A panel of academic specialists among other things emphasized the ease with which it can be interrupted, its fragility and its appearing resistance, and recently took part in a dialogue on the future of the web.

The weaknesses originate mainly from the fact that the web constitutes protocols in the TCP/IP stack for Layer 3 networking, devised many years past.

There are lots of challenges for the web. We confront day-to-day difficulties,” said Timothy Roscoe, a professor at ETH, Zurich’s math, technology and science university in Zurich.

Old protocols, new age

An assistant professor at ETH, Laurent Vanbever, said: They anticipate it to work but the protocols of the net were designed in the 1980s and 1970s and the limits are stretching.”

What gets these networks communicate with one another is the border gateway protocol, BGP. It makes the web work.

Roscoe said: 60,000 individuals, who need to work but also compete.” controls “BGP Network engineers at leading ISPs, these individuals, e-mail each other to keep the net running.