Design for Trust

Abstract

Designing for trust requires identification of the sometimes subtle manner in which trust can be embedded in a system. Defining trust as the intersection of privacy, security and reliability can enable or simplify the identification of trust as embedded in a technical design. Yet while this definition simplifies, it also illuminates a sometimes overlooked problem. Because privacy is an element of trust, purely operational definitions of trust are inadequate for developing systems to enable humans to extend trust across the network. Privacy is both operational (in the sharing of data) and internal (based on user perception of privacy). Designing trust metrics for the next generation Internet, and indeed implementing designs that embed trust, requires an understanding of not only the technical nuances of security but also the human subtleties of trust perception.

Keywords: Trust, privacy, consumer protection, security, information security

JEL Classification: M00, L00, O33, Z00