This question was asked as a discussion point in my networking and system admin class, so I thought I might share my response here in my blog.
Trust is not in a state of crisis. Trust needs risk.
Trust is not in a state of crisis. Without risk, there can be no trust. It is true that trust is a human process that technology has sped up, however, it is still up to us to take responsibility for making a decision and reducing risk. (Botsman, R., & WIRED UK., 2018).
We must understand the importance of trust in our lives and the need to create secure environments for ourselves and those around us. By making sure we have adequate security measures in place and understanding the risks associated with any activity we undertake, we can ensure that our trust in others remains intact.
Asking platforms to adopt a proactive and reactive strategy to manage risk is necessary, but these are not foolproof methods as you cannot predict human intentions. We must use common sense, proactive and reactive strategies to assess the risk presented to us to make a decision.
For example, The Urban Sitter platform has risk assessment policies in place to determine who is a safe person to be a nanny or a babysitter. The platform assesses your criminal history, driving record, identification and qualifications – and 75% of applicants do not make the cut (Botsman, R., & WIRED UK., 2018). That is not to say that the remaining 25% will not pose a risk or commit a crime. The risk management has been completed to the platform’s best capacity, but the remainder may still rob a bank or hurt the children they are employed to look after. That is the risk the company takes when accepting applicants into its platform.
If the company has an excellent risk reduction policy yet it still failed, the best the company can do is employ a plan-b reactive strategy to mitigate the risk. E.g. when Uber driver John Dalton when on a killing spree, Uber executives responded by saying that they could not have predicted Dalton’s crimes. He had a very high rating on their platform and lacked any red flags. (Botsman, R., & WIRED UK., 2018). The local police chief also stated that Dalton had no red flags in his life as an indicator – no emotional trouble, no marriage trouble, and he was well-known and liked in his community. (Berman, T., Francis, E., & ABC News., 2019)
As a response to this tragedy, Uber has since employed stricter risk management policies to protect passengers, including annual criminal history checks, driving record checks, keeping the passenger’s phone number private, and an emergency button in-app. (Helling, B., & Ridester., 2023)
An example of trust manipulation outside of the technology spectrum is a fake doctor, Zin Sin Lee, who worked for eight months under the radar as a trainee doctor at the Bankstown-Lidcombe hospital. Fooling staff and patients, Lee had enough knowledge to manipulate the hospital into believing she was a qualified trainee doctor, however in reality, she had actually failed her final exam and was not a doctor at all. When asked for her papers, she could not produce them and was soon arrested and charged with fraud. One staff member said: “You have to be concerned about it, but I wouldn’t expect this in our area. I think the doctors here are very good.” (Squarey, N., & 7 News., 2021).
These are examples of social engineering attacks – using manipulation of human’s trusting nature to gain something – whether financially, or otherwise.
Despite these examples, trust is not in a state of crisis. The examples used are meant to highlight that no matter what security measures are in place, there will always be risk and that it is up to us to make the final decision on where we put our trust. Urban Sitter, Uber and the Bankstown-Lidcombe hospital used both proactive and reactive strategies to reduce and manage risk to keep the majority safe, yet trust breaches do, and will likely continue, happening. There is no trust without friction, but trust must be managed with care.
References:
Botsman, R., & WIRED UK. (2018, April 4). The Biggest Issue in Cybersecurity is Humans, Not Machines [Review of The Biggest Issue in Cybersecurity is Humans, Not Machines]. YouTube; YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15lS2SfW4pM&ab_channel=WIREDUK
Squarey, N., & 7 News. (2021, August 10). Staff in shock after “fake doctor” worked at Sydney Hospital for eight months [Review of Staff in shock after “fake doctor” worked at Sydney Hospital for eight months]. 7 News. https://7news.com.au/news/nsw/staff-in-shock-after-fake-doctor-worked-at-sydney-hospital-for-eight-months-c-3647750
Berman, T., Francis, E., & ABC News. (2019, February 21). Former Uber driver tries to blame 2016 shooting rampage on “devil” app that “literally took over mind and body” in never-before-seen interrogation tapes [Review of Former Uber driver tries to blame 2016 shooting rampage on “devil” app that “literally took over mind and body” in never-before-seen interrogation tapes]. ABC News. https://abcnews.go.com/US/uber-driver-blame-2016-shooting-rampage-devil-app/story?id=61148966
Helling, B., & Ridester. (2023, April 3). Uber Driver Killer: What Happened Tragically In 2023 [Review of Uber Driver Killer: What Happened Tragically In 2023]. Ridester. https://www.ridester.com/uber-driver-killer/
