Security concerns on the Internet are painfully real. Unfortunately, too many of the Internet access service providers simply provide a port and leave it up to the users to deal with security issues. That may have made sense in connecting a studentÕs PC, for which network security was not a significant concern, but is totally unacceptable for a hospital or a law firm with sensitive information on their networks. There are solutions. A variety of firewall offerings are available today, and improved offerings will be appealing. Privacy-enhanced mail offerings are also available to carry messages securely across the Ônet and to verify the authenticity of the sender. But none of these technologies is adequate to address the problem. Professional analysis is required to understand usersÕ technical and business environments and determine the appropriate approaches.
Predictor: Barker, Ben
Prediction, in context:The 1995 book “The Information Revolution,” edited by Donald Altschiller, carries a reprint of a 1994 Computerworld article ÒThe History of the Future,Ó by senior editor Gary H. Anthes. Anthes interviewed more than a dozen pioneers of ARPAnet, forerunner to todayÕs Internet, including Ben Barker, the senior vice president and chief technology officer at Bolt, Beranek and Newman (BBN). In 1969, he designed the hardware interfaces for ARPAnet. Anthes quotes Barker saying: ÒSecurity concerns on the Internet are painfully real. Unfortunately, too many of the Internet access service providers simply provide a port and leave it up to the users to deal with security issues. That may have made sense in connecting a studentÕs PC, for which network security was not a significant concern, but is totally unacceptable for a hospital or a law firm with sensitive information on their networks. There are solutions. A variety of firewall offerings are available today, and improved offerings will be appealing. Privacy-enhanced mail offerings are also available to carry messages securely across the Ônet and to verify the authenticity of the sender. But none of these technologies is adequate to address the problem. Professional analysis is required to understand usersÕ technical and business environments and determine the appropriate approaches.Ó
Date of prediction: January 1, 1994
Topic of prediction: Communication
Subtopic: Security/Encryption
Name of publication: The Information Revolution (book)
Title, headline, chapter name: The History of the Future
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
Page 42
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Guarino, Jennifer Anne