Perplexing proof

The fact that even experts often do not fully understand how IT systems work was underlined by recent reports that the Riemann hypothesis, established in 1859, may finally have been proved.

It seems the hypothesis would explain the apparently random pattern of prime numbers that form the basis for much internet cryptography, used for e-commerce and online banking to guard accounts and credit card details.

Louis de Branges, a renowned mathematician at Purdue University in the US, has claimed he can prove the hypothesis. But the maths is so complicated that no one has yet been able to say whether his solution is right.

"[The suggested proof] is rather incomprehensible," professor Marcus du Sautoy of Oxford University told The Guardian, adding that if correct it could lead to the creation of a "prime spectrometer" that would bring "the whole of e-commerce to its knees overnight".

Unfortunately, most managers have no way of telling whether the proof is right or its implications are indeed as stated. This could be an embarrassment if they are asked to assess risks for corporate governance reports, since they clearly now have a duty to own up and admit that business could be threatened by a theoretical prime spectrometer.

Alternatively they might accept that security is a matter of faith, declare that nothing can truly be "known", and add that the way of Zen shows that security is probably an illusion anyway.