UK ISPs Consider VPN To Avoid Piracy Crackdown

Mark.JUK writes "Broadband internet providers in the UK are considering whether or not to follow the example of a Swedish ISP, Bahnhof, which recently put all of its customers behind a secure Virtual Private Network (VPN) in order to circumvent new European Data Retention and Internet Copyright Infringement laws. By doing this, it makes their logs less useful to outside forces (e.g. rights holders) and allows customers to use the internet anonymously. However, several UK ISPs, including business provider AAISP (Andrews and Arnold), have suggested that there may be better solutions than sticking everybody behind a costly VPN. AAISP's boss, Adrian Kennard, claims, 'something ISPs will be doing anyway, carrier grade NAT, will create a similar anonymity as there is no requirement to log NAT sessions.' Meanwhile, Timico's CTO, Trefor Davies, warns, 'It would be a pretty costly project for all ISPs to implement such a system. It would also bring with it risks – suddenly it becomes a lot easier for governments to start monitoring all your traffic because it all goes through a single point (or at least a few points) on the network.'"

Comments

Interesting

[Haedrian]

So the public don't like the law because they can get ratted out.
The ISPs don't like the law either

Why is there this law again?

Re:Interesting

[Anonymous Coward]

Y'see, it is a very simple one, the reason why pretty much any other law hated by everyone is around: money from media companies.

Re:Interesting

[Eskarel]

There's a law because intellectual property is the only major export most Western nations still have. However unpopular this sort of thing is they're all far too afraid to risk losing that economic base, so they don't want to change the equation too much. Hence laws to preserve the status quo.

Re:Interesting

[rrossman2]

The funny this to me is:

Sean Hannity (can't stand him, but listen sometimes on my way home from work just to get mad lol) had Joe Lieberman on and had they talked about this and that. Two days later Hannity has two foreign people on talking about what's going on in Egypt, with each person having different views. He then asked the one if the current President of Egypt (or whatever that position is called) is a Dictator, and kept hounding the point. After the lady wouldn't agree or say, Sean said something along the lines of "well look, he had the internet shut off, which makes him a dictator".

Well if that's true, then Lieberman is a dictator for having come up with the internet kill switch for the US, as well as anyone else who agreed on the bill.

It's funny how one action someone else is evil and "makes someone a dictator", yet the same or similar actions else where are just fine.

It really makes me sick

Why do people worry

[gmthor]

Why do people worry about wire trapping?

I've got nothing to hide. \end{cynical}

Why workarounds ?

[cdp0]

Instead of searching for technical workarounds, we should try to block such laws. Workarounds are just that, and sooner or later the law will workaround workarounds.

What will happen if encryption will become illegal for the general public ? Today this might seem far-fetched, but we are slowly giving in, and it might be a tad too late when we'll realize what we lost (and I'm not talking about the regular /. guy, but about the general public).

Re:Internet is not a curiosity anymore

[Chaonici]

I don't understand how you got from point A to point B in your post. Are you saying that because the Internet is quite important nowadays, we need to screw it up with overzealous copyright enforcement?

Also, two-tier internet

[Arancaytar]

With a simple DSL access, possibly using a push-based dynamic DNS service, you can become a server right now. You can even serve out of a local NAT by forwarding a few ports in your router. Without renting a server, you can host a small website, provide an FTP share, seed a torrent, and host a tor node. Particularly in the last case, many small users with their own computers are what tor thrives on.

If your computer has to share its global address with hundreds behind a NAT at the ISP level, this becomes basically impossible (just try asking your ISP to forward a port for you!). The internet will be split into two halves made up by the content providers who can afford a globally accessible address, and the content consumers who sit behind a glorified television.

Re:Internet is not a curiosity anymore

[Anonymous Coward]

Did you forget this part of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights?

Article 29

      1. Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of his personality is possible.
      2. In the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone shall be subject only to such limitations as are determined by law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare in a democratic society.
      3. These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

In other words, once you get your hoped for one-world government, your rights may just disappear in a flash if politicians decide the "collective's" rights are more important than yours. Enjoy!

Re:Internet is not a curiosity anymore

[h4rm0ny]

Slashdot is something of an echo chamber. There's an entire world out there that isn't filled with people trying to proclaim piracy a moral action, but the group think in this place is extraordinary. You see similar things in articles about Microsoft.