The Latest in IT Security

First, the good news: a new Pew Research Center report on the future of the internet is mostly optimistic. The research agency canvassed 1,400 technology experts for its 2014 Future of the Internet report, and a majority believed the internet wouldnt be significantly worse off by 2025 — although there were some strong dissenting opinions. What are the greatest threats to a free and open web? For the report, Pew asked the experts — who came from the media, nonprofits, corporations, and many other fields — a simple, yes-or-no question: By 2025 will there be significant changes for the worse and hindrances to the ways in which people get and share content online compared with the way globally networked people can operate online today? Of the respondents, 35 percent said yes, while 65 percent said no. (Its worth noting, however, that many respondents said they wished they could choose both yes and no, or said their response only represented hopes, not predictions.) But regardless of the answer, Pew also asked a followup question: what are the greatest threats to a free and open web?