New government entity to take control over military and civilian networks

Tech 1984 ^ | 5/31/10 | Tech 1984

[oc-flyfish]

This is pretty scary stuff. The Federal government is ready to seize control of private company networks in order to "protect" us in the event of a hacker attack.

[null and void]

When we fought the first revolutionary war the latency between Britain and the colonies was something like 3 months.

[Eastbound]

"Fidonet?

Yup! Dat's what I was using. Was on a bunch of boards, mostly politics, psychology, Science and stuff. Enjoyed the chatter. I often wondered where all those folks went? Some of the posters were legends.

[Still Thinking]

It's the old "Never underestimate the bandwidth of a station wagon full of tapes driving down the highway" networking canard.

Guess we'd have to call that one tire-net.

"I sent you that in tire-net"

"Internet? You mean you emailed it?"

"No, in TIRE-net!"

[oc-flyfish]

Sorry bro, but I have worked at a government entity before and have seen the incompetence first hand. Plus, the government workers (contract and federal) are usually behind the time in relation to the equipment they have due to the procurement process.

[oc-flyfish]

A system of worldwide relay systems connected via phone lines. They would pass newsgroup discussions and email by calling each other periodically.

Way before the Internet was available.

[oc-flyfish]

That would be difficult though. Perhaps something like this:

Multiple offshore servers (DNS, hosting, email) in multiple countries that would not just pull the plug when asked by the State dept. DNS A records would round robin between various IPs that would be changed on a frequent basis.

There are some weak points but that may be a start.

[Myrddin]

Yes, you've earned your geek points today. My old TAPR TNC is fitted with a KISS ROM. I really have to use a working copy of Phil Karn's NET/NOS code to use it. The advent of better DSP techniques and interfacing between PC sound card<->ham radio has made the dedicated hardware mostly unnecessary. I would still like to get my hands on a multi-function controller that does AX.25 packet, AMTOR, PACTOR, PSK-31, AFSK teletype and other common formats.

[MestaMachine]

That I knew you knew that I knew you knew...and could not resist telling you so. LOL

[AnAmericanMother]

My husband and I are also hams, and I read the literature pretty regularly.

I have never read in any of the literature about confiscation, neither the various monthly magazines nor any of our history books. Hams being a pretty fussy bunch about their gear, I would expect to have seen something about it in one of the historical articles or in an editorial by one of the more hot-headed writers.

A quick check online of the various sites (ARRL, MARS, DXCC) indicates that the U.S. government DID confiscate radios during WWI, including commercial stations, but not a word about WWII.

I guess it could have happened if somebody violated the Congressional order to get off the air.

[Still Thinking]

Multiple offshore servers (DNS, hosting, email) in multiple countries that would not just pull the plug when asked by the State dept.

Read Neal Stephenson's Cryptonomicon. Part of the plot has to do with the establishment of that arrangement.

[mad_as_he$$]

Forget GPS. When the SHTF they will shut it down. The Military id already launching new GPS sats that will not be available to the public.

[antiRepublicrat]

Sorry bro, but I have worked at a government entity before and have seen the incompetence first hand.

There's a big difference between regular bureaucratic government, and operational defense government. The latter is more military-style, get-it-done. When I saw it they had the latest firewalls, IDS and routers, and some high-speed people to run them. The response I saw to Code Red was fast and efficient, and the network made it relatively unscathed.

Contrast that with local bureaucrat networks, where I Love You took them down by the hundreds. These are the people who set up unsecured wireless, set up wide-open proxy servers, and do all other manner of stupid stuff. They just make the job of the computer security people harder.

[mad_as_he$$]

Rachel Madcow.

[null and void]

Precisely.

[autumnraine]

“Time to look at fidonet again. Problem is, I don’t even own a modem anymore.”

That’s what I was thinking too. Direct dial BBS. However if they are in lockdown enough to shut down servers, they will have activated martial law to take over phone lines as well.

And then the poster also just said that they forbid ham radio in WWII.

[Myrddin]

We know each other by our screen names on FR, yet few of us have met in person. Absent FR, the network and associations dissolve into thin air. The LDS stake arrangement was based on being prepared to react in a severe emergency to account for all the folks in the stake. A practice run occurs twice each year. Messages are planted with a few people and passed back to the stake leadership as sort of a check. As an aside, the hams in the stake are also active in ARES, RACES and some in Animal Rescue Reserve.

The 8 hour FR outage this week reminded me how much FR is a key part of my connection to current events.

[autumnraine]

Fidonet was what I thought last night while dozing. I think clearer when I’m barely thinking. Go figure. I just haven’t thought of these processes in decades now. And I wasn’t a genius at it then, just a dorky computer geek who played around and found a whole new group to play D&D with on the BBS boards.

Oh God, I really was a dork wasn’t I? LOL

[antiRepublicrat]

Phil Karn, I haven't heard that name in years. I don't do radio, but I am very interested in cryptography. Therefore I know him for suing the government over the export of the code in Bruce Schneier's book Applied Cryptography on disk. He won, not the case itself in court, but he got the administration to drop the stupid rules.

Ah, Schneier, another geek hero of mine.

[88keys]

Then of course you both must know that I knew that you both knew that you both knew...but I bet neither of you knew it's my carrier pigeon that's psychic... : D

[Still Thinking]

Katz, I think, not Karn, if you’re thinking of the PKZIP guy.