Internet

The Insider Threat

I know that it is sort of a “sky is falling”, FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt) sort of statement, but the threat from inside your network is significant. While you focus on keeping unauthorized users out, locking down your network perimeter, detecting and blocking incoming malware, etc., your authorized users may be busy at work pushing the boundaries of their access and poking your internal security measures for holes. Then there are those users who are authorized access and unwittingly expose sensitive data, such as placing it unprotected on a USB thumb drive which they subsequently misplace while stopping for a cup of coffee. There are a number of ways- both intentional, and accidental- that your users may pose a bigger threat to your network security than all of the bad, nasty external forces seeking to compromise your systems. Check out How dangerous user behavior puts networks at risk to read the whole article and hopefully pick up some tips you can use to protect your network from the inside as well.

BitTorrent Grows Up

Peer-to-Peer (P2P) networking is sort of the “red-headed step child” of the network world. It is almost universally condemned by network administrators and security experts. It is blamed for a good chunk of software piracy, and illegal music and movie downloads. Files downloaded may contain spyware or malware. Even in a best-case scenario, where a user is downloading a legitimate program that is clean and safe, participating on a P2P network still eats up network bandwidth. On the other hand, P2P networking has innovated and revolutionized certain aspects of networking and content delivery. That is particularly true of BitTorrent. BitTorrent filters out spyware/malware, as well as corrupt or fake files, and the method of downloading from multiple sources simultaneously allows BitTorrent users to achieve exceptional download speeds. BitTorrent is continuing to strive to establish the distributed P2P technology as a legitimate networking solution. BitTorrent has announced a new service, BitTorrent DNA, to let customers use the BitTorrent network to distribute streaming video. Check out BitTorrent moves from piracy to video streaming to read more about the new offering.

Cisco Forecasts Exponential Growth of IP Traffic

Cisco has released a report detailing their forecasts and predictions for the world of IP communications. In a nutshell, they see the continued adoption of broadband Internet access, and the growth of online video (for business use as well as consumer / social sites such as YouTube.com) and peer-to-peer (P2P) networking as driving forces that will cause the total volume of IP traffic to roughly double every 2 years through 2011. You can read the report from Cisco, or check out this Networkworld.com article for an analysis and summary of the report forecasts.

Net Neutrality

The issue of Net Neutrality has been a hot topic lately. Some major Internet providers, such as AT&T and Comcast, propose that they own their networks and that they should be able to block or throttle content. In other words, if Company A pays more than Company B, maybe Company A’s data gets priority throughput. Or, perhaps AT&T can hinder content or data from competitors such as Comcast. On the other side of the spectrum are those who argue that the Internet has to remain free and neutral. In this Computerworld.com article, the issue is explored more deeply.

Here is my $.02. The Internet has to remain neutral. We can’t take something as indispensible as the Internet, a tool that can be leveraged to educate and to level the playing field between rich and poor, big and small, and let big corporations control who can access it or how. Capitalism and free trade aside, AT&T does not have the right, in my opinion, to throttle or limit access from competing Internet providers, or to give a higher priority to some data over other data based on who is paying more.

Granted, users already receive varying speeds of access depending on what they pay. Users of cable modems typically get faster speeds than users of DSL who get faster speeds than users of dial-up telephone connections. But, whatever data they do send or receive is treated equally. It may be slower getting to the routers and servers it is heading for, but it is not unduly hindered based on who generated it or how much they are paying.

The Internet is a tool for the masses. As the old Information Superhighway comparison suggests, it is analogous to our highway system. If the United States were to privatize the maintenance of the roads and highways, would we allow the corporations running the road system to restrict or deny access? All inidviduals and corporations need equal access to the road system. Otherwise, a corporation, or coalition of corporations, can abuse their power to separate the haves from the have-nots.

The Internet providers need to come up with some other business model for generating revenue and profit, and compete fairly with other Internet providers. If they don’t like to play nicely with others, they should get out of the ISP business.

IPv6 Growing Pains

IPv6 has been the “emerging” standard for a couple years now. IPv6 was developed to replace the current IPv4 standard (what happened to IPv5?) and help to address some of the shortfalls in security and reliability with the protocol as well as to expand the available address space. It hasn’t taken the world by storm, but it is slowly spreading throughout organizations and the Internet. In recent tests, however, the IPv6 Consortium has determined that there is a learning curve that exists for network administrators to effectively implement and leverage IPv6. The protocol itself seems solid, but administrators need to know more about how and where to use it and which devices are compatible. Read IPv6 will require learning curve for network admins on Computerworld.com for more details about the test and some of the issues that were uncovered.

Fastest Internet Connection In The World

While the Internet2 Network and IEEE pursue varying methods for maximizing network transmission speeds and increasing the bandwidth available for data on the Internet, Californian networking expert Peter Lothberg has set his mother in Sweden up with the fastest Internet connection in the world. Relying on cutting edge modulation techniques, 75 year old Sigbritt Lothberg enjoys speeds up to 40Gbps. This Washington Post article has more on the story and how this network speed was achieved.