Ads by TechWords

See your link here
Receive the latest technology news and information.
Security
Computerworld Daily News (First Look and Wrap-Up)
Computerworld Blogs Newsletter
The Weekly Top 10
Cloud Computing
View all newsletters




Privacy Policy
 

Security Gains Sought for Net Protocols

Cybersecurity czar calls for funding

November 4, 2002 12:00 PM ET

Computerworld - National cybersecurity chief Richard Clarke last week called for the addition of a "few million" dollars in annual federal funding for independent research aimed at improving the security and reliability of Internet protocols.
In a conference call, Clarke said he has talked with members of the Internet Engineering Task Force about the idea of creating a test bed that would simulate a large Internetlike system.
The test bed could be used to try out new protocols and routing designs for the Domain Name System (DNS) and the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP), which is used in millions of core routers around the world.
"Systems like DNS and BGP could be the source of intentional or malicious acts, or the source of instability that could flop the Internet," Clarke said. "Frankly, we see a lot of BGP flopping all the time." That, he added, "creates minor pockets of instability in the Internet."
Clarke said BGP can become unstable when human errors in the protocol's routing tables, which are akin to massive phone books, are sent back and forth by routers. BGP is also vulnerable to attack because it doesn't use authentication or encryption, he said.
Packet Design LLC, a Palo Alto, Calif.-based start-up, today plans to announce software designed to enhance the performance of BGP. The technology, called BGP Scalable Transport (BST), uses a "flooding" approach in which a message is sent to a neighboring router and then passed from that device to another router, and so on. The BST software is being marketed to router vendors, said Packet Design CEO Judy Estrin. The software is due for release next month. Pricing starts at $100,000.
John McConnell, an analyst at McConnell Associates in Boulder, Colo., described BST as "very promising technology." But, he added, "you need widespread adoption by the service providers for it to make a difference."



Jump to comments

Networking

Additional Resources

Xerox
By using solid ink technology only from Xerox, you could save up to 65% by printing color for the cost of black and white. Enter for a chance to WIN a PhaserTM 8860 network color printer!
Microsoft
Save time and mitigate security risk. Deploy it now.
Sybase
In this white paper, IDC analyzes the role of next-generation mobile enterprise platforms as organizations seek a more strategic deployment of mobile solutions.

Learn the important issues you must consider before starting your next mobility initiative. Get your mobility white paper from IDC now, compliments of Sybase.

White Papers & Webcasts

Managing Secure File Transfer to Save Time, Money and IT Resources
Learn how companies are using innovative technology to overcome these challenges and improve user productivity by offloading e-mail attachments and replacing FTP with...

Can Heuristic Technology Help Your Company Fight Viruses?
What is Heuristic Technology and how can it help safeguard your business against viruses? Learn more.  

Security Convergence Equals Network Security Cost Savings
Listen to IBM Internet Security Systems' take on network security convergence.

Why Email Must Operate 24/7 and How to Make This Happen
Learn how to avoid an email outage by implementing a hosted email continuity solution.  

Disaster Recovery 2008: Reduced Costs and Improved Performance
How long can your Enterprise afford to be without your data? With an accelerated disaster recovery program, you never have to answer this...