correlation with interest in hacking. Notably, interest in white-hat hacking was strongly associated with both gray-hat and black-hat hacking. This finding indicates a co-occurrence pattern in hacking interest related to the interest formation stage. We suggest that educators and organizations should implement ethics screening and training early in the cybersecurity curriculum to identify and manage risk.
