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North American Network Operators Group Date Prev | Date Next | Date Index | Thread Index | Author Index | Historical Re: The Backhoe: A Real Cyberthreat?
Agree that a level of security is required, but the real value is in customers like banks knowing where their fiber is, so when they lease service for a back up provider they know it is not in the same ditch. The article attribute the pro regulation quote to me, but actually it was out of context. I was proposing that you need an anonymous secure data pool that cusomers could qery to see what providers for a set of buildings are diverse. The mathematics to do the diversity optimization are available just an issue of data. ----- Original Message ----- From: Jeff Shultz <[email protected]> Date: Thursday, January 19, 2006 3:42 pm Subject: Re: The Backhoe: A Real Cyberthreat? > > Jerry Pasker wrote: > > > >> While it is always fun to call the government stupid, or anyone > else > >> for that matter, there is a little more to the story. > >> > >> - For one you do not need a backhoe to cut fiber > >> - Two, fiber carries a lot more than Internet traffic - cell > phone, > >> 911, financial tranactions, etc. etc. > >> - Three, while it is very unlikely terrorists would only attack > >> telecom infrastructure, a case can be made for a telecom attack > that > >> amplifies a primary conventional attack. The loss of > communications > >> would complicate things quite a bit. > >> > >> I'll agree it is very far fethced you could hatch an attack > plan from > >> FCC outage reports, but I would not call worrying about attacks > on > >> telecommunications infrastructure stupid. Enough sobriety > though, > >> please return to the flaming. > > > > I agree with you on all points except the one you didn't make. > :-) > > > > The point is: What's more damaging? Being open with the maps > to > > EVERYONE can see where the problem areas are so they can design > around > > them? (or chose not to) or pulling the maps, and reports, and > sticking > > our heads in the sand, and hoping that security through > obscurity works. > > > > The people who have the problem areas should already know about > them and > be designing around them. I'm sure that Sprint, for example, > knows > very well where backhoes have gone through it's fiber. Although it > sounds like they may not know where all their fiber is... <sigh> > > Joe Schmuck down on 2nd Street doesn't need to know about the > problem > areas and his input would likely be unwelcome. > > And no security or amount of redundancy is likely to be perfect - > and > these companies are in business to make money after all. > > Obscurity is not the entire answer. But it should be part of it. > > -- > Jeff Shultz >
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