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Have you heard of TIM? The Trustworthy Internet Movement is a new initiative launched a few weeks ago at the 2012 RSA Security Conference. The goal of TIM is to bring together experts, industry stakeholders, and others to cooperate and collaborate in an effort to build a safer and more secure Internet.

TIM was founded by Philippe Courtot, chairman and CEO of Qualys. But, TIM is a non-profit organisation that is entirely independent of Qualys.

I spoke with Courtot a few days before the official unveiling of TIM at RSA. He described to me how TIM was borne over time from countless conversations hed had with other security professionals. Courtot believes that there are fundamental issues with Internet security that can not be resolved by any single tool, or even any single company.

Courtot is dedicated to ensuring the reliability, privacy, and security of the Internet, and he feels that the best way to meet that goal is to create an environment where security experts, cloud providers, and other Internet stakeholders can cooperate to find innovative solutions to defend against the rising tide of threats on the Internet. Courtot believes strongly enough in this initiative that he pledged $500,000 of his own money to get the project off the ground.

There is definitely something to be said for this approach. In the wake of the attacks against Google and others in China, various affected parties worked together collaboratively with Internet security providers and law enforcement agencies. The key lesson from that effort was that sharing information cooperatively lets all involved see the bigger picture and helps to identify issues and develop resolutions faster.

Various companies and security experts are already hard at work on different solutions to address problems with privacy, reliability, and security on the Internet, and many of those solutions will succeed on some level. But, rather than developing competing or conflicting approaches to the same problem, TIM might be able to harness those efforts to develop innovative solutions that are greater than the sum of the individual parts.

Obviously, the companies or individuals involved in a collaborative effort like TIM all have a vested interest in their own success and profit. But, the Internet is essential to business, news, entertainment, and mainstream culture in general, and there is something to be said for working together for the greater good.

If youre interested in learning more about TIM, or youd like to join the cause and contribute your skills and resources, visit the site.

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TIM brings together experts and industry to build safer Internet

The internet contributed 121 billion to the British economy in 2010, representing 8.3 percent of GDP, making the UK the most web-dependent country in the G-20, according to a new report by The Boston Consulting Group (BCG).

According to BCG's report, The $4.2 Trillion Opportunity: The Internet Economy in the G-20, the UK's internet economy is growing at a rate of 10.9 percent, and is expected to be contributing 225 billion to the overall economy by 2016 more than healthcare, construction or education. This growth is significantly faster than other developed countries in the G-20, which are growing at an average rate of 8.1 percent.

In particular, the report highlights the proliferation of mobile devices, widespread use of social networks and the rise of online commerce as key factors in driving the internet economy. The share of total retail carried out online in the UK is projected to reach 23 percent by 2016, and the internet also influences an additional 11.5 percent of total retail, with consumers researching online and purchasing offline.

This report is massively encouraging and shows that the UK Internet is leading the world in e-commerce, said Dan Cobley, Managing Director of Google UK, commenting on the report. At a time of financial uncertainty, the UK Internet economy continues to grow at an incredible rate, creating thousands of new businesses and jobs.

The BCG report describes small and medium businesses (SMEs) as the growth engines of the economy, with companies that use the internet for marketing, sales and interactions with customers recording revenue growth of 12 percent over the past three years, compared to only 4 percent for those who made low or no use of the Internet.

Around the world SMEs which embrace the Internet are growing faster and adding more jobs than those that dont, said David Dean, BCG Senior Partner and co-author of the report. By encouraging businesses to adopt the Internet, countries can improve their competitiveness and growth prospects.

However, Sean Dolan, SVP of Juniper Networks for EMEA, threw some cold water on the report, claiming that BCG had overstated the edge that the UK has over the rest of the G-20.

It's probably only about 5 percent of the total GDP that's going through e-commerce, but it is doubling, and that's the exciting part, he said. This digital economy is growing at 100 percent, and I don't see that stopping. It's not about people spending more time on Facebook or people sending their emails faster or surfing the internet; it's about business.

Meanwhile, the BCG report states that the big winners of the Internet economy are the consumers, with UK respondents saying they would have to be paid an average of 2,175 per year to live without Internet access. A quarter of those surveyed even said they would consider giving up sex for a year in order to maintain their broadband connection.

But technology performance company Compuware warned that the UK needs to continue increasing average internet speeds in order to maintain its leadership position.

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UK internet economy to represent 12.4 percent of GDP by 2016

TORONTO - Canada's Internet economy is expected to grow by 7.4 per cent a year through 2016, better than the country's overall GDP but still lagging many global peers, according to a new study commissioned by Google.

The international study, conducted for Google by Boston Consulting Group, found that the Internet accounted for about $49 billion or three per cent of Canada's GDP in 2010, the latest year for which information was available.

However, that was lower than the G20 average of about 4.1 per cent of GDP and put Canada ninth among the G20 pack.

By 2016, the online economy's percentage of Canadian GDP is expected to reach 3.6 per cent, falling further behind an expected G20's average of 5.3 per cent, the study said.

That means Canada will fall to 12th among G20 members, overtaken by Mexico and Saudi Arabia.

One setback is that Canadian online shopping isn't as robust as it is elsewhere in the world, said Tawfik Hammoud, partner and managing director at BCG.

Canada was in the top quartile of those countries surveyed when it comes to participation in social media and advertising online. In 2010, online advertising took 28.8 per cent of overall advertising market share, second only to television.

"There's been more shift of advertising dollars from the offline world to the online world than in most countries," Hammoud said.

Meanwhile, Canadian online retail sales lag, likely for reasons that include both consumer habits and business models.

There are gaps in Canadian consumer behaviour that Google is hoping to close, said Google executive Colin McKay.

Excerpt from:
Canadian Internet economy lags G20 peers, online shopping a drag: study

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- The Internet contributes more to the American economy than the entire federal government, according to a new study by the Boston Consulting Group.

The Internet accounted for $684 billion, or 4.7% of all U.S. economic activity in 2010, Boston Consulting Group found. By way of comparison, the federal government, contributed $625 billion, or 4.3%, to the nation's output.

If it was considered its own separate industry, the Internet would also be larger than America's education, construction or agricultural sectors.

In the retail sphere alone, e-commerce accounted for 5% of U.S. sales in 2010.

"All businesses are increasingly digital and need to think about how to take advantage of these opportunities," said Dominic Field, a BCG partner and co-author of the report. "And for policymakers, we would hope they recognize the importance of Internet growth and making sure their countries are taking advantage of these opportunities."

As a share of gross domestic product, only three countries have larger Internet economies: the United Kingdom, South Korea and China. The U.S. is tied with Japan.

Boston Consulting Group predicts the Internet will grow about 10% a year through 2016 in the Group of 20 nations. It will grow nearly twice as fast in emerging markets as in developed economies, with Argentina and India accounting for the fastest growth, the study said.

"The U.S. is relatively mature as an Internet economy, whereas some of the developing economies are further behind -- so their growth rates are higher," Field said.

Granted, measuring the full impact of the Internet can be a fuzzy matter. In the Boston Consulting Group study, the researchers included the impact of e-commerce, what consumers pay to access the Internet and money spent by businesses and the government on building Internet infrastructure.

The study also looked at some other slightly silly metrics to measure how consumers value the Internet. It found for example, that 77% of Americans would be willing to give up chocolate for an entire year, rather than go without the Internet. Only 21% though would give up sex, and an even smaller 7% would go without a shower.

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Internet accounts for 4.7% of U.S. economy

WASHINGTON & GENEVA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

The Internet Society today announced that Paul Brigner has joined the organization as Director of its North America Regional Bureau. As a global organization, the Internet Society has five regional bureaus that are instrumental in addressing Internet-related issues, mobilizing local support for global efforts, and developing policy, technology, membership, Chapter, and regional educational awareness.

The Internet Societys Regional Bureaus are vital conduits to connecting our Chapters, Members, and staff, and are central to the success of our mission of ensuring that the Internet is for everyone, said Walda Roseman, Chief Operating Officer, Internet Society. Pauls impressive industry knowledge and policy expertise, as well as the founding role he played in the Internet Societys Washington, DC Chapter, are ideally-suited for the important work he will do in Canada and the United States. His addition to the Internet Society team represents the heightened importance that we place on the work of our Regional Bureaus, including that of North America. Were delighted that Paul has joined us.

Michael Nelson, Research Associate at CSC Leading Edge Forum and a leader of the Internet Societys Washington, DC Chapter commented, Paul is an excellent addition to the Internet Society team. He knows the technology and is respected and well connected in both the ISP and content industries. Paul has been very active in the Internet Societys Washington, DC Chapter, and his organizational and communication skills will be a valuable asset in advancing the initiatives of the Internet Societys North America Chapters.

Previously, Brigner was Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Policy Officer for the Motion Picture Association of America, and Executive Director, Internet and Technology Policy, for Verizon Corporate Services. He worked at Verizon for nearly 10 years in numerous management positions. Earlier in his career, Brigner was a software and network architect for several large organizations and also served in a technology consulting capacity.

About the Internet Society

The Internet Society is the world's trusted independent source of Internet leadership. With its principled vision and substantial technological foundation, the Internet Society promotes open dialogue on Internet policy, technology, and future development among users, companies, governments, and other organizations. Working with its members and Chapters around the world, the Internet Society enables the continued evolution and growth of the Internet for everyone.

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Internet Society Announces Paul Brigner as Regional Bureau Director for North America