| Submit your comments on this article |
| Science & Technology |
| DNS network address bug worse than feared. |
| 2008-08-07 |
| I toyed with the idea of a GPS based replacement for DNS. The whole purpose of DNS is a crutch for route discovery from point A to point B. These days with multiple providers, last mile paths and backbones its a bit more complicated than when invented for DARPA. I envisioned an address assignment method that went: Provider, Provider carrier, GPS coordinate, altitude, random number, NIC card/connection in device. This allows a device to discover the address of each connection by: GPS, altitude estimate, choosing a small random number, connection in the device and provider and carrier information either broadcast or in a handshake. A packet sent to itself could verify if the random number provided a collision with another device and then choose another random number (maybe sequential would be good enough). If this method is used all the way through the system you do not need DNS. A benefit is it could be slowly retrofitted onto a DNS based system. This would remove the need to have DNS. It would be good enough that you could have a stack of computers and each would quickly figure out working addresses for themselves. Another benefit is mobility. As the device moves you can choose the proper nodes to contact it from. As it moves it can provide the new address to its connections. Sorry for the rant bandwith... just mumbling out loud... because if you don't have DNS you don't have this hack. |
| Posted by:3dc |
| #3 For civilian use it would be ideal. Military might need scrambling. For instance - you would be able to derive the location of that hacker..... think about it ... hacker ... base ball bat... hacker... Plus... you could easily block a region... Chinese hacking your site... blocked Smart assed heckler from say GREECE ... blocked. |
| Posted by: 3dc 2008-08-07 18:37 |
| #2 3dc, Good idea except one vulnerability. If the GPS system went down due to sabatoge, unless computers were designed to keep in memory its last known GPS coordinates, all on-line communications would cease. Also, something else that could be a problem that may also have solutions given enough thought, is security. Looking at the address that datapackets are going to can expose precisely where a computer (I.E. military computer out in the battle field or at the Pentagon) is located by the GPS info in the header... |
| Posted by: Snosing and Tenille9185 2008-08-07 17:20 |
| #1 Seems to be a bit of a Y2K non-event. Now that enough servers have been patched I'd like to see what I'm supposed to be worried about. |
| Posted by: Bright Pebbles 2008-08-07 12:57 |