Why is Verizon censoring us? Pt. 7

Ah, at last, an objection with teeth!

"Most residential computer users have little regard for computer security. Many residential computers are wide open to spammers and crackers. And many of these vulnerable home machines have become 'bots,' compromised and recruited by crackers to relay spam, viruses, worms, and other tainted content across the Internet. Verizon's policy of forbidding Internet servers on their residential FIOS network makes the Internet a safer place."

Those who believe the above have one thing right: spammers, crackers, "bot" machines, viruses, worms, and other tainted digital content are indeed a problem. They're a problem for computer users, the computer and telecommunications industries, our economic system as a whole and, indeed, national security and international peace.

But locking residential servers out of the Internet is like locking up all teenagers since they're the age-group most likely to commit crime. For one thing, residential computers are not the only systems vulnerable to cracker exploitation; many business and other institutional machines fall victim as well.

Restricting residential servers is a form of blame-game, blame the victim rather than put resources into mobilizing a comprehensive technical, legal, and international policy framework that truly addresses the issue.

In Verizon's case, it may even be a form of blame-game for profit - cynical policy with utter disregard for civic implications or responsibility.

For sake of argument, let's call the technologies and practices that facilitate abusive content "blackware" and the people who employ these technologies "digital thugs." The population of digital thugs ranges from mischievous teenagers to opportunistic thieves; from international organized criminals to agents of various nation states.

Motives range from kicks to greed, from corporate and international espionage to terrorist aggression. Digital thugs are relentlessly inventing ever more ingenious exploits. Security experts are ever on the run patching vulnerable software and back-filling with effective counter measures.

It is indeed too much, given current technology, to ask the average home or small business computer user to single-handedly keep the digital thugs at bay. But the solution is not to lock the hapless user out of the system. The solution is effective, coordinated action to develop technical, social, and legal counter measures -- a cyber immune system if you will.

The world-wide IT industry, network carriers like Verizon included, has the resources to make computers and networks far less vulnerable without compromising Internet access. At minimum they can provide routers with more effective filters and firewalls, easier-to-use software tools for detecting breaches, free scanning services to quickly isolate and quarantine compromised machines. And more, the industry as a whole, can develop products with more regard to security and industry-wide standards of product performance designed to enforce best-practice security measures from product design to network operation.

In fairness, most, if not all, of these efforts are now underway.

Governments can provide tougher laws and more effective enforcement. They can hold manufacturers accountable for producing hardware and software that falls short of industry security standards. They can devote more resources toward tracking down and prosecuting digital thugs. They can negotiate international treaties to secure cooperative enforcement of international cyber-security laws. They can sanction rogue nations that harbor and protect digital thugs.

But, yes, cyber security a balancing act. The Internet is based on trust and anonymity by design. It's the best of what we'd ask of civil society -- a relatively level playing field where a small kitchen web-store can compete with Amazon; a lone protester can influence as many citizens as a Madison Avenue campaign; a political candidate can match through small contributions the lavish funds of a lobbyist-supported opponent. It's a hot bed of innovation: Think Amazon, E-Bay, Google, MySpace. It's a catalyst for volunteer enthusiasm and effort -- just witness the Open Source movement which is responsible for much of the software that powers the Internet. The Internet has provided jobs and opportunity for millions; vitalized the economies of poor nations. And, to the minds of many, revitalized the public forum -- given many previously disenfranchised a voice in public debate.

These virtues can only be sustained on an open network that supports equality of bits, minimal regulation, and little to no censorship. These are the virtues we must uphold, protect, preserve, and treasure -- uphold in balance -- as we develop measures and policies to defeat blackware, isolate and disempower digital thugs.

Such balance is the essence of civil society. Enlightened law enforcement is essential to preserve fair play. Such balance must also be the essence of all measures to enhance computer and network security. All computers can be secured. Indeed, the most secure computer is unplugged, off-line, and locked in a vault. But locking up computers and locking out users kills the goose that laid the golden egg.

We can do better. Indeed, if we value a free, democratic, civil society, do better we must.

And Verizon can do far better than block residential servers from the Internet.

Stay tuned...