Incorporating Social Trust into Design Practices for Secure Systems

Abstract

Companies are increasingly dependent on modern information and communication technology (ICT), yet the successful adoption of ICT systems stubbornly hovers at only around 50%, adding disappointment to business losses. Trust (both inter-personal and technology-related) has significant explanatory power when it comes to technology adoption, but only as part of a systematic methodology. Therefore, understanding more fully the interaction between human process and technology by adding the richness of socio-technical considerations to the design process of ICT systems should significantly improve adoption rates. At the same time, trust-based design has to demonstrate the (often neglected) business value of trust. ‘Designing for trust’, discussed in this chapter, is a design framework that consolidates trust governance and security management. Trust governance is a complete proposition that makes trust relevant to business practices, including the design and deployment of ICT systems. Trust governance incorporates the business justification of trust with an analytical framework, and a set of relevant tools and methods, as well as a maturity model. This chapter discusses how ‘designing for trust’ leverages trust governance into the design practices of ICT systems by complementing security-based methodologies, demonstrating the value of this approach.