The Ever Changing World of Internet

The Ever Changing World of Internet Security in the Digital World george.sadowsky@gmail.com Tbilisi, Georgia December 4, 2013

Introduction • Salient connections between us • United Nations for 13 years doing technology transfer • Ran ISOC Workshops, helped to birth CEENET workshops • Directed computer centers Brookings, Northwestern, NYU • We’re going to have a conversation • Wide ranging, informal • Not necessarily complete, please help to identify gaps • Arranged loosely by major topic • Clarifying questions/longer discussions • Only person in the room whose native language is English? • These are all my own opinions, not necessarily those of ICANN

CEENET Workshop, Tbilisi, 15 October 1999 • “The Internet: Past, Present and Future” • Moore’s law? No. of IP addresses, IP on mobiles? • Georgraphic spread in countries? Internet-2? Governance issues? • Digital divide, growth-equity (Dot Force) • Internet a threat to local cultures? English-dominated? • Cultural clashes-sexual, political religious on Internet • Future of “distance education,” Blackboard and more

CEENET Workshop, Budapest, 20 August 2000 • “Factors Affecting the Future Evolution of the Internet” • Futurists generally have a bad record • ‘Supply’ push/pull: IPR issues, micropayments, UNICODE • ‘Demand’ push/pull: home market, next killer application, OS: Windows vs. MacOS • Governance issues: ITU/UN reaching for authority • Developing country issues: connectivity, human resources, ignorance of Internet policy • Entering golden age of digital appliances

Topics for Exploration • Infrastructure – computing and communications • Human Resources – computing and comunications • Navigation and Access • Human communication and behavior • Content on the Internet • Services on the Internet • “New” phenomena • Governance • Mr. Snowden and the NSA • Cybersecurity • User experience

Computer/device Infrastructure • A digital world: TV, images, video, POTS, VoIP, DNA • Quantitative: Smaller, better, cheaper, more reliable • Drivers: Moore’s law, expanding markets • Qualitative: phones, tablets, GPS, iWatch? • Digital devices abound, many more will come • Drivers: innovation, ingenuity, greed • Summary: evolution, creation of amazing stuff

Communications Infrastructure • Internet users: 200M to 2.5B and growing, Metcalfe’s law • Geography: all countries connected. ATT Africa-1, SAT-3, new cables • topology – from UC-centric to mesh, • massive fiber capacity 40G/freq, 100’s of lambdas in lab 7-8 years ago • Fiber to the home spreading rapidly in developed countries • Access, extent and reachability, broadband, last mile issue • The mobile revolution • Spectrum utilization 1G to 4G

Human Resources: Computing • 1950-1970++ severe shortage of tech programmers • Computer software: assembler to HLL, specialized software • Development of software production methodologies • Growth of UNIX, FOSS movement • Explosion of app builders: tools and platforms are ready • The situation is relatively good

Human Resources: Communications • PTT controlled for a long time • Digital communications, 1970+ (20+ year lag) • ISOC NTWs (1993++), brought persons to one place on the globe • Technical shortage of skilled persons, especially in developing countries • Critical links to cybercrime, forensic training

Navigation and access • IP address space and domain names • IPv4 to IPv6 transition, rate of transition still low • UNICODE now embedded by many applications • IDNs and new gTLDs have been introduced, but embedded links in applications need work • ITU supports Bob Kahn, and a ‘handles’ approach to information location.

Human Communication and Behavior • 1-1 voice and video services • Facetime, Skype • Social connectivity • Facebook plus 150 others • All forms of behavior have moved to Internet • Crime, bullying, extortion • Terrorism use of the Internet • Implications for cyber-oriented legislation

Content on the Internet • Continued migration (mostly) to the web, billions of web pages • Major personal data – dates, jobs, harvested • Wikipedia, maps, audio, video, webinars, TV • Google book scanning project • Retrospective input • Cultural collision: DRM tools in HTML 5 by WWW consortium (Information wants to be free???)

Services on the Internet • Entertainment – games, videos, Netflix (NYU radio in 1994 episode) • Commerce – can buy almost anything from Amazon • Niche markets thoroughly enabled • Mapping, adds location based service points, CH, ex. But: ad tracking, location popups, loss of privacy • Revolution in sale and delivery of audio, video • Education – MOOCs vis-à-vis distance education • For developing countries, early eLance, services like it • Transcription, translation, interpretation

“New” phenomena • User-producer cooperation: reputational profiling, crowdsourcing (Web 2.0) • Cloud computing • Big data: crop insurance, weather prediction, materials science, NSA PRISM data base • Location awareness • Internet of things • Domination of the advertising model, (Google) monetizing of personal data (tracking apps) • Digital money, e.g. BitCoin and others

Governance • Administration and governance – rules vs. policy • Opposing cultures re boundaries: nation state vs. Internet • Govts aware of IG – 2000 DOT Force, 2003-5 WSIS, IGF, multi-stakeholder model • But hear much less of digital divide • Privacy and Security in a digital world • Robust markets for information • Attackers: governments, competitors, hackers, private organizations • Much information voluntarily given away • Social engineering, (spear) phishing, pharming, purchasing • Defenses: encryption, • The authentication issue – no adoption of SAV

Mr. Snowden and the NSA • Revelations of Snowden, published by Guardian • My reaction: ambivalence • Vivian Reding: ED should create own spy agency • Dynamic balance between privacy and security • NSA intentionally weakened crypto algorithm development? Loss of trust throughout USG? • IETF strong response for open source cryptography • Weakening of trust a casualty

Cybersecurity • From a governance point of view • International cross-jurisdictional clash among states • Inadequate resources and knowledge, centrally and locally • Central authority very weak, not ready • From a legal point of view • Separate legal structure for online crime? • Proportional response seems lacking • Criminals may be winning • Cybercrime a large and profitable industry • Entire judicial system needs help • Easy to lay a complex path, difficult to dissect • Law enforcement always catching up • Behavioral issue: Source address validation not adopted

User experience • Internet now in adolescence, not yet mature • But survival and operation essential to whole world • Vint Cerf: Experiment that escaped from the lab • Built for small cooperative groups, used in real world • Absence of strong authentication, security very damaging • Achieving plug and play status • Users need more education because the Internet is NOT plug and play • If Internet environment were a company … • Historical baggage, gaps: WHOIS, immediate domain granting, SAV, etc. Ignorant user gets little help. • Will current Internet survive? Alternative plans in the works

Thank you!

The Ever Changing World of Internet