The untrustworthy Web services revolution

The commoditization of the Web is bringing tremendous benefits, but also some serious risks. The benefits are obvious: Web-based technologies are becoming a universal standard. At the same time, however, the economics of the Web favor an untrustworthy technology base. The key driver for this concern is service-oriented architectures. Major database products, embedded systems platforms, and turnkey solutions in areas ranging from process planning to supply-chain and customer-relations management are adopting a service-oriented approach.