A partial equilibrium view on security and privacy

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to propose a tool to help policy makers understand the dynamic relationships between security and privacy on a strategic (macro) level.

Design/methodology/approach

The methodology is ported from the discipline of Macroeconomics, and applied to the information security and privacy domain. The methodology adopted is the so‐called “cross methodology” which claims ownership of the well‐known supply/demand market equilibrium exercise.

Findings

Early evaluation reveals that this is a potentially very effective tool in understanding societal behaviour and position towards information security and privacy and therefore makes this a suitable tool for investigating and exploring scenarios that can assist in policy making.

Originality/value

Up to date, research on the economics of security and privacy has been primarily focusing on a micro level. The main contribution of this paper is a methodology for investigating privacy and security on a macro level. We believe that our approach in undertaking this research is new and looking at the issues and relationships between security and privacy at a macro level, gives a better understanding of the problems at hand and how to resolve them.

Practical implications

The proposed tool may increase the efficiency of policy making and planning as it enables the policy makers on a governmental and strategic level to run scenarios in order to investigate the effect of their decisions (for example, an introduction of a stricter law relating to computer misuse) to the delicate balance of security and privacy.

Citation

Katos, V. and Patel, A. (2008), "A partial equilibrium view on security and privacy", Information Management & Computer Security, Vol. 16 No. 1, pp. 74-83. https://doi.org/10.1108/09685220810862760