From: Mutant Rob <wlkngowl@unix.asb.com>
Date: Wed, 28 Feb 1996 19:34:23 +0800
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: Re: Internet shutdown Feb 29?
Message-ID: <199602280455.XAA21627@bb.hks.net>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----

Interesting. My ISP was shut down for a day this week because of a 
"problem with a router upstream from us". <insert emoticon here>

It would be nice to see ISPs maintain multiple paths or at least have
a set of backup connections to keep outages like this from happening.


Simon Spero wrote:
> 
> As a matter of interest, I wonder how much of the internet could be
> shut down by concerted effort; obviously individual services can be
> trivially disabled by jamming listen queues (not really stoppable by
> anything short of IPSEC w/photuris). The BGP backbone could probably be
> disabled from within by a traitor planted in one of big companies, and a
> confused backhoe around the MAEs could probably do a lot more damage than
> people would like to admit. It seems that the internet is getting pretty
> brittle- I wonder if it would be worthwhile having some sort of infranet
> with a bunch of backups links using dial-up lines or spare transponders
> (with a filter to block port 80 :-)
> 
> It's probably not possible with  todays routing technology
> (slow, flappy links with nightmarish convergence times), plus it's not
> sexy like a nice OC-12 SONET. This is the sort of thing the NCSC should
> be working on- something to keep the essential services flowing in the
> early stages of an info-war, or an info truck-bomb
- ---
[This message has been signed by an auto-signing service.  A valid signature
means only that it has been received at the address corresponding to the
signature and forwarded.]

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: 2.6.2
Comment: Gratis auto-signing service

iQBFAwUBMTPgOyoZzwIn1bdtAQHhzwF+IpnE8dOwNVq0SXSshqc6oEpMo99knyBC
8VnvSn7qvaHn6AJqTIrIKII2InR9cLR9
=N5QY
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----