Consequences of Diminishing Trust in Cyberspace

The cyberspace has become an integral part of modern day life—social, economic, political, religious, medical and other aspects. Without the availability of the Internet today’s businesses, government and society cannot function properly. Moreover, different online social media and blogosphere are bringing people together, providing platforms to share their ideas and allowing their voices to be heard. Ideally, the cyberspace has no political, geographical or social boundaries; as a result it is promoting globalization and uniting people from all over the world. While the potential benefits of this interconnectivity are unlimited, this virtual world is also becoming hackers’ playground, underworld’s marketplace, nation-states’ battle ground, and a vehicle for propaganda and misinformation. In this paper, we argue that with the growing threat of coordinated attacks, release of complex malware and gradually diminished trust in freely-available information, the openness of the web and its global connectivity will no longer exist. Specifically, if this trend continues, the Internet will be partitioned, users will rely on information and news only through membership-based services, the information flow will be limited to geographical and political jurisdictions and will be highly regulated by governments, online businesses and critical knowledge will only be shared among alliance of friendly nations.