In the future, as the information superhighway looks more like an electronic marketplace, “digital cash” might be vulnerable to theft. “Burglars” might be able to break into a computer and download cash, and “muggers” might be able to rob intelligent agents that have been sent out on the network with cash to purchase information goods.
Predictor: Denning, Dorothy
Prediction, in context:In a 1994 article for the Journal of Criminal Justice Education, Dorothy Denning writes about a growing Internet marketplace and the risk of emerging computer criminals: ”In the future, as the information superhighway looks more like an electronic marketplace, ‘digital cash’ might be vulnerable to theft. ‘Burglars’ might be able to break into a computer and download cash, and ‘muggers’ might be able to rob intelligent agents that have been sent out on the network with cash to purchase information goods.”
Biography:Dorothy Denning was a professor and chair of Computer Science at Georgetown University in the 1990s, by which time she had been in the field of computer security and cryptography for two decades. Previous to her arrival at GU, she worked at Digital Equipment Corporation, SRI International and Purdue University. Her books include “Cryptography and Data Security” and “Information Warfare and Security.” She authored many Internet research studies. She was the first president of the International Association for Cryptologic Research. (Research Scientist/Illuminator.)
Date of prediction: December 13, 1994
Topic of prediction: Economic structures
Subtopic: E-cash
Name of publication: Journal of Criminal Justice Education
Title, headline, chapter name: Crime and Crypto on the Information Superhighway
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
http://www.cs.georgetown.edu/~dennning/crypto/Crime-and-Crypto.txt
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Dorne, Jay