Routers

Are Cisco knockoffs a modern Trojan Horse?

So it’s not exactly breaking at this point, but scary nonetheless: The FBI’s Operation Cisco Raider has led to a number criminal cases involving counterfeit Cisco products bought by military agencies and contractors, according to the New York Times.

What’s so worrisome? Knockoff handbags and even iPhones aren’t a direct security threat, but fake Cisco routers might be, as the Times reports:

The potential threat, according to the F.B.I. agents who gave a briefing at the Office of Management and Budget on Jan. 11, includes the remote jamming of supposedly secure computer networks and gaining access to supposedly highly secure systems.

Cisco says we’re safe this time, and the counterfeiters’ motives are a little more pedestrian:

“We did not find any evidence of re-engineering in the manner that was described in the F.B.I. presentation,” said John Noh, a Cisco spokesman. He added that the company believed the counterfeiters were interested in copying high volume products to make a quick profit. “We know what these counterfeiters are about.”

Today, it might (hopefully) be about making a quick buck, but an Ars Technica article underlines some of the Pentagon fears about of so-called “Manchurian chips“:

There is no question that the technological infrastructure in the United States is under siege. We have seen a steady litany of attempted intrusions originating from abroad, most likely perpetrated by a mix of foreign governments and organized crime groups. An emerging concern is that the same agents behind those cyber-attacks could also have access to the chip fabrication facilities that make the components used in US military technology. Researchers say that virtually undetectable kill-switches and backdoors can be built into any of the countless integrated-circuit chips used in mission-critical military hardware systems.

So what can you do to make sure your own equipment is genuine? Not a whole lot, it appears. Amy browsed some forums for tips, but the best we could find was the old consumer adage: If a deal looks to good to be true, it probably is.

Vyatta more than just open source routing

Since I first encountered Vyatta two years ago, they have grown beyond merely being an open source software router. These days, Vyatta is calling itself an “open-source networking” company, and their router is now a router/firewall/VPN.

Dave Roberts, Vyatta’s VP of Strategy, spoke on a panel session called “Open source networking: An insanely smart idea?” at Interop Las Vegas 2008. I asked Dave whether open source networking was making any progress against the common arguments against its use in businesses, such as companies wanting the assurance of “one (vendor’s) throat to choke” should they have problems with the technology. Dave says that issue is “exactly the problem Vyatta was created to solve,” and said that they wanted to bring together all the disparate open source parts to become the “Red Hat of the networking industry.”

In this video, Dave talks a little bit about where Vyatta is now, some of the company’s recent price/performance successes, and new features they’re offering.

“Most awesome router ever”

Last Friday, G4TV’s Attack of the Show named the wireless Belkin N1 Vision the “most awesome router ever.” Co-hosts Kevin Pereira and Olivia Munn rattled off a list of winning specs including 802.11n (although it runs in “mixed” mode), multiple SSIDs, a “guest-enable” feature and easy installation without CDs or software (you just turn it on and your computer detects it automatically).

The obvious thing that’s most impressive about the N1, however, is its sleek design and LCD display, which tells you a lot more about your connectivity status than the traditional blinking lights. The N1 is getting a lot of press for its sexy appearance; it looks more like an iPhone than your typical Linksys box.

So is this just for home users with gadget lust? Would you shell out $200 for this sleek 802.11n router — or would you prefer something that looks more like, well, a router? (Hey, we thought routers were sexy all along.)