[94999] in North American Network Operators' Group
Re: botnets: web servers, end-systems and Vint Cerf
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Niels Bakker)
Fri Feb 16 13:25:18 2007
Date: Fri, 16 Feb 2007 18:51:10 +0100
From: Niels Bakker <niels=nanog@bakker.net>
To: nanog@merit.edu
Mail-Followup-To: nanog@merit.edu
In-Reply-To: <2DA00C5A2146FB41ABDB3E9FCEBC74C10106700B@i2km07-ukbr.domain1.systemhost.net>
Errors-To: owner-nanog@merit.edu
>>>Therefore, I assert that securing systems adequately for use on the
>>>Internet is indeed a SOLVED PROBLEM in computing.
>>A HUNDRED MILLION machines beg to differ.
* michael.dillon@bt.com [Fri 16 Feb 2007, 18:27 CET]:
>You misunderstand. The problem of securing machines *IS* solved. It is
>possible. It is regularly done with servers connected to the Internet.
Given that even NASA has issues writing correct programs I would call it
far from "solved" for any reasonable definition of the word, even in
hyper-correct environments such as programming spacecraft where time and
budget constraints are secondary to safety (security).
Or did you forget to mention that your secured machine is powered off?
>There is no *COMPUTING* problem or technical problem.
Denying that there is a technical problem with a hundred million
machines out there not under full control of its owners is delusional.
>The problem of the 100 million machines is a social or business problem.
>We know how they can be secured, but the solution is not being
>implemented.
Clearly the solution you have in your mind isn't obvious to us out here
in the real world, nor simple, as we haven't figured it out yet.
-- Niels.
