Abstract

Rapid technological advances, particularly in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and automation, have intensified the ethical challenges associated with cybersecurity practice. In high-stakes roles such as penetration testers, professionals must navigate complex technical, legal, and moral dilemmas. Yet current training curricula often place disproportionate emphasis on technical skills with limited guidance on ethical responsibilities. This study investigates how ethical leadership competences can be more effectively embedded into cybersecurity education by using the penetration tester role as a case study. Drawing on postgraduate learners’ responses in relation to the ACM Code of Ethics, the study examines which ethical leadership principles they consider essential for conducting responsible penetration testing and how these perceptions align with broader expectations for ethical leadership in cybersecurity. The findings reveal strong emphasis on operational ethics but comparatively limited awareness of competence-related and societal dimensions. These results highlight gaps in how ethical leadership is currently taught. The study contributes insights into the pedagogical value of professional codes of ethics as structured tools for ethical reflection and skills development. It further offers practical recommendations for educators and curriculum designers seeking to integrate ethical leadership competences more explicitly into cybersecurity education, while outlining directions for future research on strengthening ethical leadership across the cybersecurity workforce.