Subject: [AVT] IPR in transport

From: Andrew Daviel <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 11 Nov 2005 16:33:08 -0800 (PST)

My $0.02, from a lurker at IETF64 this morning:

I agree with the opinion expressed at the meeting (sorry, forget the
name) that IPR in transport protocols spells trouble for network
administrators.

As a network security manager, I would like to add that if IPR in a
transport protocol means that network analyzers and IDS can not analyze
at least the transport protocol - even if a free licence is
available which nevertheless requires the user to jump through hoops,
like visiting a 3rd-party website, downloading a plugin etc - that
the "safe" response is likely to be to block the protocol completely.

There is also an issue where the security community routinely exchanges
and publishes captured protocol fragments of unfamiliar traffic in an
effort to analyze and understand hostile or problematic usage patterns.

-- 
Andrew Daviel, TRIUMF, Canada
Tel. +1 (604) 222-7376  (Pacific Time)
[email-masked]

_______________________________________________
Audio/Video Transport Working Group
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From: Andrew Daviel <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 21 Nov 2005 14:16:42 -0800 (PST)

On Mon, 14 Nov 2005, Allison, Art wrote:

> So?
> It is good to block stolen material.
> Nothing should  be done to facilitate unauthorized distribution of
> content over the internet.

I probably didn't explain enough of the background; Colin does a better
job.

The issue is not that I want to decode (be able to view) content that I
haven't paid for, but that I need to be able to decode the protocol
enough to identify the product, understand where it is coming from and
going to, and assure myself that the traffic is legitimate from a
business point of view (an employee viewing Playboy channel during work
hours on his paid subscription may be legitimate as far as Playboy is
concerned, but not from the employers point of view).

My point is, that I may block legitimate traffic too if I see
something coming over the network that I can't analyze and don't
understand, if IPR issues mean that my network analysis tool of choice
cannot (easily, freely, preferably out-of-the-box) decode the
protocol.

If the application in question is a critial mission-related AV product
that we support, of course I would make allowances. But if it's something
that some random user has bought and installed on their own, well, too
bad, even if it was business related.