Re: latest Snowden docs show NSA intercepts all Google and Yahoo DC-to-DC traffic

[Phil Bedard <bedard.phil () gmail com>]

On 11/1/13, 1:08 PM, "Gary Buhrmaster" <gary.buhrmaster () gmail com> wrote:

> On Fri, Nov 1, 2013 at 4:43 AM, Anthony Junk <anthonyrjunk () gmail com>
> wrote:
> ...
> > It seems as if both Yahoo and Google assumed that since they were
> > private
> > circuits that they didn't have to encrypt.
>
> I actually cannot see them assuming that.  Google
> and Yahoo engineers are smart, and taping fibres
> has been well known for, well, "forever".  I can
> see them making a business decision that the
> costs would be excessive to mitigate against
> taping(*) that would be allowed under the laws
> in any event.
>
> Gary

While smart, most providers make an assumption at least with a piece of
dark fiber the only people with access to it are themselves and any
providers of the fiber.  I don't think that's an unrealistic
expectation... Providers who have trenched their own fiber certainly do
not encrypt traffic across the network, but their fiber is probably no
less susceptible to tapping at certain locations.  There have been a
number of articles in recent years about how vulnerable the fiber
infrastructure is to attacks, tapping, etc.  Vaults, manhole locations,
etc. are pretty much wide open.


Phil