My, Dave Farber, Interview in MIS Asia Magazine (Singapore)

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

MIS Asia Magazine (Singapore), 07/08/2005
 The Big Question: Will Cios Abandon The Internet?
 By Tissie Adhistia

 Professor David Farber, considered by many as the grandfather of the
 Internet, recently delivered a talk in Singapore. He tells Tissie  
Adhistia
 that CIOs may not have a choice when it comes to use of the Internet.

 As the Internet poses many annoyances and threats, CIOs may rebel  
against
 using it. What is your view?

 I think they don't have a choice when it comes to the use of the  
Internet.
 It is part of the business fabric. It's like your telephone, it may  
annoy
 you but you can't get rid of it because you'll be out of business.

 So, what CIOs should be doing is putting pressure on vendors to  
implement
 the best security measures. Essentially holding their noses to the
 grindstone, and not agreeing to any exemptions. It is not an easy  
problem.

 It's all the cost of doing business. It's a trade-off and companies  
could
 actually say they can live with the problems because the benefits are
 enormous. So I don't believe that people would turn away from the
 Internet, as the advantages would balance off the annoyance and  
threats.

 How important is an Internet security standard and how do you see its
 progress?

 Yes it is important. In the long term, a security standard is  
mostly going
 to be motivated by insurance companies. In most companies, even if  
they
 don't have direct cyber insurance, they have insurance that covers  
a lot
 of their operations. And those insurance companies will start  
taking into
 account the risks that will be reflected in their premiums.

 Also in the US, there are rules that require businesses to certify  
that
 their financial data is properly protected. If they lie about it,
 certainly stockholders will not be pleased. So there are a lot of
 practices that make people pay attention to Internet security.  
Again, it's
 a trade-off. I think people will be willing to spend a reasonable  
amount
 of money on security to meet the standard.

 The Internet is dominated by a few major players. What is the  
implication
 given that it is supposed to be an open platform?

 I think it is open. I use myself four different browsers and I  
constantly
 trade them. Each has its advantages. I would use them for different
 purposes depending on the advantages. For example, Google is good  
for some
 things but terrible for others.

 People use the whole set of these browsers or search engines, and more
 will come out. Domination doesn't last long if they don't innovate.  
The
 Microsoft browser has survived only because it has sort of welded  
into the
 environment so it's hard to get rid of.

 What is the future of the Internet with the claims of Internet-enabled
 devices?

 The Internet will be everywhere and it's progressively more  
difficult to
 get away from. The Internet gives access to the world, so nations that
 tend to limit that will suddenly find themselves insulated from the  
rest
 of the world, and that can have a dangerous impact right now.

 So I think it's going to be more difficult for people to remain  
insulated.
 In the long run, it will cause grief to a lot of businesses but  
also a lot
 of happiness.

 Companies often stretch the truth


 What is the critical thing CIOs must bear in mind when keeping up  
with the
 Internet?


 I think they have to understand what's real and what's not from what
 they're being told, because companies often stretch the truth. CIOs  
should
 ask hard questions and constantly demand hard answers, and use it  
as they
 go. If they're not technically competent themselves to ask  
questions, they
 will need to have staff who are.


 CIOs also have to answer to CEOs on the business process, that it is
 always secure. As CEOs are the ones accountable for the security of  
the
 business, CIOs who cannot give that assurance won't be CIOs for  
very long.


 David Farber, a career professor of computer science and public  
policy,
 School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University in the US,  
has
 been involved with networking for over 45 years.


 He received the John Scott Award in 1996 for inventions that have
 contributed to humanity (previous recipients include Madam Curie,  
Thomas
 Edison and The Wright Brothers).


 His talk in Singapore was organised by the School of Information  
Systems
 of Singapore Management University and supported by the Infocomm
 Development Authority of Singapore and the Singapore Computer Society.




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