nanog mailing list archives
Re: sniffer/promisc detector
From: Michael.Dillon () radianz com
Date: Wed, 21 Jan 2004 10:52:00 +0000
Uhm, that would be wrong. This is simply "security through
obscurity".
Yes, it is wrong for the _smart books_. But it works in real life.
Actually, an automated script or manual scan can find it trivially.
If security through obscurity was useless then the USAF would never have developed the stealth bomber. The British forces in North Africa would never have employed Jasper Maskelyne and his magic gang and Rommel would have defeated the British at El Alamein. And the Serbs would not have been able to retrieve the vast majority of their tanks from Kosovo after NATO's bombing campaign. The fact is that camouflage is a legitimate defense technique and can be used in networks as well as in the real world. Nobody would suggest that camouflage is sufficient to protect something but war is a numbers game. If you can use obscurity and camouflage to divert a percentage of the attacks against you then you can pay more attention to the much tougher security issues which sometimes can only be resolved through constant vigilance. --Michael Dillon
Current thread:
- Re: sniffer/promisc detector, (continued)
- Re: sniffer/promisc detector Valdis . Kletnieks (Jan 19)
- Re: sniffer/promisc detector Alexei Roudnev (Jan 20)
- Re: sniffer/promisc detector Dave Israel (Jan 20)
- Re: sniffer/promisc detector Niels Bakker (Jan 20)
- Re: sniffer/promisc detector Alexei Roudnev (Jan 21)
- Re: sniffer/promisc detector Steven M. Bellovin (Jan 20)
- Re: sniffer/promisc detector haesu (Jan 20)
- RE: sniffer/promisc detector Henry Linneweh (Jan 20)
- Re: sniffer/promisc detector Ruben van der Leij (Jan 21)
- Re: sniffer/promisc detector Valdis . Kletnieks (Jan 21)
- Re: sniffer/promisc detector Ruben van der Leij (Jan 21)
- Re: sniffer/promisc detector Alexei Roudnev (Jan 21)
- Re: sniffer/promisc detector Crist Clark (Jan 21)
- Re: sniffer/promisc detector Alexei Roudnev (Jan 21)