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Australia Wants ISPs To Protect Customers From Viruses (sophos.com)
An anonymous reader quotes Sopho's Naked Security blog:
In a column in The West Australian, Dan Tehan, Australia's cybersecurity minister, wrote: "Just as we trust banks to hold our money, just as we trust doctors with our health, in a digital age we need to be able to trust telecommunications companies to protect our information from threats." A companion news article in the same newspaper cited Tehan as arguing that "the onus is on telecommunications companies to develop products to stop their customers being infected with viruses"...
Tehan's government roles include assisting the prime minister on cybersecurity, so folks throughout Australia perked up when he said all this. However, it's not clear if there's an actual plan behind Tehan's observations -- or if there is, whether it will be backed by legal mandates... Back home in Australia, some early reactions to the possibility of any new government interference weren't kind. In iTWire, Sam Varghese said, "Dan Tehan has just provided the country with adequate reasons as to why he should not be allowed anywhere near any post that has anything to do with online security."
The West Australian also reports Australia's prime minister met telecommunications companies this week, "where he delivered the message the Government expected them to do more to shut dodgy sites and scams," saying the government will review current legislation to "remove any roadblocks that may be preventing the private sector and government from delivering such services."
Tehan's government roles include assisting the prime minister on cybersecurity, so folks throughout Australia perked up when he said all this. However, it's not clear if there's an actual plan behind Tehan's observations -- or if there is, whether it will be backed by legal mandates... Back home in Australia, some early reactions to the possibility of any new government interference weren't kind. In iTWire, Sam Varghese said, "Dan Tehan has just provided the country with adequate reasons as to why he should not be allowed anywhere near any post that has anything to do with online security."
The West Australian also reports Australia's prime minister met telecommunications companies this week, "where he delivered the message the Government expected them to do more to shut dodgy sites and scams," saying the government will review current legislation to "remove any roadblocks that may be preventing the private sector and government from delivering such services."
In a world where ISPs filter viruses for you, every user EXPECTS the ISP to do the protecting, and takes no precautions themselves. This leads to lazy netizens who cry foul at ever little thing. Instead, I say protect yourself. Run a firewall. Don't open ports unless you KNOW WHAT THE HELL YOU'RE DOING!
It's akin to asking doctors to protect you from STDs. Technically they can. Practically you wouldn't want that. A doctor in your bedroom. Overseeing every intercourse you have.
I don't 'trust' my bank to hold my money. I audit my accounts with them every month to be sure they don't make a 'mistake'.
I don't 'trust' doctors; I do my own research, especially when they tell me something that I don't think is in my best interests, or that just plain doesn't make sense.
I don't 'trust' my government, I question what it's doing all the time, and will speak up if I see something unjust, or just plain dumb, being dumb -- because *I* am not dumb.
I sure as hell don't trust my ISP, or any ISP for that matter, to 'keep me and my computer safe'. ISPs invade our privacy constantly in the name of higher profits for themselves, and because the government wants to collect data on it's citizenry and generally snoop into people's lives.
It is not, and should not, be the business of ISPs to do this thing. Their role should be to provide connectivity to the Internet for it's customers, and that is ALL they should be in business to do, not to 'censor' anything, 'filter' anything, or anything like that. Just give us a reliable connection and leave it at that!
What do you want them to do?
Even paving it over isn't guaranteed to work, shit infects your bios and comes back. Free tech support with a consumer ISP contract?
This is exactly what an ISP should do. They can't protect you from yourself, but they can protect the larger net from zombies. Of course the bot herders will just adapt, might stop some kiddies.
John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
...Australia's government shows that they don't really get this whole "technology" thing...