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Peter Cochrane's Hard Drive 1998 Don't believe the scaremongers ACCORDING to the media, and popular wisdom, the two greatest hazards of the Internet are pornography and security. I have no idea why this is so, nor how these myths have become dominant concerns of the press, and primary inhibitors for new and established businesses to enter the world of electronic commerce. The reality is that better-quality pornography is available from book shops (so they tell me), and the Net is inherently more secure than the world it is replacing. Of course, there is a proviso: we should not be stupid. Secure Internet sites are available for children and provide a high degree of protection from undesirable material and people. In general, this protection is far more effective than that afforded in the world of paper, audio and video tape, radio and TV. On the security front, the situation is even better. There has not been a single recorded instance of anyone having a credit card number intercepted on the Net and being defrauded. On a recent train journey, I handed a passenger my business card, on which I had written his name, address, credit card number and bank branch details. He demanded to know where I had got this sensitive information. I looked him in the eye and said: "When you use a mobile phone, you shout." Electronic crime does not demand fancy technology, just opportunism. For many people, making a purchase by giving someone charge card details over the telephone or Internet is seen as risky and insecure. Why? Because they have been told it is so. But these same people buy petrol, food and goods from stores, and hand over their plastic to a stranger who makes a paper copy, asks for their signature, and retains the whole; no questions asked, not a thought about security. At street cash machines, people stand well back so you can see them enter their PIN, and cast their paper receipt to the floor. What wonderful opportunities for the thief. These people then declare uncertainty and worry about the Net, fostered by the unthinking media. Most security failures can be traced to human fallibility; bribery and corruption. Granted, electronic break-ins are on the increase, but so is the theft of complete machines, the violation of offices, paper records and mail. So in what respect is the e-world so different? Well, only in its scale and apparent invisibility. E-working now dominates the developed world and crime will naturally follow, so we should take sensible precautions. Who would leave the door of their home unlocked? In the same way, we should not leave computers wide open to attack via some unlocked, networked access. Entire legal systems stand or fall by pen and ink - the human signature is legally binding. It is also easy to forge. Paper money, gold and silver are easy to steal, but require visible physical action. E-crime, on the other hand, can introduce new dimensions of reach, scale and anonymity. Of course, we can apply counter-measures, such as regularly changing passwords and code sequences, but this can become expensive and inconvenient. I prefer multiple low-cost, and simple, protection methods including network disconnection when not active, light encryption, passwords, and locked files. But most of all I rely on common sense. Peter Cochrane is BT Head of Research. Opinions expressed in this column are his personal views and should not be taken as reflecting BT policy or intent. Peter Cochrane holds the Collier Chair for the Public Understanding of Science & Technology at the University of Bristol. His home page is: |
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