Interesting Article (FWD)

[no1special]

              Why to Secure Your Computer Network
              -----------------------------------

     There has been a great deal of talk about network security over
the past several years. Almost all of this talk has been about the
"how" aspect of network security - which is to say the practical
steps required to prevent malicious individuals from damaging the
structure and function of computer networks. Comparatively little has
been said about the "why" aspect of computer security. There has been
comparatively little discussion of what, in particular, makes our
networks worth protecting and why we want to maintain the large,
complex, and vulnerable network that the Internet has become.

     In looking into the subject of network infrastructure, security,
and architecture I slowly began to understand what Cliff Stoll (author
of the book Cukoo's Egg) meant when he said the following:

     "So long as you think of someone ripping you off as a 'penetrator', 
   you'll never make any progress. As long as they remained impersonal
   and detatched, the NSA people would never realize that this wasn't
   just a computer being penetrated, but a community was being
   attacked.
     ...I'd never solve the problem until I got involved; until I
   worried about the cancer patients who might be injured by this guy;
   until I became angry that this hacker was directly threatening all
   of us." (Cliff Stoll -- Cuckoo's Egg p. 279) 

     From my perspective as both a user and as an administrator of
computer networks, The most powerful ability of computer networks is
their ability to bring people together. The explosive growth in
the Internet, for example can be largely attributed to the desire
for people to communicate inexpensively over long distances. 

    The "killer app" of the Internet is not, from my perspective, the
World Wide Web, but rather electronic mail. Most of what is being done
on the Web could just have easily been done through other means, but
there is no real replacement for e-mail. Internet e-mail has become,
over a very short span of years, one of the de-facto standard means of
communications both in the business world and in our personal
lives. Every time someone new gets an e-mail account, it is another
reason to use e-mail. The more people have e-mail the more valuable
the network becomes.

    I believe that these personal connections are what makes the
Internet and the various intranets valuable. From this perspective
anything that destroys or reduces our ability to communicate makes
these networks less valuable. To state this more clearly, it is my
belief that networks create value by making it possible to quickly and
safely communicate and share information. Anything which increases the
ability of network users to share information quickly, easily, and
safely will increase the usefulness and value of the
network. Conversely, anything which decreases the ability of users to
communicate and share information decreases the network's value. If
this is true, the most valuable resource on a network is each user's
trust in that network's ability to support their need to communicate
and share information safely.

     In the long run, while electronic commerce is important, it is
nowhere near as important as the system of trust which holds networks
together. The most important thing to preserve is the willingness of
people to trust each other - the willingness of administrators,
engineers developers and other network users to share information with
each other. If you accept this as true, it quickly becomes clear that
the the the following five problems pose the most serious threat to
Internet and intranet security: 

      1) E-mail viruses -- viruses which propogate by electronic mail
         make it more difficult for users to work with attached
         files. These threats make it more difficult for users to
         share their documents and research with other people who they
         may not know well. Right now every systems administrator is
         telling their users not to open attachments that they are not
         completely sure about - this undermines the trust which makes
         collaboration possible. 

      2) Trojan-horse software -- software which has hidden "back
         doors" or breaches a computer's security in a malicious way
         can have a severe negative effect on the ability of systems
         administrators and developers ability to exchange information
         related to their work. This in potentially a very grave threat
         against the open-source community - which depends very
         heavily on the ability of developers to trust each other's
         work.

      3) Malicious Applets (malware) -- Malware creates distrust
         between web page authors and web users. A web user should be
         able to judge a website by the value of its content without
         having to worry about wether his browser will be attacked by
         the author's system. Creating distrust in this arena can have
         devestating effects on the usefulness of the Internet.

      5) UBE (spam) -- Unsolicited bulk e-mail creates an indirect
         threat to the trust which makes e-mail useful. As spam
         becomes more common, filters are constructed which block it
         more effeciently. Unfortunately, it is impossible to
         cunstruct a filter which blocks a high percentage of UBE
         without blocking at least some legitimate mail. This will
         ultimately have negative consequences on electronic mail
         systems.

      4) Cracking attacks -- Cracking attacks, especially attacks on
         e-mail, web and FTP servers, make it more difficult for
         people to attach private networks to the Internet. Every time
         the barriers to entry are raised, the value of the Internet as
         a whole suffers. 

     As we enter the 21st century, computer networks are becoming a
vital tool for reaching both business and personal goals. While there
is no question that we need to secure these networks against those who
would abuse them, it is important to do so in a way that protects the
true value of those networks.

                            Jacques Richer


   
     


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