The darker side of the net

Spam Bandits

I read a disturbing story on the BBC site (always an excellent source of science and technology material).

What does it take to slow down the internet on a global level?  Who would want to take this kind of

The net is on a go-slow

malicious action?  Well, it appears the bandits behind some of the biggest spam  distributors, a shady outfit called Cyberbunker, who are locked in a battle with an advocacy group called Spamhaus - a not for profit organisation  that helps to filter out this rubbish from the mail system.

The BBC reports suggests that the spammers have enlisted the help of the criminal fraternity to mount cyber-attacks that have slowed many vital servers to the extent that there has been a marked slowdown in internet speed.

So we have bullies, malicious behaviour and organised crime muscling in to provide something that your average user loathes - unsolicited mail.

Not a good look.

Frontier ISPs

Here's another story that talks about vulnerabilities in the network.  It looks like the density of 'frontier' ISPs largely controls whether a nation or territory can be deprived of connectivity.