Internet Security And The Tragedy Of The Commons

Abstract

The size, complexity and growth of the Internet have caused numerous security problems for the average user because of the seemingly insurmountable task of securing their computers. Internet security has traditionally been thought of as requiring formal security solutions such as cryptography, firewalls and prescribed security models, but in fact most Internet security problems continue to be caused by users of the system who have no incentive to modify their behavior. Internet security is a shared resource and as such it is affected by the tragedy of the commons whereby inactions by some users cause their computers to consume more Internet resources and this causes further deterioration of the network. For example, why should the rest of the Internet continue to suffer because some users have yet to patch their computers from the Code Red worm of many years ago? We propose that the cost of Internet security should be the responsibility of the individual users and a sum of money should be held in deposit for every user of the Internet before they are allowed to join the network and this should be forfeited if inaction from these users then cause network degradation.