On Fri, 4 Aug 2000, Andre-John Mas wrote:
Dennis Glatting wrote:
On Thu, 3 Aug 2000, Keith Moore wrote:
[snip]
burning IP addresses into devices is a good way to give vendors the
ability to control those devices, monitor their usage, and to lock
their customers in to particular services. not my idea of a desirable
state.
It might also be a good way for script kiddies to efficiently scan the
Internet looking for a particular manufacturer's device to exploit a
discovered security flaw, such as turning off a stove's gas pilot and
turning on all burners. If that doesn't sound realistic, how about a
cracker inside a manufacturer's systems doing the same; or how about a
terrorist?
Though if the devices already use ethernet, then each device would
already have its own MAC address, and the IP address would be DHCP
assignable. As stated earlier once firewall/routers/DHCP server combos
come down in price, preferbly below $200, you will probably see these
devices as becoming standard. These devices would provide a level of
intrusion security and would be able to assign address to the devices
in the home, as is already done in most LANs.
Firewalls do indeed provide a level of security but they are also
vulnerable to attack and code and configuration entropy -- there are many
examples of this. Also, if you have a trusted party managing your HVAC
system and that trusted part is cracked, a firewall will probably provide
no defense.