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Subject: [IP] Re: NY Times: Time to build a new Internet?



Begin forwarded message:

From: Dennis Allison <drallison@gmail.com>
Date: February 16, 2009 6:01:50 PM EST
Subject: Re: [IP] NY Times: Time to build a new Internet?

Dave Farber: For IP if you think appropriate.

David Akin,

I think your post in response to John Markoff's "Time to build a new Internet?" article contains several errors and misconceptions. 

All of the quoted experts (Nick McKeown, Eugene Spafford, Steve Savage) hold academic research positions and are not trying to "sell [...] software to protect you against that [Internet security] danger".  Rich Wesson's Support Intelligence sells a monitor which detects bot activity, which might be of interest if you were running a significant network of machines; since you do not, you are not really his market.  His comments are significant because he is able to aggregate observed behavior across a multiplicity of networks, and those results are disturbing.  You may want to listen to Rick Wesson's June 6, 2007 Stanford EE Computer Systems Colloquium talk; the video can be found a http://ee380.stanford.edu.spring-schedule-20072008.html. Details on the Stanford Clean Slate program can be found at http://cleanslate.stanford.edu.

For the record, I am a Lecturer in Stanford's EE Department.  John Markoff is a Visiting Lecturer at Stanford and teaches occasional courses in the Department of Communications.  At Stanford, the Department of Communications focuses on journalism and human communication, not the electronic variety of communication.  I am curious about what standard of disclosure you believe in that would require him, a journalist, to disclose that relationship.

As for your personal security experience, you have been very lucky.   Anyone who administrates a handful of servers or supports friends who are not computer fascile, can tell you their security nightmares.  It is a jungle out there.  



On Sun, Feb 15, 2009 at 7:51 AM, David Farber <dave@farber.net> wrote:

Begin forwarded message:

From: David Akin <jdakin@gmail.com>
Date: February 14, 2009 10:43:44 PM EST
Subject: NY Times: Time to build a new Internet?

Hi Dave --

I think John Markoff is such a tremendous reporter that in at least one job interview, but probably more, when asked what reporters I admire, Markoff is one of two I list.   But when you write a story about how dangerous the Internet has become ["Do We Need a New Internet? - http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/15/weekinreview/15markoff.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss ] and cite as your sources for that observation people who will sell you software to protect you against that danger, well, I begin to wonder. Markoff also cites some researchers at Stanford, which is certainly a school that's produced a lot of computer and telecom innovations but it's also the school Markoff teaches at. (That point is not disclosed in the piece.)