Generativity may destroy the internet

Rob Stringer

A leading academic has warned that the benefits of the internet may have set it on a path to its own destruction.

Johnathan Zittrain, professor of internet governance at the Oxford Internet Institute, puts the threat down to ‘generativity’; a term which encapsulates those open products that allow users to build their own applications without requiring permission from, for instance, the makers of their personal computer. While this enables creativity and interactivity, it also opens the door to the multitude of viruses and worms waiting in the shadows. Hacking, argues Zittrain, is the ‘drug trade equivalent’ for the internet.

"I want recognition from people that the network they enjoy now is in many important respects a collective hallucination," states Zittrain. "If too many of them start treating it as a cash and carry service, they are going to get the network they deserve."

Zittrain cites ‘sterile’ technology such as the iPhone as a possible ‘cure’. The system will not allow a user to write or add programmes without Apple’s permission. Although this offers the user a greater sense of security, it is not without its dangers - a prevailing concern being that the user must hand over proprietorial control to the organisation, leading to damaged innovation and potential abuse. The iPhone’s lack of compatibility with certain programmes has recently led critics to claim that it’s not yet ready for business use.

If we cannot address these problems, Zittrain claims, the ‘happy accident’ of the internet may face meltdown, unless we lock it down first.

“The public and businesses alike need to consider deploying technologies that monitor and only allow known good applications or devices to connect to their PC or network,” maintains Andrew Clarke, senior vice president of Lumension Security.

“Whilst this ‘whitelisting’ approach has had a reputation for impacting productivity, the technology has progressed rapidly since it emerged on the market, not prohibiting the user entirely, but allowing them to access data and execute programs that are needed to perform their daily tasks while keeping the malicious activities out”, Clarke concludes.

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