Microsoft Exec Calls For 'Driver's License For The Internet'

from the what-a-bad,-bad-idea dept

It's been nearly ten years since we first heard the idea that there should be some sort of driver's license for the internet, and it's no less ridiculous a concept now than it was then. However, it's still brought up every now and then. The latest, as sent in by Marcus Carab is that Microsoft's chief research and strategy officer, Craig Mundie, is suggesting an internet driver's license and a special WHO for the internet, as a method of fighting back against bad actors online:

Mundie and other experts have said there is a growing need to police the internet to clampdown on fraud, espionage and the spread of viruses.

"People don't understand the scale of criminal activity on the internet. Whether criminal, individual or nation states, the community is growing more sophisticated," the Microsoft executive said.

"We need a kind of World Health Organization for the Internet," he said.

"When there is a pandemic, it organizes the quarantine of cases. We are not allowed to organize the systematic quarantine of machines that are compromised."

He also called for a "driver's license" for internet users.

"If you want to drive a car you have to have a license to say that you are capable of driving a car, the car has to pass a test to say it is fit to drive and you have to have insurance."

These are the kind of ideas people have when they haven't bothered to think through the consequences of what they're saying. It's unlikely any kind of WHO would be particularly effective. We already have various security companies that have a strong profit motive to do the same thing, and they're failing (miserably). Setting up some sort of government agency to do the same thing? That sounds like a bureaucratic mess.

And an internet driver's license is even more ridiculous. Unlike a car, the internet is something that people have to use all the time. No driver's license is going to stop people from getting suckered by scammers. Sure, more education could be helpful, but any sort of requirement that they need to pass a test won't stop people from getting on the internet and doing something stupid. If anything, it will give people a false sense of security online. Yes, there are issues with scammers online, but we're not going to fix them with some bureaucracy and forcing people to take a proficiency test.

Filed Under: craig mundie, driver's license, internet
Companies: microsoft