The Computer Misuse Act 1990 and Denial of Service Attacks: The Risk Society, Reflexivity and the Tragedy of the Security Commons

Abstract

This article uses Luhmann’s view of society as comprising of communications to deepen our understanding of why it is information insecurity is a problem that only society can solve, and accordingly, not through centralized frameworks provided by law, political or economic systems. Accordingly, as political and legal institutions do not have the monopoly for creating order and security, we need to broaden our understanding of governance and examine how best the structures and processes for information gathering, private ordering and standard setting will now have to be negotiated in decentralised and distributed networks.

Keywords: Complexity, Systems Theory, Regulation, Information Security, Computer Misuse Act 1990, Police and Justice Act 2006