Whom can we trust?

A friend told me that baldness is a risk factor for Covid-19, but wonders if it’s true. In a newspaper, someone wondered why we are to believe some vaccines to be safe when ones coming from China or being named Sputnik V are frowned upon.

How can we be sure that we can trust what we hear and read about the pandemic?

Believe it, or not, there is actually an often neglected profession called Information Security whose sole purpose is to ensure a society where we can trust the information we are fed through news channels, in products claiming to cure diseases, and the way organizations treat data about us.

However, last week I had to ask myself how to describe the essence of Information Security, especially why it is, and will continue to be, more important than ever. Not only in the ongoing pandemic, but also when we move towards a society where many decisions regarding life and death will be made by machines.

So, let’s try to dissect the phrase to, at least, agree on its societal importance.

The meaning of Information Security

When it comes to trying to understand the semantics, and intentions, of phrases I always begin by going back to the roots - the etymology.

The phrase information security originates from the Latin words informationem meaning "outline, concept, idea" and secure to be "free of danger" when it comes to things. But what do we intend with the terms outline, concept, and idea, and how do they relate to the world around us, especially Covid-19?

Normally, ideas don't come out of the blue, but as the result of mental interrogations (eg who, what, when, where, and how) of the signs, called data from the Latin "(thing) given", describing our surroundings. Hence, we may say that information is "data endowed with meaning and purpose" [1]. As humans, we then further refine it into knowledge (Latin "to understand"), that is, information "being applied" or "in action".

For example, the Covid-19 scientists analyze blood samples (ie data) which will help them form interpretations (ie information) to act upon (ie knowledge). Looking back, they will then hopefully reach wisdom, that is, learn the answers to "why".

Combining our Latin and epistemological (ie science of knowledge) skills, we end up with a description of Information Security telling us that it's a way to ensure we (try to) do the right things in our lives.

Information Security deals with how to manage dangers related to actions based on interpretations of the world around us.

The role of Information Security in a pandemic

Returning to the ongoing pandemic, it means that Information Security is to safeguard that we don’t make decisions based on misinformation, that is, information wrongly believed to be true, which could lead to harm or worse.

For instance, a lot of scientific information is, due to the current situation, not reviewed before it gets published. Hence, we need to interpret what we read and hear with caution. The decision to side-step the regular information security process of so-called peer-review of scientific results follows a societal decision that time-to-market is of the highest priority. However, as long as we're aware of this, and stand the never-ending arguments about pros and cons with, for instance, face masks, time will separate the wheat from the chaff. This becomes even more important to remember when journalists turn scientific information into headlines about vitamins, or baldness.

Can we trust the coming Covid-19 vaccine, knowing the science has in less than a year done what normally can take up to a decade to achieve? Life is full of questions about "trust" from birth to death, and still, without it, we are doomed and this, in my opinion, reflects the essence of Information Security:

Information Security shall be a guardian of trustworthy actions.

The process from a vaccine idea to a shot in your arm is tightly safeguarded with regulations and, not to forget, the motto of most scientists and pharmaceutical companies to want to do good.

But, as I will discuss in a forthcoming article, artifacts like regulations will never matter if they aren't solidified in the beliefs, values, and assumptions in the DNA of the cultures in companies and societies.

To conclude, Information Security does its best to ensure you will be able to trust the coming Covid-19 treatments, but at the end of the day it boils down to your beliefs in fellow humans, and the values and assumptions shaping our culture.

All views expressed in this article are my own and do not represent the opinions of any entity whatsoever with which I have been, am now, or will be affiliated.

The author has more than 20 years of international experience in supporting organizations to utilize Information Technology to achieve business excellence with people and AI at the focus.

References

[1] Wikipedia, DIKW pyramid (link), 2020.