Society runs on trust. We trust people, organisations and systems every day. We do it so automatically, we hardly notice. However, the flip side of the coin is that, in any system of trust, comes abuse of that trust.
These were the words of security guru and author Bruce Schneier, speaking during his keynote address at the RSA Conference 2012, in London, yesterday.
Understanding how different societal pressures work, or don't work, is crucial to understanding the problems we face in today's increasingly technological and interconnected world.
According to him, technology is changing how social systems work, and is upsetting the balance of societal pressures and responses. He believes society has to rebalance somehow, perhaps with new legislation or different societal pressures.
He refers to the elements that abuse the trust as defectors. "Making sure these defectors don't destroy the system is not a new problem. We have developed a set of societal pressures to ensure co-operation. Moral codes, reputational systems, institutions, and of course, security."
However, he says we need these defectors, as too much security would mean essentially living in a police state.
Attackers have an automatic advantage, as they can utilise innovation quicker.
He says the Web has spawned a new criminal that is hard to catch and prosecute. Traditional policing methods are not effective when combating cyber crime, and police forces are playing catch-up. This will delay the rebalance that is much needed, he said.
What is needed, according to Schneier, is more societal pressure to deal with the effects of technology, and at the same time, less to ensure an open, free and evolving society. How to achieve this will be the challenge in years to come, he concluded.
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