ISPs Sign On To FCC Anti-Botnet Code of Conduct 34
Trailrunner7 writes "The U.S.'s leading Internet Service Providers signed on to a new FCC code of conduct to limit the impact of major cyber security threats, including botnets, attacks on the Domain Name System and Internet routing attacks. AT&T, CenturyLink, Comcast, Cox, Sprint, Time Warner Cable, T-Mobile and Verizon were among the ISPs that participated in the agreement. 'The recommendations approved today identify smart, practical, voluntary solutions that will materially improve the cyber security of commercial networks and bolster the broader endeavors of our federal partners,' said FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski."
A fact sheet from the FCC provides details on the recommendations, but they're pretty vague: "The CSRIC recommended ISPs participate in a U.S. Anti-Bot Code of
Conduct (PDF) that encourages ISPs to engage in: (1) end-user education to prevent bot infections; (2) detection of bots; (3) notification of potential bot infections; (4) remediation of bots; and (5) collaboration and sharing of information." They also recommend broader adoption of DNSSEC and the development of an "industry framework" to combat IP route hijacking.
WHY? (Score:3, Insightful)
Why does every little thing they do have to be for the CORPORATE networks and not the individuals?
Good. (Score:5, Insightful)
Much of the abuse I see on the internet (such as spam, port scans, SSH login attempts, etc.) are from bots.
Most of the individual users have no idea their computer is compromised, let alone any idea how to fix the problem. Having ISPs take a more active role in securing their networks and helping users secure their systems is a worthy endeavor.
FCC == fail (Score:3, Insightful)
The FCC has no juris[my]diction on anything to do with the Internet other than the inter-lata circuits it may use.
As to content, oversight, best practices, etc. they are not relevant.
Botnets aren't necessarily bad (think SETI at home). Cloud computing isn't bad. Encryption isn't bad.
You know what's bad? "Throttling", "N strikes", "watching your users' content". Those are all wrong.
E