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1 Trust in ICT

Figure 1 – Keywords for trust
4.1.1 Generic Definition of Trust in ICT

Trust concept itself is a complicated notion with different meanings depending on both participators and
situations and influenced by both measurable and non-measurable factors. There are various kinds of trust
definitions leading to difficulties in establishing a common, general notation that holds, regardless of
personal dispositions or differing situations. Generally, trust is considered as a computational value depicted
by a relationship between trustor and trustee, described in a specific context and measured by trust metrics
and evaluated by a mechanism.

Previous research has shown that trust is the interplay among human, social sciences and computer science,
affected by several subjective factors such as social status and physical properties; and objective factors such
as competence and reputation [1]. The competence is measurement of abilities of the trustee to perform a
given task which is derived from trustee’s diplomas, certifications and experience. Reputation is formed by
the opinion of other entities, deriving from third parties' opinions of previous interactions with the trustee.

Trust revolves around ‘assurance’ and confidence that people, data, entities, information or processes will
function or behave in expected ways. At the deeper level, trust is regarded as a consequence of progress
towards security or privacy objectives.
(Note) Trust may be human to human, machine to machine (e.g. handshake protocols negotiated), human to
machine (e.g. when a consumer reviews a digital signature advisory notice) or machine to human (e.g. when
a system relies on user input and instructions without extensive verification).
The term trust in the context of ICT world differs from the concept of trust among people. This notion of trust
stands in contrast to some more intuitive notions of trust expressing that someone behaves in a particular
well-behaved way. Trust in ICT is an important concept in the sense that a trusted resource is one that you
are forced by necessity to trust. The failure of this resource would compromise the function, integrity or
security of a system which are not in expected ways.

Nevertheless, trust is an important feature in the decision-making process not only used by humans in daily
life but also by applications and services in ICT environment.

4.1.2 Trust Definitions under Different Perspectives
E-commerce: A variety of existing notions of trust in the context of ICT world addresses particular aspects
(e.g. trust in electronic commerce (e-commerce) systems based on reputation and recommendation, or trust
in public key infrastructures.)
Security could be itself a key component of trust. For example, increasing security to increase trust comes
from peoples being more willing to engage in e-commerce if they are assured that their credit card numbers
and personal data are cryptographically protected.

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