Book takes fresh look at computer antivirus industry
Published by Communications and Development
4 March 2009
Exploring computer security as both a social and technical problem is the aim of University of Canterbury academic Dr Jessica Johnston’s latest book.
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Dr Jessica Johnston with her new book, Technological Turf Wars. |
The senior lecturer in American Studies was inspired to begin research for Technological Turf Wars: A Case Study of the Computer Antivirus Industry having attended many computer security conferences with her partner, a computer antivirus researcher.
Dr Johnston (Humanities) noticed that the attendees at these conferences comprised three broad groups — antivirus researchers, antivirus product managers and the technical representatives of corporations that use the security software — and listening to the three distinct groups talking at the conferences motivated her to write the book.
“I noticed these three different groups were talking at completely cross-purposes with each other and I thought ‘there could be an article here’. So I interviewed representatives of each of these groups from different parts of the world — in Europe, in the States, in Asia — and had them identify the key points about the industry, both the positives and their own critiques of it,” she said.
In Technological Turf Wars, Dr Johnston analyses the tensions and political dilemmas that coexist in the interrelationships between science, technology and society. Illustrating how computer security is as concerned with social relationships as it is with technology, she provides an illuminating ethnography that considers corporate culture and the workplace environment of the antivirus industry.
Dr Johnston conducted research for the book between 2000 and 2006 and presented some of her initial findings on the commodification of trust at the Virus Bulletin Conference, held in Prague in 2001.
The book examines how the computer antivirus industry constructs itself, “using the industry’s own perspective of itself to articulate how science and technology is created, generated and negotiated within contemporary culture”, Dr Johnston said.
“I was interested in how these people use the virus metaphor in their construction of the industry, how they employed imagery of global viral epidemics and outbreaks, of infectious code reeking havoc on personal computers and global information networks. Working within this metaphor of viral infection, antivirus researchers saw themselves as providing a service, equating their work to that of pharmacists, doctors, or even cyberpolice.”
Dr Johnston paid particular interest to the tensions between this service ethic and profit motives.
“The question they continually get is ‘does the industry create viruses to sell their products?’ That signals to both the industry, and to me, that their service orientation is interpreted from a profit motive. Even though they see themselves as providing a service similar to pharmacists or doctors treating viruses, they are not just a pure, altruistic service industry. The entire industry is continually having turf wars over these competing frames of reference.”
Dr Johnston believes her book is an example of how the arts and humanities have the ability to contribute to science and technology and cross traditional disciplinary divisions.
“I’d love this book to contribute to how computer scientists learn about their industry, the ethics involved in working within an industry that needs to make a profit and also provide a service. Ultimately, technology reflects social values, because it is created by people and for people.”
- Technological Turf Wars: A Case Study of the Computer Antivirus Industry, by Jessica Johnston, published by Temple University Press, November 2008, RRP $US22.95, Paperback, 232pp, ISBN 1-59213-882-9.
For further information please contact:
Maria De Cort
Communications Officer
University of Canterbury
Tel: +64 3 364 2072
maria.decort@canterbury.ac.nz