Networking(2021) Flashcards
The Internet:
Description
and
Benefits
- Global system of interconnected networks that use the standard Internet Protocol Suite( TCP/IP)
- No Centralized Governance
- Quite Resilient
- Reliance on the Endpoints in communication to handle most of the processing
- Ensures Data Integrity, Reliability and Authentication
- High degree of Redundancy
ICANN
Overview
Internet Corporation for
Assigned Names and Numbers
Organization that oversees the two Principle Name Spaces:
- Internet Protocol Address Space
- Domain Name System
Two Principle
Name Spaces
of the Internet
- Internet Protocol Address Space
- Domain Name System
IETF
Overview
Internet Engineering Task Force
- Deals with
- technical underpinnings
- standardization of core protocols
- IPv4 and IPv6
- International participants, anyone may contribute technical expertise
Internet Topology/Routing:
Backbone
Backbone
- Main data routes between large, strategically interconnected networks and core routers
- Hosted by commercial, government, academic and other high-capacity network centers
- Typically Fiber Optic Trunk Line
- ISPs interchange traffic over the backbone by privately negotiated interconnection agreements
- Backbone Providers sell services to ISPs, through Transit Agreements
ISP
- Overview
- Three Types
Internet Service Providers
Provide Access to the Internet in a local area
Three Types
- Access ISPs
- Hosting ISPs
- Transit ISPs
Access ISPs
Function
Directly connect customers to the internet.
Uses copper wires, wireless, or fiber-optic connections, etc
Hosting ISPs
Function
Lease Server Space for
Smaller Businesses
Routinely Provide:
- FTP
- Web-Hosting Services
- Clouds
- etc…
Transit ISPs
Function
Provide large Tuples
for connecting
Hosting ISPs to Access ISPs
4 Largest
Internet Backbone Providers
AT&T
MCI
Sprint
Century Link
Ethics in Networking:
Major Issues
- Net Neutrality
- Spam Email, Anti-Spam
- Stealth Blocking
- Web Control by Governments
- Censorship
- Pornography
- Quality of Information
- User Generated Content
- Reviews, posts, etc
- Cyberbullying
Factors of Cost
- Overhead
- Transaction Cost
- Risks
- Damage
(I’m not sure this belongs in this deck)
Tragedy of the Commons
A Dilemma arising from the situation in which:
Multiple individuals, acting independently, solely and rationally, consulting their own self interest,
will ultimately deplete a shared resource,
even when it is clear that it is not in anyone’s long term interest for this to happen.
Example: Spammers using resources(both physical and human) without bearing the entire cost of those resources.
Overview
Messages embedded in files transferred between computers
- Addressed via DNS IP Address
- Routed over the internet
- Possibly fragmented into packets
Email:
Format
some_id@domain_name
- Generic top-level domain (.edu, .gov, .com, .net)
-
DNS( Domain Name Server) translates host names to IP Address
- Analogous to a Phone Book
- A Hostname is a Domain Name with one or more associated IP Addresses
Spam:
Definition
The use of electronic messaging systems
to send
unsolicited bulk messages
indiscriminately
Spam:
Origin of Term
1970 Monty Python “Spam” Sketch
Nearly every menu item was spam,
vikings chanting “spam spam spam”,
thus “spamming” the dialogue
How do Spammers
get
Email Addresses?
Two Major Ways:
- Opt-in Lists
- Dictionary Attacks (Try everything)
How Spammers
Seek Anonymity
- Change email and IP Addresses to disguise the sending machine
- Hijack another system as a spam launch pad
Why spammers spam
- It is cheap
- About 100x cheaper than physical junk mail
- Wider audience
- Profit guaranteed:
- profitable even if only 1 in 100,000 buys product
Costs of Spam
-
Overhead
- bandwidth
- developing or acquiring spam tool
- taking over or acquiring host, etc
-
Transaction Cost
- Incremental cost of contacting each recipient once a method of spamming is constructed, multiplied by #recipients
-
Risks
- Chance and severity of legal and/or public reactions
-
Damage:
- Impact on the community/communication channels
Anti-Spam
Methods
- CAPTCHA
- Challenge-Response test
- Real Time Blackhole Lists
- Grey-listing
- Text Recognition
- Leads to more picture based spam
- Statistical Modeling & Heuristics
- Neural Networks, AI, etc
- Cryptography
Anti-Spam Method:
Greylisting
Greylisting
General method based on
behavior of sending server,
rather than the content of the messages
Net Neutrality:
Overview
Disagreement about the ability of
Broadband Providers to use their “Last Mile” of infrastructure
to block internet applications and content.
- Neutrality Proponents claim telecom companies seek to impose a Tiered Service Model in order to control the pipeline and remove competition
Net Neutrality:
Last Mile definition
Last Mile:
Final leg of delivering connectivity from a communications provider to a customer
Net Neutrality:
Important Events
- [2010] FCC issues Open Internet(NN) order
- Verizon and MetroPCS challenge the order
- Case Pending at US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit for 2 years
- [Jan 14, 2014] DC Circuit Court declares FCC has no authority to enforce NN rules
- [2015] FCC reclassifies broadband access as a telecommunications service, so NN applies.
Net Neutrality:
Open Internet order
- Issued by FCC in 2010
- More commonly known as
- Net Neutrality Rules
- Essentially prohibits ISPs from blocking lawful web content
- Challenged in US Court of Appeals for DC Circuit
- Challenged by Verizon and MetroPCS
Net Neutrality:
Consequence of Broadband Access
being Reclassified
Reclassified as Telecommunications Service by the FCC (2015)
- Allowd the FCC to treat Broadband carriers as “Common Carriers”
- This made them subject to the Net Neutrality Rules
- Applied to ISPs:
- Title II (Common Carrier) of the Telecommunications Act of 1934
- and Telecommunications Act of 1996
Washington State Laws
regarding spam and commercial email
- Commercial email conforms to state spam law, despite inability of recipient to send a reply
- A commercial email that otherwise conforms to the WA anti-spam law by providing
- accurate transmission path information
- unsubscribe links
- Inability to reply does not mean violation of state spam law when other requirements are met
World Wide Web (WWW)
Basics
- Hypertext system designed originally for research
- Decentralized
- Every object uniquely addressable - URL address
- Sits on top of the internet, flexible, usable with different technologies
- Original proposal for WWW in March 1989
- Hypertext originated from older projects in 1960s
- April 30, 1993, CERN said WWW would be free to anyone, no fees due
World Wide Web (WWW)
Uses
- Shopping
- 10% of retail sales occur online in US (link)
- Socialize: facebook, instagram, etc…
- Blogs
- Advertise
- Learn
- Entertainment
- Online gaming, gambling, etc
World Wide Web
Attempts at control in various countries
- Saudi Arabia:
- centralized control center
- People’s Republic of China:
- ISPs sign “self-discipline” agreement
- Germany:
- Forbids access to neo-Nazi sites
- United States:
- Repeated efforts to limit access of minors to pornography
Basic Description
- A free social networking and micro-blogging service that enables its users to send and read messages
- Tweets are text-based posts of up to 140 characters (maybe 280 soon)
- Tweets can also contain videos, pics, etc
- Sent to all subscribers and posted on their profile
Twitter:
Criminal Cases
- Daniel Knight, Tea Party supporter (2009)
- arrested by FBI
- tweets threatening violence
- Horizon Realty Group v Amanda Bonnon, 2009
- Horizon sued Bonnon for libel over tweets
- Ms Monroe vs Ms Hopkins Libel case (UK)
World Wide Web:
Quality of Information Issues
- Quality of Web-based information varies widely
- BBC News articles as opposed to CNET…
- Other media also have information of varying quality
- The New York Times vs. The National Enquirer
- 60 minutes vs. Conspiracy Theory
- History Channel 10 years ago vs. History Channel now…
- Google attempts to reward quality
- Ranking uses voting algorithm
- If many links point to a page, Google search engine ranks that page higher (Page Rank)
World Wide Web:
Quality of Information:
“Wikiality” (Colbert)
- The Word - Wikiality
- Colbert’s first reference to Wikipedia was on the July 31, 2006 broadcast
- “Wikiality,… together we can create a reality that we all agree on - the reality we just agreed on”
- Reality is what the wiki says it is. He explained that on Wikipedia “any user can change any entry, and if enough users agree with them, it becomes true”
- Encouraged viewers to edit the elephant entry to say that “Elephant population in Africa has tripled over the past six months”
- Caused lots of trouble and editing of the particular articles was restricted
World Wide Web:
Quality of Information:
Self Determination and WikiScanner
(Colbert again)
- The Word - Self Determination
- August 21, 2007, Colbert (again) attacked WikiScanner
- Website that tracks down people who make anonymous edits on Wikipedia
- Claimed that it is an invasion of privacy, particularly for corporations, and that it attacks “Self-invention”
- Claimed that everyone on the internet should be anonymous and should not be forced to give away their true identity
Kinds of Censorship
Self-Censorship
General Censorship
Internet Censorship
Censorship:
Self-Censorship
- Most common form of censorship
- Group decides for itself not to publish
- Many different reasons
- Avoid persecution
- Maintain good relations with government officials
- Ratings Systems - Another form of self censorship
- Movies, TVs, CDs, video games, etc
Censorship:
General Censorship
- Some historical reasons for censoring material:
- Political (sedition, treason, national security, etc)
- Religious (blasphemy, heresy, etc)
- Moral (Obscenity, impiety)
- Social (incivility, irreverence, disorder)
- How does information flow uncensored on the web?
Censorship:
Why Internet Censorship is challenging to implement
- The internet is dynamic, global and huge
- Very hard to discriminate based on user characteristics
- Users can remain somewhat anonymous:
- Adopt persona
- gamertag, twitter handle
- VPNs
- TOR
- Adopt persona
Internet Anonymity:
Using a Persona
- It’s easy to adopt a persona on the internet
- gamertag, twitter handle, etc
- However, identities can usually be revealed with cooperation from ISP, local admins, web logs, phone records, etc
- What about a Law Enforcement Official using a persona?
- Ethical?
Internet Anonymity:
TOR
- Tor (acronym for The Onion Router) is free software for enabling online anonymity and censorship resistance
- Onion routing refers to layers of encryption, nested like layers of an onion
- Directs internet traffic through a free, worldwide, volunteer network of more than 5,000 relays to conceal user’s location
- Legal? Yes - in the US
Censorship/Free Speech:
First Amendment of the Constitution
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;
or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press;
or the right of the people peaceable to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances
Censorship:
Ethical Perspectives:
Kant
Kant opposed censorship
“Have courage to use your own reason”
Censorship:
Ethical Perspectives:
Mill
Mill opposed censorship
- No one is infallible
- Any opinion may contain a kernel of truth
- Ideas resulting from discourse are more influential
Censorship:
Ethical Perspectives:
Principle of Harm
Principle of Harm:
“The only ground on which intervention is justified is to prevent harm to others;
the individual’s own good is not a sufficient condition”
Censorship:
Important Legislation
Communications Decency Act
(Title V of Telecommunications Act of 1996)
Child Online Protection Act (COPA) - 1998
Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) - 1999
Censorship/Pornography:
Communications Decency Act
- Title V of the Telecommunications Act of 1996
- Prohibited internet distribution of indecent or patently offensive material to minors
- Created restrictions for the internet similar to broad cast media
- Introduced by Sen. James Exon (D-Nebraska)
- Immediately challenged in court
- Supreme Court struck down CDA in 1997 (Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union)
- Not clear on the definition of indecent or obscene, violation of individuals 1st Right
- Also called the “Great internet sex panic of 1995”
- First notable attempt by US congress to regulate pornographic material on the internet
- US Supreme Court struck the anti-indecency provisions from the Act - not constitutional
- Section 230 of the act (added later)
- Operators of ISPs and users are not to be construed as publishers
- Not legally liable for the words of third parties who use their services
- Promotes free speech!
Censorship/Pornography:
Opposition to the
Communications Decency Act (CDA)
- Obscenity and child pornography are already illegal to distribute (child pornography is also illegal to posses)
- Obscenity - Miller test
- Over-broad, vague, unenforceable
- CDA includes “indecency standard”
- “any comment, request, suggestion, proposal, image, or other communications, that, in context, depicts or describes, in terms patently offensive as measured by contemporary community standards, sexual or excretory activities or organs”
- What community standards do we refer to when we want to regulate the internet?
- Internet should not be regulated like broadcast TV and radio
- Law would chill free speech
- Internet filters are a better solution
Censorship/Pornography:
Miller Test for Obscenity
Obscenity - Miller test:
- Whether the average person, applying contemporary community standards, would find that the work, taken as a while, appeals to the prurient interest
- Whether the work depicts/describes, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct specifically defined by applicable state law
- Whether the work, taken as a while, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value
Censorship/Pornography:
Support for CDA
- Senator James Exon, sponsor of Bill says that we need to protect children from online pornography
- Laws that restrict selling porn to children in other media should apply to the internet
- Filters are not sufficient
- Parents may not be able to figure them out
- Children may access computers away from home
Censorship/Pornography:
Child Online Protection Act (COPA)
Child Online Protection Act (COPA)
- passed in 1998
- Banned commercial distribution of material harmful to minors
- ACLU challenged law, Supreme Court has twice upheld lower court injunctions against enforcement
Censorship/Pornography:
Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA)
Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA)
- passed in 1999
- Requires schools and libraries that receive federal funds for internet access to filter out child pornography, obscene materials, and materials harmful to minors
- Upheld by Supreme Court in 2003
Censorship:
Claims against CIPA
- Claims against CIPA
- Blocking access to constitutionally protected information
- Filtering software does not differentiate constitutionally protected speech from illegal speech on the internet
- US Supreme Court ruled CIPA did not violate 1st Right
- Upheld only “if, as the Government represents, a librarian will unblock filtered material or disable the internet software filter without significant delay on an adult user’s request”
Censorship:
Ethical Perspectives on CIPA:
Kantian Perspective
Kant: CIPA is wrong
- Protecting children from harm
- We block some non-pornographic web pages
- Filters treat creators of non-offensive but block web pages as means to an end for restricting access to pornographic materia
Censorship:
Ethical Perspectives on CIPA:
Utilitarian Perspective
Utilitarian: Depends on how benefits and harms are weighed
- CIPA results in fewer children being exposed (+)
- Legitimate sites filtered (-)
Censorship:
Ethical Perspectives on CIPA:
Social Contract Perspective
Social Contract Theory: Freedom of conscience should be given precedence
- Private viewing of pornography does not impact social contracts or inhibits social living
- Libraries that block non pornographic content due to the filters may inhibit social living
- HOWEVER, preventing content like that from being observed in public might benefit social living
Censorship:
CDA and Online Reviews
- Federal law that protects review sites such as Yelp, RateMD, etc can also lead to reckless claims online
- Section 230 of the CDA protects websites from libel claims as long as they simply permit the posting of content and don’t actively control posts
- If a website edits posts, weeding out vitriolic or unfounded attacks, its potential liability can be more, not less.
- Some websites (YouTube) can skirt around this…
Pornography:
Ethical Perspectives:
Kantian Perspective
- Kant
- Person an object of sexual appetite
- Sexual desire focuses on body, not complete person
- All sexual gratification outside marriage wrong
- Means to an end
Pornography:
Ethical Perspectives:
Utilitarian arguments for
Pornography being Unethical
- Utilitarianism
- Pornography reduces dignity of human life, harming everyone
- Increases crimes such as rape and kidnapping
- Industry diverts resources from more socially redeeming activities
Pornography:
Ethical Perspectives:
Utilitarian arguments for
Pornography being Ethical
- Utilitarianism
- Those who produce pornography make money
- Consumers of pornography derive pleasure
- Pornography is a harmless outlet
Pornography:
Ethical Perspectives:
Challenges with Utilitarianism
- Utilitarian calculus is difficult…
- How to deal with contradictory “facts” by “experts”?
- How to quantify harms/benefits - harm done to people who find pornography offensive?
- We can use statistics to get factual numbers on the issue
Censorship and Free Expression
- Freedom of expression is NOT absolute right
- Must be balanced against the public good
- Libel, reckless or calculated lies, slander, misrepresentation, perjury, false advertising, obscenity and profanity, solicitation of a crime, and personal abuse are not protected
- How do we see this play out on the internet?
Censorship and Free Expression:
Important Cases
- Anthony Ellis, 2014
- Graphically violent rap lyrics
- Are rap lyrics threats?
- Cannibal Cop
- Gilberto Valle
- George Carlin “Filthy Words” 1973
- Broadcast media “uniquely pervasive”
- Censorshop does not violate 1A
Censorship on the Internet:
General Legal landscape
- US Supreme Court - Not yet completely addressed the issue of hate speech on the internet
- Neither have federal or state courts
- When criticism (anonymous or not) crosses over the line into libel, a lawsuit may result
- Courts have historically protected the anonymity of on-line speakers
- More recently there is a trend to rule in favor of the the party who is a victim of libel
- Supreme Court has made it clear that anonymous speech deserves First Amendment protection
Censorship and Free Expression:
SLAPP Lawsuits
- What happens when an alleged libeler is anonymous?
- Offended individuals/corporations may file a “SLAPP”
- Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation
- Target of online attack typically files a lawsuit against a “John Doe”
- Then attempts to discover John Doe’s identity via the ISP
- Most cases involving anonymous online libel, courts have dismissed the lawsuits and/or have refused to have the identity of the anonymous critic revealed
Cyberbullying:
Basic Idea
“… the use of information and communication technologies to support deliberate, repeated, and hostile behavior by an individual or group, that is intended to harm others”
- Using forums to bully (facebook, email, etc)
- Publish defamatory material - difficult to prevent and once it is posted, millions of people can download before removed
- online bullies can remain anonymous
Cyberbullying:
Legal Landscape
- Washington: Requires each school district to adopt or amend if necessary a policy, that prohibits the harassment, intimidation, or bullying of any student, either verbally or electronically
- Unless online hate speech crosses the line into incitement to imminent lawless action or true threats, the speech receives protection under the 1st Right
