Free DSST Ethics in Technology Practice Test (2026)

Question 1

A website will share a user's data with advertisers only if the user actively checks a box agreeing to it. This consent approach is called

Accepted Answer

opt-in

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opt-out

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implied consent

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notice only

Question 2

Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (1996) is important to online platforms because it

Accepted Answer

generally shields them from liability for content posted by their users

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requires them to remove all offensive speech within 24 hours

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makes them legally responsible for every post as a publisher would be

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bans anonymous posting on US websites

Question 3

Stuxnet, discovered in 2010, is often cited as a landmark in information warfare because it

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was malicious code that physically damaged Iranian nuclear centrifuges

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shut down the entire internet in Estonia for a month

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stole millions of credit card numbers from US retailers

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was the first email virus to spread worldwide

Question 4

The gene-editing tool CRISPR raises special ethical concern when it is used to edit human embryos because

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the changes would pass to future generations who cannot consent

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it can only be used on plants and animals, never on human cells

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it is far too slow and costly to have any practical medical use

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it cannot change a single gene without changing all the others

Question 5

The Therac-25 radiation therapy machine gave several patients massive overdoses in the 1980s. Ethicists use the case mainly to show

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how software errors and weak safety practices can cause deadly harm

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that hardware is always more reliable than software in medical settings

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why medical devices should never be controlled by computers at all

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that patients are responsible for checking their own radiation doses

Question 6

Helen Nissenbaum's idea of 'contextual integrity' holds that a privacy violation occurs when

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information flows in a way that breaks the norms of the setting it was shared in

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any personal information at all is collected or stored by a private company

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information about a crime is kept secret from the government

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a person chooses to post information about himself publicly online

Question 7

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) of 1998 made it illegal in most cases to

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break or get around technical copy protection on copyrighted works

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make a backup copy of any software you own

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quote any part of a copyrighted book in a review

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link to another website without permission

Question 8

A group of computers infected with malware and controlled remotely to flood a website with traffic until it crashes is used to carry out a

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distributed denial-of-service attack

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targeted phishing attack

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SQL injection attack on a database

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man-in-the-middle attack

Question 9

In 2013, Edward Snowden leaked documents revealing that the US National Security Agency had been

Accepted Answer

collecting phone call metadata of millions of Americans in bulk

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selling citizens' data to private advertisers

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secretly running the major social media companies

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hacking into voting machines during elections

Question 10

The ACM Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct asks computing professionals, above all, to

Accepted Answer

contribute to society and human well-being and avoid harm

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maximize profits and market share for their employers

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keep all source code and designs secret from the public

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follow any instruction a paying client gives, without question

Question 11

Many Internet of Things devices, such as cameras and smart plugs, were taken over by the Mirai botnet in 2016. The main weakness it exploited was

Accepted Answer

default or easily guessed passwords that users never changed

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the devices' use of solar power

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strong encryption that slowed down the devices

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the devices' lack of a screen

Question 12

Which US law makes it a federal crime to access a computer without authorization or to exceed one's authorized access?

Accepted Answer

The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act

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The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act

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The Electronic Communications Privacy Act's wiretap rules

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The CAN-SPAM Act

Question 13

A cookie placed by an advertising network that follows a user across many different websites is called a

Accepted Answer

third-party cookie

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first-party cookie

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session cookie

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secure cookie

Question 14

The USA PATRIOT Act, passed shortly after the September 11, 2001 attacks, is controversial mainly because it

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expanded the government's surveillance and data-collection powers

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banned encryption software for private citizens

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required all internet traffic to pass through the government

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abolished the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court

Question 15

Eli Pariser's term 'filter bubble' describes

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algorithms that show users mostly content matching their existing views

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a software tool that blocks spam, pop-ups and malware from reaching users

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a government's filtering of foreign websites and news sources

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a security barrier placed between a private network and the internet

Question 16

In deciding whether a use of copyrighted material is fair use, US courts weigh four factors. Which of the following is one of them?

Accepted Answer

The effect of the use on the market for the original work

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Whether the user is a US citizen

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How many times the user has used the work before

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Whether the work was published online

Question 17

An autonomous car's software must be programmed in advance for a crash that cannot be avoided, choosing between harming its passenger or pedestrians. This dilemma is a version of

Accepted Answer

the trolley problem

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the prisoner's dilemma

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the tragedy of the commons

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Moore's law

Question 18

The Council of Europe's Budapest Convention (2001) is significant because it is

Accepted Answer

the first international treaty on cybercrime, aligning laws and cooperation

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the United Nations agreement that bans all cyberweapons worldwide

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the European Union law that governs the privacy of personal data

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a trade agreement that removes tariffs on computer hardware

Question 19

In New York Times Co. v. United States (1971), the Pentagon Papers case, the Supreme Court ruled that

Accepted Answer

the government had not justified prior restraint to stop publication

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newspapers may never publish any classified government information

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journalists must reveal their confidential sources to a grand jury

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the press is not protected by the First Amendment in wartime

Question 20

Repeatedly posting cruel messages and embarrassing photos about a classmate on social media is best described as

Accepted Answer

cyberbullying

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phishing

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spoofing

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data mining

Question 21

In 2016, Apple refused an FBI request to write software that would unlock an iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino attackers. The case centered on

Accepted Answer

whether companies should be forced to weaken encryption for lawful access

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whether phone companies may sell their customers' location data

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whether the FBI could seize Apple's patents

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whether social media posts are protected speech

Question 22

A 'white hat' hacker is someone who

Accepted Answer

breaks into systems with permission to find and fix weaknesses

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breaks into systems to steal and sell data for personal profit

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attacks government systems to promote a political or social cause

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spreads harmless viruses to test how the public reacts

Question 23

The 'digital divide' refers to

Accepted Answer

the gap between people with good access to computers and the internet and those without

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the split in the tech industry between hardware and software engineers

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the technical difference between analog and digital signals in electronics

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the separation of the global internet into closed national networks

Question 24

A software engineer discovers that her company is shipping a product with a known safety flaw and reports it to regulators after managers ignore her. Her action is an example of

Accepted Answer

whistle-blowing

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industrial espionage

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insider trading

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reverse engineering

Question 25

Combining many separate, harmless-looking pieces of data about a person, such as purchases, locations and searches, to build a detailed profile is known as

Accepted Answer

data aggregation

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data encryption

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data compression

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data backup

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