Brent Rowe

Are home internet users willing to pay ISPs for improvements in cyber security

One strategy for improving cyber security would be for Internet service providers (ISPs) to take a more active role in curtailing criminal behavior over the Internet. However, few ISPs today are offering robust security to their customers, arguing that home Internet users are unwilling to pay for improvements in cyber security. This lack of ISP involvement in improving cyber security has led some industry experts to support government solutions that encourage ISPs to take a more active role in security. Yet no prior studies have attempted to evaluate empirically whether home Internet users are willing to pay the monetary and nonmonetary costs of ISP-based security solutions. This makes it difficult to determine whether government intervention is necessary, what form the intervention should take, and what the welfare impacts of intervention would be. Our research takes the first step in filling this gap in the literature. Specifically, we used choice-based conjoint analysis to examine the preferences of US Internet users. We found that home users are indeed willing to accept price increases, ISP-required security training, and security related interruptions of their Internet service in exchange for reductions in the risk of their computer slowing down or crashing, the risk of their identity being stolen, or the risk that others will be affected by their insecurity. This finding suggests that Internet users would be willing to pay for ISPs to take a more active role in security if the benefits of ISP-based security solutions were clearly communicated to them.

Complex standards and innovation in the digital economy: the Internet Protocol

As Web-based services evolve from a medium for data exchange to a system for managing geographically-dispersed work flows, the complexity of the supporting infrastructure is increasing along with the sophistication of the actual services. This paper presents a case study of the global transition to IPv6 to illustrate the importance of a standards infrastructure in the evolution of internet-based services across the global economy and the consequent strategic and policy issues facing industry and government. Industry cost data are presented and a model is proposed to explicitly represent the role of standards in the innovation process and illuminate private sector investment risks.

How the public views strategies designed to reduce the threat of botnets

Botnets pose a growing threat to the nations critical digital infrastructure and general level of cybersecurity. Several strategies for reducing the threat of botnets have been outlined in the cyber security literature. These strategies typically call for both Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and home Internet users to adopt a greater share of the responsibility for overall security. However, to date no study has attempted to determine how accepting the public would be of these strategies. This study takes the first step in filling that gap. The results of this pilot survey suggest that, in general, individuals would be willing to spend additional time each month meeting security requirements set by their ISPs. The results also suggest that although only 50% of respondents would be willing to pay their ISP more per month to protect themselves from cyber threats, more people would be willing to do so if they perceived ISPs as being effective or very effective at reducing such threats. The findings provide important guidance for policy makers and ISPs seeking to gain support for such strategies.