CAIDA tells us that over 25% of the Internet must be removed before connectivity degrades. I'm quite a cynic, but I doubt the CIA could pull off that kind of damage, much less al Qaeda

Before we go yelling FUD about the media lets make sure we are not dissmeinating false information ourselves. The CAIDA analysis only looked at the 52,505 most connected IP addresses. Last time I checked there were a few more IP addresses than that on the Internet. Further, the 25% number was when the entire giant component disappeared not when connectivity "started" to degrade. The Internet is not "bombproof" and it is not "fragile", but somewhere in between. How far in which direction is up for debate, but lets at least try to make to debate intelligent and informed. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Stephen Sprunk" <ssprunk@cisco.com> Date: Tuesday, November 19, 2002 5:04 pm Subject: Re: Bin Laden Associate Warns of Cyberattack

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When was the last time you took a sample and tested for the

Thus spake <Michael.Dillon@radianz.com> presence of

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fertilizer *BEFORE* you let the truck driver put that diesel into your generator tanks?

Worst case, you'd detect this during your periodic generator test :)

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The best defence against all of these potential terrorist attacks is to do what the military does, i.e. spread out. Never put more than a fraction of your eggs in one basket. Use the network to connect diverse and widespread> assets so that they can function as a unit even though they are physically separated.

Isn't that the reason that IP was designed the way it was?

9/11 showed us that, despite the relatively concentrated POPs in NYC, the Internet was still the only communications medium that survived the attack --and it was largely unaffected, even for users located in NYC itself!

CAIDA tells us that over 25% of the Internet must be removed before connectivity degrades. I'm quite a cynic, but I doubt the CIA could pull off that kind of damage, much less al Qaeda.

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This philosophy works whether your assets are combat soldiers or network PoPs. And again, there is a role for government here. How about tax reductions for companies who harden their networks by removing single points of failure that are vulnerable to terrorist attack?

Oh yes, let's create a tax credit system which will essentially become an arbitrary means for government officials to reward friends in the privatesector in return for kickbacks. That'll definitely solve the problem (which has been shown not to exist). Look how well it's worked for healthcare and oil companies!

S

----- Original Message ----- From: "Stephen Sprunk" <ssprunk@cisco.com> Date: Tuesday, November 19, 2002 5:04 pm Subject: Re: Bin Laden Associate Warns of Cyberattack

...

When was the last time you took a sample and tested for the

Thus spake <Michael.Dillon@radianz.com> presence of

...

fertilizer *BEFORE* you let the truck driver put that diesel into your generator tanks?

Worst case, you'd detect this during your periodic generator test :)

...

The best defence against all of these potential terrorist attacks is to do what the military does, i.e. spread out. Never put more than a fraction of your eggs in one basket. Use the network to connect diverse and widespread> assets so that they can function as a unit even though they are physically separated.

Isn't that the reason that IP was designed the way it was?

9/11 showed us that, despite the relatively concentrated POPs in NYC, the Internet was still the only communications medium that survived the attack --and it was largely unaffected, even for users located in NYC itself!

CAIDA tells us that over 25% of the Internet must be removed before connectivity degrades. I'm quite a cynic, but I doubt the CIA could pull off that kind of damage, much less al Qaeda.

...

This philosophy works whether your assets are combat soldiers or network PoPs. And again, there is a role for government here. How about tax reductions for companies who harden their networks by removing single points of failure that are vulnerable to terrorist attack?

Oh yes, let's create a tax credit system which will essentially become an arbitrary means for government officials to reward friends in the privatesector in return for kickbacks. That'll definitely solve the problem (which has been shown not to exist). Look how well it's worked for healthcare and oil companies!

S