nanog mailing list archives

Re: NSPs filter?


From: Richard A Steenbergen <ras () e-gerbil net>
Date: Mon, 5 Aug 2002 11:18:31 -0400


On Sun, Aug 04, 2002 at 09:15:26PM -0700, Stephen Stuart wrote:

IMO, Commercial ISPs should never filter customer packets unless
specifically requested to do so by the customer, or in response to a
security/abuse incident.

Let's say the customer operates some big enterprise network, runs
their infrastructure in RFC1918 space ("for security," hah), and spews
a couple kilobits of DNS query from that RFC1918 space toward the root
nameservers. Assume that either pride or ignorance will prevent the
customer from ever asking you to filter what you know to be garbage
traffic. Does your rule to "never filter customer packets" mean you're
going to sit and watch those packets go by?

If yes, why?

One would hope that, unless there is a complaint, you wouldn't be invading
their private to look at their traffic in the first place.

If a root server operator complained about it, I'd say thats reasonable
grounds to filter it and contact the customer, the same as if they had a
compromised box spewing out DoS.

Filtering piddly stuff like this without consultation is usually unwelcome
at best, and a disruption at worst. It is also a serious investment of
time and acl resources which could be better spent somewhere else. And
lastly, it sets a bad precedent for what ISPs "can" do to proactively
filter. After all, if we "can" do this, why can't we also filter illegal
MP3 exchanges too.

-- 
Richard A Steenbergen <ras () e-gerbil net>       http://www.e-gerbil.net/ras
PGP Key ID: 0x138EA177  (67 29 D7 BC E8 18 3E DA  B2 46 B3 D8 14 36 FE B6)


Current thread: