Bestavros, Azer

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Boston UniversityOpenBU http://open.bu.eduBU Open Access Articles BU Open Access Articles2010Tussles in cyberspaceThis work was made openly accessible by BU Faculty. Please share how this access benefits you.Your story matters.VersionCitation (published version): A. Bestavros. "Tussles in cyberspace." Sociology Dept, BostonUniversity, Boston (2010-02-11).https://hdl.handle.net/2144/26090Boston UniversityTussles† in CyberspaceAzer BestavrosComputer Science DepartmentBoston University† ‘tus-sle: an intense argument, controversy, or struggleAzer Bestavros -- Tussles in Cyberspace 2February 11, 2010Outline? A recap of Lessig’s “Code is Law”? The Internet Architecture and its Evolution? Tussles within the Internet? Tussles atop the Internet? Closing remarks? DiscussionAzer Bestavros -- Tussles in Cyberspace 3February 11, 2010Lessig’s Contention: Code is Law“The software and hardware that make [up] cyberspace constitute a set of constraints [on] access to cyberspace… Code or software or architecture or protocols … constrain some behavior by making other behavior possible, or impossible.”“Code can achieve perfection of control that will render it, in cyberspace, the most powerful regulator of all.”“The invisible hand [of government and commerce] is building an architecture that is quite the opposite of what it was at cyberspace’s birth … an architecture that perfects control.”Azer Bestavros -- Tussles in Cyberspace 4February 11, 2010Code is Law: Implications? Commerce is moving cyberspace towards “a fairly unified regulation through code”…? Shaped by code, cyberspace will become a world in which:“[Code can do] the work that the law used to do … far more effectively than the law did.”“Effective regulatory power [shifts] from law to code, from sovereigns to software.”“[Code] displaces law by codifying the rules, making them more efficient than they were just as rules.”Azer Bestavros -- Tussles in Cyberspace 5February 11, 2010Code is Law: Perfect Control“[W]hat happens when code protects the interests now protected by copyright law? Should we expect code to mirror the limits that the law imposes? Fair use? Limited term? Would private code build these “bugs” into its protections?”“The point should be obvious: when intellectual property is protected by code, nothing requires that the same balance be struck. Nothing requires the owner to grant the right of fair use. She might, just as a bookstore allows individuals to browse for free, but she might not. Whether she grants this right depends on whether it profits her. Fair use becomes subject to private gain.”Azer Bestavros -- Tussles in Cyberspace 6February 11, 2010Code is Law: Implications? If we do nothing, cyberspace will become a place of perfect control, devoid of the liberty and free expression that we hold sacred.“The underpaid heroes who built the Net have ideological reasons to resist government’s mandate. They are not likely to yield to its threats. And unlike some commercial interests, they do not have millions riding on a single architecture winning out in the end.”“But as code writing becomes the product of a smaller number of large companies, the government’s ability to regulate it increases.”Azer Bestavros -- Tussles in Cyberspace 7February 11, 2010Code is Law: Maybe not…“Just as there was a push toward convergence on a simple set of network protocols, there will be a push toward convergence on a uniform set of rules to govern network transactions. This set of rules will include? not the law of trademark that many nations have, but a unifiedsystem of trademark, enforced by a single committee; ? not a diverse set of policies governing privacy, but a single set of rules implicit in the architecture of Internet protocols; ? not a range of contract law policies, implemented in different ways according to the values of different states, but a single, implicit set of rules decided through click-wrap agreements and enforced where the agreement says.”? What Lessig doesn’t get (or perhaps what I don’t get about Lessig’s conclusion) is why should code regulations converge?Azer Bestavros -- Tussles in Cyberspace 8February 11, 2010Standards ≠ Uniformity ? Standards are needed for interoperability and not for control.? The Internet architecture (code) promotes a diversity of standards not a single one.? Internet protocols continue to be invented, extending functionality and diversity.? Need to understand how (Cyberspace) code evolved and continues to evolve.Azer Bestavros -- Tussles in Cyberspace 9February 11, 2010Necessity is the mother of inventionEngineers solve problems? Find the most efficient solutions – no more/less.?Must make assumptions.Society adopts new technologies? Find new uses/abuses, resulting in new problems.KnowledgeTimeAzer Bestavros -- Tussles in Cyberspace 10February 11, 2010Some context…The 19th century 'tin can', or 'lover's' telephoneSource: WikipediaAzer Bestavros -- Tussles in Cyberspace 11February 11, 2010Today…Azer Bestavros -- Tussles in Cyberspace 12February 11, 2010Circuit-switched networks? Set up a “circuit” between the sender and the receiver.? This is how telephone communication started.? Problem: Only one connection per switchboard (router) even though router can go much faster.SenderAddressReceiverAddress0123456789ABCDEF0123456789ABCDEFAzer Bestavros -- Tussles in Cyberspace 13February 11, 2010Packet-switched networks ? Data divided in packets that are stored and forwarded from one switchboard (router) to the next.? To send more data, divide into multiple packets and send one after the other.? US Mail Analogy.Azer Bestavros -- Tussles in Cyberspace 14February 11, 2010“Store-and-Forward” networks? Every computer (on the Internet) has a unique address – called the IP address? A router handles any packet whose destination is not local, storing it, and then forwarding it to the “next” network (hop) towards its destination.Internet = Network of NetworksAzer Bestavros -- Tussles in Cyberspace 15February 11, 2010The Internet Protocol(s)? Why is the Internet really different?? The end-to-end principle and implicationsAzer Bestavros -- Tussles in Cyberspace 16February 11, 2010Tussle: It’s all bits? Store-and-forward communication ? In 1996, the 1934 telecom act was modified to distinguish “telecom” from “info”† services.?Common carriers are held to higher safety standards and must be neutral, and in return are afforded special protections.?Now, IP voice and video services are unregulated “information services” that compete directly with regulated voice and video services by “common carriers”. † generating, acquiring, storing, transforming, processing, retrieving, utilizing or making available information via telecommunicationsAzer Bestavros -- Tussles in Cyberspace 17February 11, 2010Tussle: Net Neutrality? What is it?? Neutrality with respect to what?? Is it a panacea?? In the news?AT&T wants a piece of Google’s ads pie?Apple does not allow Google Phone App?Google contemplates broadband offeringsAzer Bestavros -- Tussles in Cyberspace 18February 11, 2010Tussle: What’s in the name?? DNS?A technology invented in 1983 to go from friendly names (csa2.bu.edu) to IP addresses (128.197.12.4)?By the late 1990s, it changed the vocabulary of society – “Walmart”? “www.walmart.com”?At the root of big trademark problems – e.g., whitehouse.org, nissan.com.Azer Bestavros -- Tussles in Cyberspace 19February 11, 2010Truth in Domain Names Act…? Anti-cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act is a US federal law enacted in 1999. ? It makes people who register domain names with the sole intent of selling the rights to these domain names for a profit liable to civil action.? URL hijacking is a form of “cybersquatting” that capitalizes on typographical errors made by Internet users to lead them to an alternative website owned by a cybersquatter.? Organizations often register misspelled domain names (e.g., gogle.com, googel.com)!Azer Bestavros -- Tussles in Cyberspace 20February 11, 2010Tussle: What’s in the email?? SMTP?A technology invented in 1971 to enable a researcher to send a text message to geek@lab15.mit.edu.?By late 1990s an email address has become one’s cyber identity.?Today, it limits customer mobility (and hence ISP competition) – not possible to solve as with “local wireless number portability”.?Oh yes, and then there is SPAM.Azer Bestavros -- Tussles in Cyberspace 21February 11, 2010Tussle: Routing ? BGP?A technology invented in early 1990s to enable multiple co-operating ISPs to collectively find best routes for Internet traffic.?By mid 2000s it has turned into a mechanism for competing ISPs to encode and enforce business relationships.?Today, it is the “weakest link” of the Internet –a time bomb.Azer Bestavros -- Tussles in Cyberspace 22February 11, 2010Hot Potato Routing across ISPs? Internet paths are not the best possible!109020 1055Source DestinationCustomer-ProviderPeeringAzer Bestavros -- Tussles in Cyberspace 23February 11, 2010Tussle: Congestion Control? TCP? Invented in 1971, it allows two communicating users to decide at what speed they should communicate to be “friendly” to other users.?By mid 2000s, the Internet has become the playground of selfish, competing users who “abused” TCP.?Today, ISPs are struggling to reign in selfish users – being accused of jeopardizing “net neutrality”.Azer Bestavros -- Tussles in Cyberspace 24February 11, 2010The Perils of OssificationMyopic design choices? Cyberspace architects are not good at anticipating how inventions might be used, or in predicting future problems or “killer apps”.Revisiting design choices is hard? Wide adoption requires standardizing early design choices, making it much harder to change.? Particularly problematic when a technology does not get replaced.Azer Bestavros -- Tussles in Cyberspace 25February 11, 2010Two Viewpoints? It’s not broken – extend it by adding (overlaying) the functionality you want on top of existing protocols.? Start over with a “clean slate” that recognizes current and future “tussles”, offering mechanisms not solutions.  Azer Bestavros -- Tussles in Cyberspace 26February 11, 2010Tussles: Beyond net architecture? Application programmers make “coding”decisions that are seldom known to users: ?Word processors may not really delete “deleted” text.?Web browser sends the referrer URL to the server.?Web browser sends capabilities of your computer to the web server.? Plug-ins to web browsers bypass browser settings.? It’s not a bug, it’s a feature!Azer Bestavros -- Tussles in Cyberspace 27February 11, 2010How tractable are you?The Panopticon is a prison architecture designed by English philosopher and social theorist Jeremy Bentham in 1785. The concept of the design is to allow an observer to observe (-opticon) all (pan-) prisoners without the prisoners being able to tell whether they are being watched, conveying what one architect has called the “sentiment of an invisible omniscience.” – WikipediaAzer Bestavros -- Tussles in Cyberspace 28February 11, 2010How tractable are you?Azer Bestavros -- Tussles in Cyberspace 29February 11, 2010Tussles: Beyond net architecture? Tussles resulting from user interactions, e.g., in a social networking setting:? Notions of intellectual property are not well defined in multi-party exchanges (e.g., blog).? Privacy is compromised due to associations and structure of interactions (e.g., even if I want my age to be private, the age of my classmates will reveal it.? What do Facebook quizzes know about you (and about your friends through you)? A lot!Azer Bestavros -- Tussles in Cyberspace 30February 11, 2010Tussles: Beyond net architecture? Unpredictable tussles between different applications and services:? Breaking the e2e principle: supporting WAP on cell phones breaks Facebook’s authentication!Azer Bestavros -- Tussles in Cyberspace 31February 11, 2010Tussles: Beyond net architecture? Unpredictable tussles between different applications and services:? Bugs!Somebody at BUAzer Bestavros -- Tussles in Cyberspace 32February 11, 2010Tussles: Beyond net architecture? Tussles resulting from how “code” is used, e.g., depending on the nature of the bits! ? Pointing to (indexing) copyrighted music will get you an RIAA lawsuit? Caching (de-duplicating) copyrighted music will get you an RIAA lawsuitAzer Bestavros -- Tussles in Cyberspace 33February 11, 2010Music cannot live in the cloud! Azer Bestavros -- Tussles in Cyberspace 34February 11, 2010Closing remarks? Understand the new reality of the Internet ? The days when all players had a common goal are gone; players have conflicting interests that the Internet should leverage / accommodate.? Internet architects must not offer solutions to Cyberspace tussles, but the means for such tussles to run their course.? e.g., support “Cap and Trade” (of bandwidth) and “Collocation Games” (in the cloud).  Azer Bestavros -- Tussles in Cyberspace 35February 11, 2010Closing remarks? Design principle: One size does not fit all –allow for multiple “visions” of the Internet to co-exist – e.g., GENI.? Design for variation in outcome not for a particular outcome.?Modularize along tussle boundaries (e.g., naming vs routing, reliability vs anonymity).? Design for choice (e.g., circuit switching vs store-and-forward).Azer Bestavros -- Tussles in Cyberspace 36February 11, 2010Closing remarks? Computer Scientists have an obligation to educate society about what is possible:? I don’t have to know the ID of a person to check if he/she is entitled to access a building.? Computer Scientists have an obligation to act as watchdogs and to promote best practices:?Open Source Software Azer Bestavros -- Tussles in Cyberspace 37February 11, 2010Closing remarks? Society must be ready to “pay” for the code (law) it wants – we get what we pay for:? If we want net neutrality, then we should be ready to pay (be taxed) more for it.? If we want code (law) to be transparent, then we should insist on / support open source software.Azer Bestavros -- Tussles in Cyberspace 38February 11, 2010References? MA/CS-109: “The Art and Science of Quantitative Reasoning”. College of Arts and Sciences, Boston University (since Spring 2009). ? Lawrence Lessig. “Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace”. Basic Books, 1999 (also “Code 2.0”, 2006). ? Lawrence Lessig. “The Law of the Horse: What Cyber Law Might Teach”. Harvard Law Review, Vol. 113:501-546, December 1999.? Jonathan Zittrain. “The Future of the Internet – And How to Stop It”. Yale University Press, 2009.? David G. Post. “What Larry Doesn’t Get: Code, Law, and Liberty in Cyberspace”. Stanford Law Review, Vol. 52:1439-1459, May 2000.? D. Clark, J. Wroclawski, K. Sollins, and R. Braden, R. 2002. “Tussle in Cyberspace: Defining Tomorrow's Internet”. IEEE/ACM Transactions on Networking, Vol. 13(3), June 2005.

Tussles in cyberspace

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Tussles in cyberspace

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