The Future of Cybersecurity

Considering the number of times I've had to restore, wipe and/or re-format my computers due to viruses and rootkits within the past decade, one would figure that I've grown weary from repeatedly "hanging myself" with the rope that the desktop model offers me as Timothy Lee put it in his article, "How I learned to stop worrying and love the App Store" . This hasn't been the case however, as I grudgingly start over on a clean slate, learning something new about cybersecurity every time...I've come a long way from falling for $1 million reward offers and generous offers from Nigerian princes.

Perhaps its because of my limited exposure to the non-generative iOS (which Lee attempts to demystify and which Zittrain warns against in his book), as well as having only owned PC's that I haven't paid much mind to the app store model and its cybersecurity advantages up until now. The restrictions on variety, innovation and free speech mentioned in the Lee article and in the Zittrain reading so far seem to outweigh these advantages, though Lee does make good, law-based suggestions towards the end that could provide a balance between security and generativity...if the app store giants decide to follow it.

In Chapter 3 of his book, Zittrain chronicles the increasing threat of malware since the days of the innocuous Morris worm, and how the generative model we've all come to know is one large catastrophe away from being reconsidered. While I do agree that we're in a seemingly perpetual war against malware, I also agree that the small window of opportunity to nip this problem in the bud, back when computers and internet were mostly used for non-commercial purposes, has long passed. I don't agree with the idea that the generative model will meet its demise....millions of users around the world (including myself) are too accustomed and set in their ways for that to happen. Those who want a more secure computing experience can always jump to Apple's products. I think the generative and app-based models will continue to co-exist for a long while.