Do Insecure Systems Increase Global Digital Divide?

This chapter surveys the issues concerning the digital divide facing developing nations. The authors assert that “insecurity” and the “digital divide” are highly dependent on each other and as insecurity increases so does the digital divide. Therefore, the authors propose to extend the concept of the digital divide to include information security features by putting forward a new model or paradigm of security that is multi-faceted and is able to assist in bridging the digital divide gap. They argue that a lack of attention to security reduces the access to and use of resources with which to attack the digital divide. In particular, for e-business, the authors conclude that in developing countries having security issues at the forefront would encourage engagement with e-initiatives, or restrain it if there is an absence of security.