Albert Catanach's Blog

THE NEXT THREAT TO NATIONAL SECURITY

Wed, 03 Jun 2009 03:55:00 GMT

THE NEXT THREAT TO NATIONAL SECURITY – 6/2/09

While everyone is concentrating on North Korea, Iran, and Pakistan as being the next threat to the US and it’s allies, little or no attention is being given to our other enemies hiding in the backdrop of our networks. Hacking attempts to US networks have dramatically risen in the last few years and with less emphasis being put on network security and more emphasis being put on getting everyone online and more speed, we are now more than ever poised for our first Attack on US networks similar to those of 9/11 in New York.

At present, hackers have infiltrated our networks and are hiding in the backdrops of users personal computers gathering information like that of a spy but on a different level. Imagine a spy on every corner of every street of every city in the US just waiting for the command to release the troops for an all out war. Just like the movie, Independence Day, we have been infiltrated and they are just waiting for the right moment to attack.

Most users rely on their ISP to protect them not realizing that the ISP cannot protect them because they are limited by what they can and cannot block either due to politics or privacy laws. Hackers have masqueraded themselves by sharing files that are illegal, sending worms that exploit the popular windows operating systems, and phishing for anything and everything known possible. But even more dangerous, hackers have their own websites that are mysteriously guiding people over to them, setting a trap and once the bait has been taken, the hacker has just captured the computer. Once captured the network is left in a vulnerable state, waiting for the right moment, the right time to send in the troops. Why haven’t the computer terrorists gone in for the kill?

How do we stop it? The simplest way is to block it at the heart. What I mean is there are major backbones to the Internet in the US. I would say about one dozen backbones. See http://www.internetpulse.com In the same way the military’s model works, so should the civilian network model work. The military through its network agency DISA currently is charged with ensuring that military networks in the US and abroad are protected, and they do a good job. They do this by ensuring security is looked at from the very heart or the entry point. The same concept should work in the Civilian Sector if the US Government owned the networks. What I am really saying here is that the Federal Government needs to create a Department of Cyber Security, take over the civilian networks, Federalize the Internet, and start enforcing security throughout this country. I am not saying that I believe this should happen, but what I am saying is that the only way to stop a future coordinated attack on our cyber infrastructure is through drastic measures. I don’t think a federal Government takeover will ever happen, so take your seat, be prepared, and watch, as we are more than ever in a vulnerable state to be attacked.

If and when we are attacked, I believe that it will be a coordinated attack on our telecommunications infrastructure, which could also hurt the Military. Remember the Military uses the same hard lines that the Civilians use, except they do not own any of the hard lines throughout this country. They have simply created private virtual lines that run parallel with the civilian lines. So the question becomes what are the hacker terrorists waiting for? Could it be they are waiting for a firesail? A firesail is a computer attack in which communications, power, and utilities are disabled all at the same time. A firesail would be easier than sending fighters and bombers to every US City. Besides, we would fight back! With a firesail, the only thing you need is a coordinated effort for the attack, about 20%-30% of the computers carrying out the commands, and whatever you are attacking must have an infected computer on the same network that is connected to the Internet or be on the same subnet. At the same time the firesail is occurring, terrorists could also carry out a physical attack on the US, which could permanently damage our Country when combined with the firesail. Will it happen? Who knows, but we need to understand that these things are very possible and we should all take responsibility by keeping our computers up-to-date with Operating System Updates, ensure we have Malware/Spyware programs installed, and finally, ensure that our computers have an anti-virus program that is kept up-to-date on a weekly basis.

Albert Catanach

FREE WIFI

Wed, 27 May 2009 17:39:00 GMT

Wouldn’t we all just love it if Google’s April Fools Joke was real and how many of us actually fell for it? If you don’t know what I am talking about, check it out at http://www.google.com/tisp. All joking aside, free WiFi just seems to good to be true, even if the US Government tries to take on the endeavor, there are just to many obstacles in the way. Sure, we can go to the library or the local coffee shop and get Internet, but it is just an inconvience at times.

Well here is the next best thing. WiFi meshed networks are a way of creating a giant WiFi network on steroids. Mesh WiFi hasn’t been around a long time and most of them are very expensive to setup. For instance, a Motorola WiFi Meshed network for one square mile could run in upwards of $100k. The reason these networks are so expensive is because the APs (Access Points) connect to each other creating redundant links so in the event one AP goes down, a subscriber can utilize one that isn’t to far away. Additionally, each of those APs could have multiple connections to the Internet via traditional wired networks or even with a Wireless Backhaul system.

Many of us currently have a Broadband connection, but isn’t it just a bit overkill. I mean look, if you live in an apartment complex, how many WiFi signals can you pickup. Even driving down a main strip in the city will get you hundreds of WiFi signals, which are all connected to their own Broadband Internet Connection. I like to call it spaghetti WiFi. Haven’t some of us actually not bothered with a Broadband Internet Connection and simply connected to our neighbor’s connection. That works for a while until they secure the connection, then we are forced to get our own Internet Connection. Who wants to go back to dialup?

Well what if we all used a Mesh Router, and we all plugged our broadband connection into it. If my neighbor’s Broadband connection went down she wouldn’t even notice because her router would sense her connection is down and mesh with my router and get Internet through my connection. Let’s take it a bit further. I have a 5MB connection and so do many of my neighbors. Our subdivision is about 45 houses. We all typically use the Internet at night, so what if we all purchased a mesh router, created a neighborhood mesh, and instead of having 45 Broadband Internet Connection, instead we all pitch in for about 10 connections. If we are paying about $40 per connection, we would see a total savings of about $1400 per month. We could get at least three different Internet Providers and connect them strategically throughout our homes in the neighborhood. Talk about redundancy, WOW a WiFi network on steroids. In theory this can be done RIGHT NOW as we currently have the technology. I actually setup a hotel with this technology at a very inexpensive price. Well if your wondering how I did it, please visit http://www.open-mesh.com . Open Mesh is exactly what it says. It is an open system that utilizes software to mesh routers together in a very efficient way. What’s great about the technology is that it gives you a way of monitoring the network using its dashboard technology. You can see who is connected, how much bandwidth they are using, and even set bandwidth caps so that the system doesn’t get clogged. You can also set security on it so that all of the computers are in their own virtual network. The router cost is about $30-$40 (CAN YOU BELIEVE IT) per router depending on your need and will allow you to connect at distances up to 150ft. The hard part is getting the neighborhood together, but if you just want to help out a fellow neighbor that you know is struggling, let him connect to your broadband with one of these routers. It won’t really cost you anything except a little Brotherly Bandwidth. J

WiFi Interference

Tue, 26 May 2009 21:13:00 GMT

What could be causing WiFi Interference. We explore the facts in this article

Securing Your WiFi Network

Mon, 25 May 2009 22:30:00 GMT

Securing your WiFi Home Network Why is it important To Secure Your WiFi Network