Security Trade-offs Are Subjective

Abstract

There is no single correct level of security; how much security you have depends on what you’re willing to give up in order to get it. This trade-off is, by its very nature, subjective—security decisions are based on personal judgments. Different people have different senses of what constitutes a threat, or what level of risk is acceptable. What’s more, between different communities, or organizations, or even entire societies, there is no agreed-upon way in which to define threats or evaluate risks, and the modern technological and media-filled world makes these evaluations even harder.