On Wed, 17 Nov 2010 11:45:14 -0500 Bob Poortinga <bobp+nanog@webster.tsc.com> wrote:
This article, which quotes Dmitri Alperovitch of McAfee, is full of false data as far as I can tell. I assert that much less than 15%, probably on the order of 1% to 2% (much less in the US) was actually diverted. The correct statement is that 15% of the world's network prefixes were "hijacked", but the impact was minimal in the US.
In my experience, it is not uncommon for folks in the security industry who talk to the press to be quoted claiming something that turns out to be careless exaggeration at best. The February 2007 DNS DDoS attacks were a good example where that happened and I'm familiar with. The media likes a good story.
My concern is that this "report" will be presented to the US Congress without being refuted by experts in the know.
Call me an optimist, but I find it unlikely that a trade magazine will carry more weight than simply drawing further attention to the matter, which would presumably result in more rigorous analysis if warranted. John