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RE: : Digital Vandalism Spurs a Call for Oversight
From: Bob Frankston <rmfxixB () bobf frankston com>
Date: Mon, 01 Sep 2003 15:23:44 -0400
My mail to Dave () Farber net is getting nondelivery responses so I don't know if they are getting through -- whether you post the comments or not is up to you as they do get through. The problem is germane to this topic and I've been trying to write about some of the issues including http://www.frankston.com/?name=AOLHasLeft its about a lot more than simple annoyances. I plan to write about these issues in more detail but for this letter, Ill simply note that the calls for protection by making the Internet smarter are like trying to prevent train crashes by removing the first and last cars. If anything, as I point out, perimeter security has created a ripe environment for these attacks. I worry that were seeing the typical response when things go wrong claims that we (they?) arent doing enough of what caused the problem and then redoubling our efforts in that direction by making it increasingly difficult to use the net. People will look for promises to make it all better by asserting strong control over those who abuse free speech. After all thats what the virus people do and thus programming is too dangerous to leave to unapproved individuals. We dont have an Internet problem it is a problem with the edges of the net. This sounds like Im saying that guns dont kill, people do. The difference is that we cannot afford to do away with the benefit of having the end-to-end Internet. The same edition of the Times that features Amys story also tells how companies are using Voice of IP something that regulators are trying to bring within their control. Its like making sure we pay 35¢ for each email message. Sure, it would stop spam as well as almost all other use of email. Even worse is the idea of only requiring the stamp for Bad email. The Web exists because the browser gave us a trust boundary between our computer and the rest of the Internet. The user could decide how much trust to give and the passive HTML allowed some understanding of the risks (though it didnt protect use from having to understand what we rid and the risks of trusting .Com names). We should learn from this and give users (us) better tools for understanding what is happening. Bringing back the good old days of the smart network and authoritarian-Boolean trust models will only leave us lame and vulnerable. Obviously this is a complex topic and I plan to write more about it but immediate problem is quelling the panic and calls for some one to solve the problem for us rather than giving us the ability to find our own solutions. -----Original Message----- From: owner-ip () v2 listbox com [mailto:owner-ip () v2 listbox com] On Behalf Of Dave Farber Sent: Monday, September 01, 2003 02:03 To: ip () v2 listbox com Subject: [IP] : Digital Vandalism Spurs a Call for Oversight
Digital Vandalism Spurs a Call for Oversight September 1, 2003 By AMY HARMON The teenager accused of creating a version of the Blaster worm that infected computer systems across the world last week has been arrested. SoBig.F, an e-mail virus unleashed on the Internet just as Blaster was being stamped out, is expected to expire next week. But all is far from quiet on the electronic frontier. Security experts are already preparing for SoBig.G. Another worm may already be squirming through newly discovered flaws in computer operating systems. And in the moments between epidemics, the Internet's more run-of-the-mill annoyances - spam, scams and spyware - can be counted on to keep users on edge. The Internet has become a vital part of commerce and culture, but it is still a free-for-all when it comes to facing computer meltdowns. As America's 156 million Internet users brace for the next round of digital vandalism, some experts say that it is time for the government to bolster a basic sense of stability in cyberspace that societies expect from their critical public resources.
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- RE: : Digital Vandalism Spurs a Call for Oversight Bob Frankston (Sep 01)