Re: [gentoo-user] Somewhat OT: Any truth to this mess?

[Dale <rdalek1967@gmail.com>]

Michael Mol wrote:
> On Sat, Feb 18, 2012 at 10:34 AM, Dale <rdalek1967@gmail.com> wrote:
>> Alan McKinnon wrote:
>>> On Sat, 18 Feb 2012 06:39:27 -0600
>>> Dale <rdalek1967@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Volker Armin Hemmann wrote:
>>>>> Am Samstag, 18. Februar 2012, 06:00:00 schrieb Dale:
>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I don't really think they can unless they just cut power to all the
>>>>>> computers.  After all, the internet is supposed to be redundant
>>>>>> right? If there is a few computers still running that have a
>>>>>> connection, it is still working.  Sort of anyway.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Does make one wonder tho.  They have been talking about having a
>>>>>> internet "off switch" but I'm not sure it would be that easy.
>>>>>
>>>>> basically, yes. Take down the core routers and backbones and
>>>>> everything falls apart.
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> But how long would it take to actually do this?
>>>>
>>>> Another thing, the Government, especially the military, uses the
>>>> internet too.
>>>
>>> Not quite. They use the same internet *technology* you do, not
>>> necessarily the same internet *devices*.
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>> What about banks?  Credit cards?  Heck, even food stamp cards?  Would
>> phones work?  I'm not just thinking about Vonage or Skype either.
> 
> Banks, credit cards, etc. mostly operate on leased lines (Think T1,
> T2, T3...) and landlines (point-of-sale vending, though that's
> changing. ATMs also operate on landlines, and I don't believe that's
> changing.).
> 
> You'd still have access to your money. You'd just have to go to a bank
> branch or an ATM.
> 
> This whole thread is full panicked reasoning. The biggest risk we face
> is a scenario like Iran or Egypt's, where the government requires
> controls on border routers. Most likely, they'd do it at the ISP
> level, not at the core router level. That said, they could conceivably
> demand core router operators acquiesce to their demands, but the worst
> you're likely to see there is some network blocks' being dropped
> offline.
> 
> And it's not so easy to take the Internet down with injected BGP
> routes any more, either; most network operators apply some sort of
> filtering.
> 


That has been my thinking all along.  I don't think it would shut down
quietly if it can be done at all.  I was just curious as to what we
would lose if it did go down.  As to the cards, I know when I go to a
store that is a Mom and Pop, they use dial-up.  They may connect
directly to the bank but it dials something.

I mostly think two things.  1:  The Government would have a very hard
time shutting down the internet especially globally.  2:  If it did and
I was the Pres, I'd go find me a bunker.  I can picture pitch forks,
torches and some really pissed off people.

Dale

:-)  :-)

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