Paul Vixie Explains How PROTECT IP Will Break The Internet

from the not-cool-folks dept

Say your browser, when it's trying to decide whether some web site is or is not your bank's web site, sees the modifications or hears no response. It has to be able to try some other mechanism like a proxy or a VPN as a backup solution rather than just giving up (or just accepting the modification and saying "who cares?"). Using a proxy or VPN as a backup solution would, under PROTECT IP, break the law.

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It's pretty difficult to question Paul Vixie's credibility when it comes to core internet infrastructure. Creator of a variety of key Unix and internet software, he's still most known for his work on BIND , "the most widely used DNS software on the internet." So you would think that when he and a few other core internet technologists spoke up about why PROTECT IP would break fundamental parts of the internet , people would pay attention. Tragically, PROTECT IP supporters, like the MPAA, appear to be totally clueless in arguing against Vixie. Their response is basically "it's fine to break the internet to evil rogue sites."That, of course, is missing the point. It's not that anyone's worried about breaking the internet for those sites. It's that it will break fundamental parts of the internet foras well. And... it will do this in a way that won't make a dent in online infringement. Afterdawn sat down with Vixie who gave a clear and concise explanation of why PROTECT IP is a problem . The biggest issue is how it will impact DNSSEC, which adds encrypted signatures to DNS records to make sure that the IP address you're getting is authentic. You want that. Without that, there are significant security risks. But PROTECT IP ignores that.Explained simply, for DNSSEC to work, it needs to be able to route around errors. But the way PROTECT IP is written, routing around errors will break the law:And, of course, none of these DNS efforts will actually stop infringement. As the Afterdawn article notes: "Bypassing DNS filtering is trivially easy. All you need to do is configure your computer to use DNS servers outside the US which won't be affected by the law."And while supporters of PROTECT IP insist that there's nothing to worry about because it only impacts those "foreign websites," that's misleading in the extreme. PROTECT IP will impact a ton of US-based technology companies. First, if we have a less secure internet, that's going to be a problem for obvious reasons. Additionally, the way the law works is that it puts a direct burden on US companies to figure out ways to block sites declared rogue (you know, like the Internet Archive and 50 Cent's personal website ), or face liability. This will increase both compliance and legal costs.In the last few months we've been hearing from more folks in the startup world who are really concerned about the excessive burdens PROTECT IP is going to put on them. If you're an entrepreneur who's worried about this, we'd like to hear about it. Please contact us

Filed Under: break the internet, dns, dnssec, paul vixie, protect ip, unintended consequences