[IP] Deworming the Internet -- addressing market failure in computer security
Begin forwarded message:
From: Douglas Barnes <salguod@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: November 20, 2004 10:48:55 AM EST
To: dave@xxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Deworming the Internet -- addressing market failure in
computer security
Dave--
I thought IP folks might be interested in a paper I've written which is
just
now available on SSRN. In part it's a response to the periodic calls
for
"liability" (notably from Bruce Schneier) as a mechanism for solving
computer problems. The upshot is that I think Bruce is right that
there is
a need for a regulatory response, but that extending, say, tort
liability to
software would be a disaster. In addition to my more complicated law &
economics argument for why this is, I point out in passing that ordinary
tort liability could crush open source software, which has the
potential to
act as a positive force in addressing the underlying market failure.
Links and abstract below. Comments welcome.
Cheers,
Douglas Barnes
===========
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/Delivery.cfm/SSRN_ID622364_code402123.pdf?
abstra
ctid=622364&mirid=1 or http://papers.ssrn.com/abstract=622364
Abstract:
Both law enforcement and markets for software standards have failed to
solve
the problem of software that is vulnerable to infection by
network-transmitted worms. Consequently, regulatory attention should
turn to
the publishers of worm-vulnerable software. Although ordinary tort
liability
for software publishers may seem attractive, it would interact in
unpredictable ways with the winner-take-all nature of competition among
publishers of mass-market, internet-connected software. More tailored
solutions are called for, including mandatory "bug bounties" for those
who
find potential vulnerabilities in software, minimum quality standards
for
software, and, once the underlying market failure is remedied,
liability for
end users who persist in using worm-vulnerable software.
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