Might Governments Clean-up Malware?

Richard Clayton
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Richard Clayton: University of Cambridge

Communications & Strategies, 2011, vol. 1, issue 81, 87-104

Abstract: End-user computers that have become infected with malware are a danger to their owners and to the Internet as a whole. Effective action to clean-up these computers would be extremely desirable, yet the incentives conspire to dissuade ISPs (and others) from acting. This paper proposes a role for government in subsidising the cost of clean-up. The organisations that tender for the government contract will factor in not only the costs of the clean-up, but also the profits they can make from their new consumer relationships. A model is proposed for what the tender price should be – and, by plugging in plausible values, it is shown that the cost to the tax payer of a government scheme could be less than a dollar per person per year; well in line with other public health initiatives.

Keywords: malware; cybersecurity; security economics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: H23 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2011
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