Virtual keys in cyberspace

Virtual keys are ICT-based regulation technologies. They exist in mobile telephones' SIM-cards, smart cards used as electronic money, PIN-codes, biometric keys, cryptographic algorithms, magnetic stripe cards, etc. In modern society, virtual keys are pervasive. They are mandatory for an ever-increasing number of relationships and functions. Because they are designed to control and regulate use of ICT, virtual keys increasingly control and regulate our relationship with other people and systems, hence with society in general. Virtual keys play many distinct, at times contradictory roles in the dynamics of modern, complex societies that rely more and more on ICT. This book provides a number of different perspectives on these dynamics by exploring how actors and networks create new ICT, ultimately, how they shape and create the keys to cyberspace and future society.