YouTube Outage Sheds Light On Global IP Security Issues
By Michael Price | February 25, 2008
YouTube is Down? That was the message I sent on Twitter and to a few friends yesterday. Each person replied one after the other that they were unable to connect to the YouTube servers yesterday afternoon. I thought it was just a typical blip that sometimes happens to even the largest of web hosts. I went about my working Sunday. Turns out it wasn’t a blip. It was a serious two hour long outage that kept most of the world from being able to view their favorite videos. It turns out that the Pakistani telecommunications ministry ordered 70 ISPs to censor YouTube. It seems that high level government officials had been shown a YouTube video of someone that spoke out against Islam and that was enough to flip the kill switch on YouTube entirely.
It’s unclear if it was intentional, or just a byproduct of the process, but the instructions sent by the company created false routing instructions that basically stole the identity of YouTube entirely. YouTube emailed a statement to the AP that they were investigating the incident and exploring ways to prevent it from occurring again.
So far the honor system amongst large providers has worked well, however, this isn’t the first time something like this has happened, and it may not be the last. It highlights a serious flaw in the overall security of the web that needs to be dealt with. There are well known security protocols that can prevent malicious broadcasting of IP traffic. This incident should be a wake up call to accelerate the process of putting them into place before terrorists and other bad guys figure out how easy it is to bring the net to its knees.
Look at it this way. Some day in the not too distant future, just about every electronic device will have an IP address. Autos, commercial vehicles, your fridge, your TV…….you name it, it will probably be connected to the grid in one way or another by just plugging it into an outlet. What happens when the tools in charge in some of these governments finally realize that killing one messenger isn’t going to stop the message no matter how much they disagree with it? Will they set their sights on a censorship effort that encompasses the entire web? It might seem like something out of a cheesy 007 or Austin Powers movie, but why tempt someone into thinking they can become a real Dr. Evil if the ability to prevent it already exists.
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6 Responses to “YouTube Outage Sheds Light On Global IP Security Issues”
Comments
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February 25th, 2008 at 7:50 pm
Is it just me, or is it kinda scary that tv’s your fridge will have IP addresses??
February 25th, 2008 at 7:51 pm
meant to say “tv’s AND your fridge”
February 25th, 2008 at 8:11 pm
They already sell a fridge that will track when you get low on things like milk etc. and send you an email, eventually it will place direct grocery orders. I just need one that will do the same for beer
February 25th, 2008 at 10:19 pm
http://searchcio-midmarket.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid183_gci914545,00.html
February 26th, 2008 at 9:25 am
If that “Net Fridge” will bring me the beer while I sit on the couch, I’ll buy one today!
February 26th, 2008 at 9:41 am
Jay, a kid at GA Tech invented a fridge that tossed beers to his couch… I don’t think it will order beer yet. Should be able to after the weekend, knowing those Tech guys.
What irks me is that some Pakistani decided that the net needed to be censored, and YouTube complied. I don’t care if it is a Pakistani, Bush, Obama or whoever… they shouldn’t be able to tell providers around the world to shut up and be listened to.