Re: DMCA Notices

[Ben Marsden <bmarsden () SMITH EDU>]

I'm about to formally propose a change to default block BItTorrent (with
option to request on), so your breakdown, Tim, of legitimate use cases is
very helpful.  Thanks.

-- Ben


On Thu, Oct 8, 2015 at 10:21 AM, Tim Doty <tdoty () mst edu> wrote:

> On 10/08/2015 08:49 AM, Thomas Carter wrote:
>
> > We block P2P as well, but I was curious about those who got pushback on
> > it. Were legitimate use cases presented, or was it more of a “reducing
> > our freedom” type of argument? I realize there are some actual legal
> > uses, but a vast majority of the use cases I have seen are generally
> > just alternatives to existing methods. I wanted to be better prepared
> > for the day we get pushback as well.
>
> For what its worth, the only push back we ever got was from students. I
> don't recall any real issues with respect to conventional file downloading.
> The number one excuse I've heard is linux, but at least one of the
> following applied:
>
>   - could not name a distro they were trying to download
>   - named distro had ftp or direct http download
>
> Our exception policy required investigating alternative sources or methods.
>
> The only issues I observed were nearly all gaming related:
>
>   - blizzard updates are via bit torrent. You can configure it for direct
> download, but blizzard throttles this to about 56k
>   - games acting as a server. Technically this is in violation of our
> resnet policy (running servers is not allowed)
>   - online game matching. Some game matching services either use p2p or
> mimic it sufficiently that some of their traffic gets blocked.
>   - software update. There is a marginal antivirus where the "free"
> version only updates via bit torrent (I don't remember the name). This was
> the only non-gaming problem I ever saw.
>
> Supposedly some games were prevented from functioning due to the block
> (dropped connections), but this followed the user and not the game which
> leads to an expectation that it was not an issue with the game and the p2p
> block, but with the user's operating environment.
>
> In the end, for us this ceased to be an issue when we retired the traffic
> shaper and utilized a Palo Alto for blocking p2p.
>
> Tim Doty
>
>
> > Thomas Carter
> >
> > Network & Operations Manager
> >
> > Austin College
> >
> > *From:* The EDUCAUSE Security Constituent Group Listserv
> > [mailto:SECURITY () LISTSERV EDUCAUSE EDU] *On Behalf Of *Barton, Robert
> > *Sent:* Wednesday, October 7, 2015 2:50 PM
> > *To:* SECURITY () LISTSERV EDUCAUSE EDU
> > *Subject:* Re: [SECURITY] DMCA Notices
> >
> > The DMCA is a legal notice and held hard to the block.  We did work with
> > a few to get an alternate solution, but we found the ones that really
> > wanted a solution were few.
> >
> > Robert W. Barton
> >
> > Director of Information Security
> >
> > Lewis University
> >
> > One University Parkway
> >
> > Romeoville, IL  60446-2200
> >
> > 815-836-5663
> >
> > *From:* The EDUCAUSE Security Constituent Group Listserv
> > [mailto:SECURITY () LISTSERV EDUCAUSE EDU] *On Behalf Of *T. Shayne Ghere
> > *Sent:* Wednesday, October 07, 2015 2:41 PM
> > *To:* SECURITY () LISTSERV EDUCAUSE EDU <mailto:
> > SECURITY () LISTSERV EDUCAUSE EDU>
> > *Subject:* Re: [SECURITY] DMCA Notices
> >
> > How are you blocking Bittorrent when it has some academic uses?  We
> > blocked it and the faculty revolted, so it’s open again so we use the
> > Net Equalizer to limit the number of connections in and outbound.
> >
> > We have the PA 5050 and it will classify (best guess) as to what it
> > thinks could be flagged by the RIAA, but then again there’s quite a few
> > false positives.  What do you do when faculty/staff have a legitimate
> > argument to use torrents?
> >
> > Shayne
> >
> > -----------------------------
> >
> > */Bradley University/*
> >
> > T. Shayne Ghere
> >
> > Network Engineer
> >
> > 1501 W. Bradley Ave., Jobst 224A
> >
> > (309) 677-3094  OFC
> >
> > sghere () fsmail bradley edu <mailto:sghere () fsmail bradley edu>
> >
> > */FBI 2011 Class CA Graduate/*
> >
> > */FBI InfraGard Member 10054171/*
> >
> > *//*
> >
> > *_UPCOMING OUT OF OFFICE_*
> >
> > None
> >
> > *From:* The EDUCAUSE Security Constituent Group Listserv
> > [mailto:SECURITY () LISTSERV EDUCAUSE EDU
> > <mailto:SECURITY () LISTSERV EDUCAUSE EDU>] *On Behalf Of *Richard Applebee
> > *Sent:* Wednesday, October 07, 2015 2:34 PM
> > *To:* SECURITY () LISTSERV EDUCAUSE EDU <mailto:
> > SECURITY () LISTSERV EDUCAUSE EDU>
> > *Subject:* Re: [SECURITY] DMCA Notices
> >
> > We had maybe a dozen last year but have not had a single one since we
> > put a Palo Alto device inline between our internal network and our
> > border devices and configured a rule to block bittorrent traffic.
> >
> > Richard Applebee
> > Network Architect
> > *V* (909) 469-5662
> > *F* (909) 706-3460
> > *Western University of Health Sciences*
> >
> > *From:* The EDUCAUSE Security Constituent Group Listserv
> > [mailto:SECURITY () LISTSERV EDUCAUSE EDU] *On Behalf Of *Feehan, Patrick
> > *Sent:* Wednesday, October 07, 2015 11:54 AM
> > *To:* SECURITY () LISTSERV EDUCAUSE EDU <mailto:
> > SECURITY () LISTSERV EDUCAUSE EDU>
> > *Subject:* [SECURITY] DMCA Notices
> >
> > A question has come up about DMCA notices in our outside audit.  We know
> > how many we received in the last fiscal year but the auditors are
> > wondering about how many other institutions of higher education are
> > receiving on an annual basis. If any on you have an annualized number
> > you can share, I would appreciate it.  If you would like, send it off
> > line.
> >
> > Thanks.
> >
> > Patrick J. Feehan
> >
> > Information Security and Data Privacy Officer
> >
> > Montgomery College
> >
> > Patrick.feehan () montgomerycollege edu
> > <mailto:Patrick.feehan () montgomerycollege edu>
> >
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-- 
============================================
Ben Marsden : Information Security Director, CISSP/GISP
ITS, Stoddard Hall, Smith College, Northampton, MA 01063
bmarsden [at] smith [.] edu     413 [.] 585 [.] 4479
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