Attack Causality in Internet-Connected Cellular Networks, Internet Essay

Attack Causality in Internet-Connected Cellular Networks," internet infrastructure security researchers Patrick Traynor, Patrick McDaniel and Thomas La Porta address the convergence of telecommunication and internet networks, and "how the architecture of cellular networks makes these systems susceptible to denial of service attacks" (2007). Rather than attribute the threat posed by denial of service attacks to the oft cited cause of limited bandwidth capability, the authors contend that telecommunication and internet networks are constructed on fundamentally divergent design platforms. As the authors state directly, "to support our assertion, we present two new vulnerabilities in cellular data services & #8230; (and) these attacks specifically exploit connection setup and teardown procedures in networks implementing the General Packet Radio Service (GPRS)" (Traynor, McDaniel & La Porta, 2007), and despite the complexity of this semantic construction, the implication of their assertion is clear. The article goes on to explain that the Standalone Dedicated Control Channel (SDCCH) -- which is used to authenticate and deliver content during the transmission of a text message -- is critical to the setup phase of both text messages and voice calls. By inundating the SDCCH with nefarious text messages during a denial of service attack, perpetrators of online criminal activity can effectively flood a network to prevent the delivery of genuine text messages and voice calls.

Discussion 2:

The 8th edition of the Blue Box podcast by Dan York and Jonathan Zar focuses on the issue of government wiretapping and online surveillance, and whether or not the ostensible national security benefits outweigh institutionalized infringement of internet privacy. As York and Zar note in the podcast, terrorist networks seeking to inflict harm on the U.S. And its interests have adopted an especially invasive method of launching demoralizing and disturbing attacks. One of the main points mentioned in the podcast concerns the adjustments made by terrorist groups in response to increase pressure on their organizational efforts, as the use of internet phones has allowed for clandestine communication. The federal government's tactical wing, including the Central Intelligence Agency and the Department of Homeland Security, have expressed nearly universal alarm as to the threat of internet-based cyberterrorism attacks detrimentally affecting the nation's essential infrastructure. The latest Threat Assessment identifies "nation states, terrorist networks, organized criminal groups, individuals, and other cyber actors with varying combinations of access, technical sophistication and intent" while warning that these threats are highly likely "to target…