Edward Lucas - Cyberphobia Identity, Trust, Security and the Internet

Crossing the road, we look both ways. Riding a bicycle at night, we use lights. So why is our attitude towards online security so relaxed? Edward Lucas reveals the ways in which cyberspace is not the secure zone we may hope, how passwords provide no significant obstacle to anyone intent on getting past them, and how anonymity is easily accessible to anyone - malign or benign - willing to take a little time covering their tracks. The internet was designed by a small group of computer scientists looking for a way to share information quickly. In the last twenty years it has expanded rapidly to become a global information superhighway, available to all comers, but also wide open to those seeking invisibility. This potential for anonymity means neither privacy nor secrecy are really possible for law-abiding corporations or citizens. As identities can be faked so easily the very foundations on which our political, legal and economic systems are based are vulnerable. Businesses,