Is the Great Disruption Coming ?

Interesting discussion at this morning's session in Davos (World Economic Forum) entitled "Is the Great Disruption Coming." Not just because of the expected list of predictions of the I.T. evils that could fall on us -- but in a short discussion at the end over what could be a fatal flaw in the structure of the Net. That is its heritage of being based on trust. When it began the architects were the first users and they knew -- and could trust -- each other. But as it has grown at an unprecedented pace based on the trust model, it's becoming clear that many participants aren't trustworthy.

Some who join the community bring back-alley practices that truly threaten further adoption by legitimate users who must trust the system before they will expose themselves and their businesses further. If the open model can't ensure security -- and piling on endless box-based devices is surely not the answer -- then a fundamental fork in the road will appear, and many who could build on the public Net may to bypass it with their own private networks. And that will limit the benefits to all users.