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Network Webcurity Wishlist?
breillysf asks: "I am a California-based network security attorney who has been asked by a senior US Senator to compile a list of the most important legal concerns facing network security administrators. He has a good feel for the government security issues (and lack there of), but he is concerned about what is going on in the front lines in the private sector. I thought the Slashdot crowd would have the best feel on the pulse of the current situation. Specifically, if you could ask Congress for help in the area of network and information security, what would you ask for? Or would you tell them to get out of the way?"
"For example, I tried to push for tax incentives for upgrades in network security measures, but the Senator replied that is dead in the water because we are now spending into a deficit. He would rather see insurance companies reward firms with lower premiums for enhanced security. But there are International legal issues, compliance issues, privacy complications, potential negligence liability exposure, lack of federal incident response, FOIA and anti-trust issues with info sharing, conflicting state and federal cybercrime and privacy laws, USA Patriot Act concerns, etc."
This is a great chance to get our concerns as a community out into the public sector.
Consider this: ONE person/organization has EVERYONE'S personal and financial data online. This goes against all design architectures in both security AND engineering. A single point of failure. Imagine one bank in real life, with Barney Fife guarding it. Would you put your life savings there?
With more and more commerce occurring on the internet, the more important it is that there is some scheme to protect this important market. I am particularly concerned with one private company holding the public trust in their hands -- I am also very concerned about the government, for that matter, also holding this information!
"Coax" all carriers and providers to do egress filtering at the edges of their networks. This should help significantly in reducing DDoS attacks and should help make malicious network activity easier to trace.
the more crypto the better. and don't try to legislate backdoors into it or anything.
people need to reliaze that crypto is available to anyone with the ability to use it...it needs help in getting the average joe to use it.
most people won't use PGP or something b/c it is too complicated. crypto needs to be built into office and internet apps from the ground up. strong crypto. stuff that can't be broken.
people need to feel secure about these things. i think the govt has a lot to offer in promoting pki and such to get this in the hands of everyone.
privacy is important. the govt needs to make a proactive effort to show that they believe in personal privacy and are willing to help make it happen online.
If the government would require on all their networks IPv6 and IPSEC, that would go along way toward IPv6 and IPSEC being accepted and would improve network security. Nothing else needs to be done.
doesnt' mean they're the least secure.
Exploits are still made against products that Microsoft secured over a year ago. And indeed, microsoft gets exploited the most because they are used by the vast majority of non-technical users. Can you imagine what would happen if 90% of the computer-owning people used linux? Every single hole in the OS would not only be explioted, but you could count on it being a LOT less likely that the average-joe user would *ever* update his software to fix the hole
One of these employees got bored with his coding tasks and, with no previous exposure to a broadband Internet connection, apparently decided to become a script kiddie on company time. From all outward appearances, he got pretty good at it, but one day it caught up with him: U.S. Marshals came into my office and served me with a court order that asked for many, many pieces of information that would tell them who had been cracking systems from our corporate network.
I had no problem turning this information over, as the other choice was to go to jail and let the hacker go free. However, I was appalled with the way the marshals treated me: they knew that I was just the sysadmin, not the perpetrator, but they still treated me like a criminal. When I told them that our NAT setup doesn't keep logs of every single outgoing connection from our network (as had been requested in the court order) they got really pissed off and started threatening me. At that point I told them that I was not going to do anything for them without talking to counsel, and they backed off.
So, the moral of the story here is that law enforcement needs to show more respect for sysadmins, and learn the difference between a network admin and a criminal on the admin's network. Treating everybody as though they are all guilty will only build resentment and get in the way of getting their precious case solved.
df
This is probably the most important thing any network professional can ask for.
Outlaw evil behavior, not the tools that enable that behavior. In many cases the tools have many, many more positive and educational uses than negative uses. In a lot of cases, the tools can be used to stop or examine criminal (cracking) behavior.
Say what you will about Steve Gibson, but the
guy knows a little about network security. He gives an extended discussion on how he used the tools of the IRC-based DDOS trade to help oust some script k1dd13's that were hammering his site.
Tools like L0pht-crack, the NT password cracker tool, I couldn't have convinced my execs that a company password policy was necessary and passwords like 'password01' were unnacceptable.
Just like we don't ban sledgehammers and bolt-cutters even though they can be used to break padlocks, we shouldn't ban network tools either.
The next Slashdot story will be ready soon, but subscribers can beat the rush and slashdot the links early!
This argument holds about as much water as the "sue the automakers because cars shouldn't go that fast"
No, we just want to be able to sue software companies for glaring holes in hastily rushed out the door to meet this months balance sheet and we'll patch it later after we crush the competition products. Think products that are badly made with defects (weak ball joints that break off when you hit the first pothole, or piss in the coffee), not because they are misused (driven too fast or spilt in your lap). If Ford et al could make machines w/o ANY liability for safety & industry standards and got in a hypercompetitive winner-take-all market where it comes to a) make it safe b) make a buck, they would take option b) everytime and do anything for the sake of competition and profitability, leaving dead bodies strewn down the highway.
try { do() || do_not(); } catch (JediException err) { yoda(err); }
Make all government-funded development work open-sourced.
But what would you have the government do to change it?
Simple. Inform consumers of what we pros already know. Before using passport, you must read the 24 point disclaimer on the web page:
"WARNING. ALL INFORMATION STORED IN THIS SERVICE MAY BE ACCESSIBLE BY CRIMINALS."
Call it truth in advertising or whatever, but be sure that NO ONE can call their product secure unless it is.
A lot more useful than any regulation or a thousand laws IMO.
I don't want knowledge. I want certainty. - Law, David Bowie
I can see your point. But consider it has a fallout... If you thought using free software in business was hard now, it'd be absolutely impossible after such a bill was passed.
This is a tough one. I've always been rather upset that software includes a disclaimer that says they are not responsible for whether or not the software works. I think that's bullshit. But, on the other hand, am I willing to pay more to get that disclaimer taken away? That's another part of the reality. If companies are more financially responsible, the prices are going to go up. That's what has happened in every other industry, for example automobiles, private planes, etc.
Maybe that's a side effect of a maturing industry. But it also means the small mom & pop shops(aka Free Software) is going to die. Funny thing is that usually big businesses push for these regulations for exactly this reason. It's pretty easy for a company like GM to pay to follow all the government safety regulations on cars. It's difficult for a new startup who has to build all that testing and reporting infrastructure from scratch.
Absolutely.
I work at a bank. We have bi-annual audits, and if we screw up , the FDIC and other FEDERAL government agencies can shut us down. Literally. They can take away our charter as a bank, they can fine us, etc.
I would say that leaving customer credit card information out in the open (meaning where hackers can get to it) is not only irresponsible, but also criminal. Make it a federal crime punishable by 10 years imprisonment and $100,000 fine per infraction, and then audit the hell out of anyone who accepts credit cards.
This will force companies who want to trade online to REQUIRE their software vendors to CONTRACTUALLY guarantee that their software offerrings cannot, under any circumstances, be breached by unauthorized personnel.
This is already standard practice in the banking software industry, and it's usually one of the first things we talk about when reviewing potential software.
Yes it's expensive, yes it's a pain, and yes it's required for the long-term stability of the banking industry.
As far as what congress can do now: give more money to the executive branch for cyber-crime law enforcment.
Related: For shipping companies to include 100% insurance in all shipments. Maybe that way they'll be more careful. And make it a violation of Federal law not to insured all packages 100%. Also, fine them if they don't pay the insurance settlements immediately. Like to the tune of $1,000 per violation per day late.
People in America should not have to have a law degree in order to not feel at the mercy of multi-billion dollar corporations.
These companies will complain and say that this will hurt their industry and the economy as a whole, but I say that's the opposite: If you have reliable shipments and safe payment systems, the economy will just ooze along nicely.
"Piter, too, is dead."
Paraphrasing Bruce Schneirer; We already have laws in place for stealing, copyright, etc. Just because someone is using a new technology to commit the same old crimes doesn't mean new laws are needed.
Keep the Classic Slashdot.
The most important thing is to push for the correct approach. By that I mean whenever one talks about anything "digital" or "computer"/"internet"-related, commonsense dissapears, most people tend to look at relations as if a different balance was needed. It is not. Cyber tools are like any other tools. Companies that offer computer-related products should be accountable for damages, like any other company. Products that involve risk should stamp that clearly in the manuals. Tha most secure way to use software should be described in detail. If one promisses and sends a bill, one has to deliver, or else compensate. Things like that. Think of software as an automobile. It's so simple! That would answer many other questions.
One thing, though, *is* different: the absence of an a clear geographic location for things and people on the net. This can only be dealt with through international cooperation. I would advise your Senator not to try and push for unilateral measures, as seems to be the norm in the US with this administration, because that would make it far more difficult to iron-out differences in the future.
I no longer live in California, but I'd love to see some changes in the state.
In a nutshell, intelligently enforce the laws you have.
One. Fund a specialized law enforcement group dedicated to cybercrimes committed by individuals and organized crime gangs located physically in the state. The group should consist of state marshalls, prosecutors, lawyers, judges, and a civilian oversight committee. Recruit from computer science programs at state universities, or require experienced judges and prosecutors to attend graduate level CS programs at least part time. The oversight committee should be paid, at levels to rival good silicon valley firms, so that experienced engineers can spend a couple of years helping to guide law enforcement efforts.
The cybercrimes group should go after trade secret thieves, spammers, scammers, slammers, crammers, and others who feed on the naivete of consumers, or who interfere in the operations of companies. They should target phone companies who slam/cram consumers, arresting corporate officers on criminal charges as warranted. They should actively track down individuals and groups who send out UCE, since spam clogging my servers is the largest single cost I have as an administrator. There should be an undercover unit targeting criminal groups who dupe individuals with "guaranteed 100% opt-in 5 million email addresses CDROM". There are many confidence/scam operators in California who have no fear of prosecution, because there hasn't been a single arrest in the last decade for any hi-tech scams in the state.
The group should have a very publically advertised way of being contacted, and should give priority to administrators like myself who want to start legal proceedings against criminals inside of California. The people taking the complaint should have a thorough understanding of network issues, system management, and technology in general. That means you will have to pay them competitive salaries, which will make this the most expensive law enforcement group in the state. Don't worry about the cost, the value to california businesses and voters^Wtax pay^W^Wresidents will be worth it.
Two. Criminalize aiding and abetting identity theft. This means the state should stop selling records to marketing firms. California needs to rework its incorporation laws to dis-allow companies from compiling marketing databases for sale to others. Any corporation that compiles in depth information on individuals (putting together name, address, SS#, CDL# and photo, tax history, property records, medical info) and then sell it should have its charter revoked immediately, and criminally prosecute the directors.
I'm regularly in touch with my counterparts on the west coast of the US, and I hear their complaints on a regular basis. The FBI has dropped *ALL* cases that don't directly involve shit that happened in September. Local cops are completely incompetent to do anything more than write speeding tickets or bust kids with joints. There is no state organization to fight cybercrime. The admins spend most of their time keeping their long distance voice traffic on the best carrier when they get slammed once a month. They deal with a level of spam which equals 80% of their incoming traffic, much of it from dialups inside of California. They have to deal with employees walking out with 40 CDROMs full of locally produced code who start at a competitor the next day, who one month later have an identical product that even duplicates the bugs. Hackers at the firewall are insignificant compared to all the other criminal activity going on.
Look at the Avant! case, where a handful of engineers walked out of Cadence, and the next week started selling an identical product at half the price and made millions of dollars in profit. The only way Cadence could prosecute was to pay for training for the judge and prosecutor, pay the whole investigation costs, and it still took most of a decade for the criminal parts of the case to occur.
There are organized gangs selling spam-kits to unsuspecting idiots all over California. They take a bunch of money up front from the scammees, in promise of huge returns down the road for selling "penis enlargement" and MLM scams. Until now, these scammers have had no fear of prosecution, because there isn't a cop or judge in the state who will (or able to) apply the law.
There are arguments that most of these things should be left to civil action. The problem is that civil action costs lots of money, and the civil courts tend to ignore complex cases that don't have huge amounts of money on both sides. The PUC is incapable of dealing with crammers, and have declared that any consumer who is hurt can throw millions into a civil case and hope to win. With consumer protection at the lowest in California history, its time for the government to step back into enforcing the law.
Arguments about the internet being international are just a red herring. The laws are already on the books, some jurisdiction has to start applying them first. So what if most of the scammers leave the state? Fine, but I doubt it will happen, the drug dealers didn't all leave with tough new anti-drug laws. I'd be willing to bet very few people have enough money to start a new life in another state, spammers are lazy bastards. Kick down a few doors, prosecute some spammers and make some press about it. You might only make a small dent in spam, but I'll take anything I can get.
the AC
Hemos is like...sci-fi fans;he thinks technology is cool, but he hasn't bothered to understand the science it's based on
I was offered a better opportunity recently, which allowed me to leave a fortune 500 company where I was the engineering manager providing ISP services to thousands of end users. While in that position, I often asked myself this same question and came up with the following wish list.
There are a couple of things that the government can do to make computer networks and computing more secure.
1) Repeal the DMCA. When security problems are found in an implementation of an algorithm, this law makes it illegal to talk about the problem or to implement a solution.
2) Repeal patent law as it applies to software. Software is well protected under copyright law as a work of art. The underlying function (algorithms used) for every program out there is a subtle change to prior art. It's just that no one but large corporations have access to the courts to successfully challenge these ludicrous restriction's on sharing mathematical equations with one another.
3) Allow end users to sue companies that keep there products closed and security problems a secret.
4) After fixing the above. Get out of the way as the free market takes over and those with bad software are forced to compete or go out of business.