[kictanet] Day 2 0f 10:-IG Discussions- DNS, Root Servers, IP Addresses

Tue Aug 12 08:06:35 EAT 2008

Day 2 of 10 - Infrastructure Issues
DNS/Root Servers/ IP addressing

Thanx all for your comments on yesterday's introductory theme.  Today we want to start looking at the Infrastructure issues of DNS/Root Servers/IP Addresses, Internet Interconnection Charges and the Security/Stability of the Internet. But first some explanation on the terminologies and their context before we present the issues/debates.  

DNS, Domain Name System is basically a translation mechanism that allows users to type in human-readable internet names e.g. www.statehouse.go.ke and translates them into unique machine-readable form/numbers such as 62.33.8.1 (Internet Protocol (IP) Address)  This way user requests are able to be transmitted and delivered to the correct machine or computer on the Internet.  This translation mechanism is by design hinged on hierarchical, translation tables that are distributed accross the globe. At the top of this heirarchy are the translation tables that deal with topmost internet names such as .com, .net, .edu. These topmost translations tables are hosted on 13 computers/servers known as the Root Servers. All these Servers and IP addresses are managed by the US/ICANN. In addition, 10 the 13 Root servers are situated in the US.

The Main beef with this arrangement is that other stakeholders (Govt, Civil Society, Businesses, Individual Netizens, etc) want a say on how these Root Servers are managed and control.  Specifically, they rightly claim that:

i) The records in the translation tables are in latin characters (read english) and so for example the Chinese wanting to have their domain names in the Chinese alphabet cannot do so (read discrimination)

ii)Stakeholders, particularly, commercially oriented users cannot have new top level internet domains easily introduced e.g .TV, .porn amongst other contentiously proposed names.

iii)Users, particularly in developing countries, must have their DNS queries traversing expensive international links to the US to get their translations serviced.

iv) IP Number Assignments is also monopolised by ICANN procedures and ITU in particular would like to see choice (read Competition) for Internet Users in this space

Some of these issues have been resolved through work-arounds but the debate continues unbated because those very work-arounds were unilaterally provided for by US through its contracted party the ICANN.  Developing countries in Latin America, Asia-Pacific and silently, even some European states want the procedures revolving around DNS/Root Servers/IP addresses to be -democratised.  The US says that there is no way (in hell?) a country like Somalia or Afghanistan can have the same veto power (as the US) on such critical internet resources because their level of electronic sophistication does not warrant it.  I am not sure what they tell the Europeans/Japanese/Koreans/etc given that their Internet use/penetration is commensurate with the US. 

What should be our take as East Africans? Should we have any? We have 1day for views on this and tomorrow we go onto the Internet Interconnection Issues.

walu.

--- On Tue, 8/12/08, Judy Okite <judyokite at gmail.com> wrote:

> From: Judy Okite <judyokite at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [kictanet] Day 1 0f 10:-Internet Governance Discussions, Introductory Theme
> To: jwalu at yahoo.com
> Cc: "KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions" <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>
> Date: Tuesday, August 12, 2008, 2:31 AM
> Hi All,
> 
> The internet has become an essential instrument of
> today's
> society......however,its potential is far greater than what
> we have
> seen.....As Michuki,puts it...we are yet to see the best
> and worst of
> it...in this regard, its governance...seeks a lot of
> creativity....(We cant
> afford to go the traditional way,of setting 3-5year
> policies)etc..
> 
> what we have to bear in mind...its boderless and still
> evolving....
> 
> Curiosity: What would 'Internet governance' be in
> Swahili?
> 
> Utawalaji wa interneti?
> 
> Kind Regards,
> 
> NB:
> Mwende,I love your disclaimer :-)
> 
> On Mon, Aug 11, 2008 at 8:33 PM, Barnabas K. Sang
> <bksang at education.go.ke>wrote:
> 
> >  Thanks Brian and Many contributors on Internet
> Governance Subject and
> > Discussions thereafter.
> >
> > More challenging is the development of policies and
> guidelines which could
> > be adopted in the various sectors / sub-sectors in
> order for us as a country
> > to have sound IG.
> >
> > More recently, in Education Sector for example,
> Technology (Particularly
> > Internet - Social Networks) blame was featured in some
> media, to be possible
> > cause for the youth stir-up in Secondary Schools. I
> think as Walu and most
> > of us contribute in this worthy discussion at Macro
> level, lets also think
> > of Micro-level as well. Before a National Policy is in
> place, proposals need
> > to be put forth for specific sectors to move on
> develop into guidelines and
> > standards.
> >
> > Recently, UNESCO's ICT Division organized a
> conference to discuss ICT
> > ethics and morals and indeed Internet Governance
> (Globe perspective) became
> > one of the critical aspects to be focused by a group
> of experts as a matter
> > of priority, since more schools and education
> institutions are really
> > connecting to Internet or pushing for having the
> faclity.
> >
> > Kind regards
> >
> > BKS
> >
> >
> >  ------------------------------
> > *From:*
> kictanet-bounces+bksang=education.go.ke at lists.kictanet.or.ke[mailto:
> > kictanet-bounces+bksang
> <kictanet-bounces%2Bbksang>=education.go.ke@
> > lists.kictanet.or.ke] *On Behalf Of *mwende njiraini
> > *Sent:* Monday, August 11, 2008 5:02 PM
> > *To:* bksang at education.go.ke
> > *Cc:* KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions
> > *Subject:* Re: [kictanet] Day 1 0f 10:-Internet
> Governance
> > Discussions,Introductory Theme
> >
> >  Brian, you have pointed out issues that we need to
> consider at a national
> > level with the increased use of the internet;
> > What are the stakeholders initiatives are there in the
> area of promoting
> > cyber-security and trust?   For example is the
> Computer Security Incident
> > Response Team (CSIRT-KENYA: http://www.csirt.or.ke/)
> active?   Do the
> > provisions of the Draft ICT bill 2008 (Part IV –
> Electronic Transactions and
> > Cybercrime) adequately address your concerns?
> >
> > Regards
> >
> > Mwende
> >
> > Disclaimer: These comments are the author's own.
> >
> >
> > On 8/11/08, Brian Munyao Longwe
> <brian at caret.net> wrote:
> >>
> >> Good intro Walu. I will add a few points:
> >>
> >> Besides the concern that other governments
> had/have over USA's
> >> control over the numbering and naming mechanisms
> of the Internet,
> >> there are also a number of themes that have arisen
> within the
> >> Internet Governance debate that have prompted many
> countries to start
> >> seriously considering measures that relate to
> governance of the
> >> Internet within as well as without their borders.
> Some of these follow:
> >> 1) Cyber-Crime: Due to the vast nature of the
> network, the Internet
> >> can be used as a medium for electronic crime or
> computer assisted
> >> crime/fraud without the perpetrator ever
> physically stepping into the
> >> "victim" countries territory.
> Investigations have shown that in many
> >> cases, multiple computer and network systems in
> multiple
> >> jurisdictions have been compromised and used as
> part of elaborate
> >> schemes that either target a particular system or
> series of systems.
> >> a good example here is the Nigeria "419"
> scams which in the recent
> >> past seem to be originating more from the
> USA/Europe than from
> >> Nigeria itself.
> >> 2) Cyber-Warfare: also known as "information
> warfare" it is defined
> >> in Wikipedia as "... the use and management
> of information in pursuit
> >> of a competitive advantage over an opponent.
> Information warfare may
> >> involve collection of tactical information,
> assurance that one's own
> >> information is valid, spreading of propaganda or
> disinformation to
> >> demoralize the enemy and the public, undermining
> the quality of
> >> opposing force information and denial of
> information collection
> >> opportunities to opposing forces." - the
> Internet plays a key role in
> >> many country's cyber-warfare strategies. An
> excerpt from a USA
> >> department of Defense report says this about
> China's Peoples
> >> Liberation Army "The PLA is investing in
> electronic countermeasures,
> >> defenses against electronic attack (e.g.,
> electronic and infrared
> >> decoys, angle reflectors, and false target
> generators), and computer
> >> network operations (CNO). China's CNO concepts
> include computer
> >> network attack, computer network defense, and
> computer network
> >> exploitation. The PLA sees CNO as critical to
> achieving
> >> "electromagnetic dominance" early in a
> conflict. "
> >> 3) Child Pornography: Among other evils that
> plague the Internet,
> >> this is probably the most disturbing. Law
> enforcement agencies across
> >> the globe have been stretched beyond their limits
> in trying to catch
> >> and shut down producers and propagators of these
> illicit materials.
> >> Once again, the vastly international nature of
> these networks makes
> >> it very hard to deal with cross-jurisdictional
> issues, laws on
> >> evidence, privacy and the like. While there have
> been cases where
> >> multi-national networks have been busted and
> entire child-porn rings
> >> dismantled, there is still great concern in this
> area
> >> 4) Spam: it has been reported that unsolicited
> commercial email and
> >> more recently malicious, meaningless email garbage
> constitutes almost
> >> 80% of all email transmitted over the internet.
> This carries
> >> incredible implications especially for the end
> users who pay a high
> >> price for their connectivity. Once again, a
> largely multi-national
> >> phenomenon - spam is clearly an issue that will
> need many countries,
> >> network, techies etc to sit together and figure
> out a way of dealing.
> >>
> >> I could keep going on but will rest my case here -
> hope that the
> >> discussions find time to discuss/shed light on
> some of the above
> >> areas....
> >>
> >> Regards,
> >>
> >> Brian
> >>
> >> On Aug 11, 2008, at 9:56 AM, John Walubengo wrote:
> >> > Greetings all,
> >> >
> >> > Today we just want to get upto speed with the
> genesis and rationale
> >> > for Internet Governance.  Internet Governance
> issues arose from the
> >> > increasing  use of the Internet during the
> mid and late 1990s.
> >> > Most countries were surprised at the
> increasing role the internet
> >> > was having on their Socio-economic as well as
> Political landscape.
> >> > They then realised that lacked the oversight
> power the US
> >> > government unilatery enjoyed over the
> development and use of the
> >> > Internet resources.
> >> >
> >> > Indeed one of the Key questions then as it is
> now, was why should
> >> > one Government influence the direction of a
> global resource without
> >> > reference to other governments?  The way the
> Internet was governed
> >> > was definitely not commensurate with its
> global reach or nature. A
> >> > lot of lobbying and pressure particularly
> from Latin America, Asia
> >> > Pacific and ITU started agitating for a
> change in the oversight
> >> > role the US government had and continues to
> have over the
> >> > Internet.  The anti-change proponents however
> maintained that the
> >> > current governance structure through the US
> Dept of Commerce and
> >> > ICANN is what has given the Internet this
> phenomenal growth – hence
> >> > the famous cliché – "If it ain't
> broken, why try to fix it?"
> >> >
> >> > The World Summit on Information Society
> (WSIS) process was
> >> > commissioned by UN in the late 1990s to look
> into this and other
> >> > emerging issues of the Internet such as the
> legal, economic and
> >> > social-cultural dimensions of the Internet.
> The WSIS process
> >> > concluded in Tunis, 2005, give no definite
> rulings on these issues
> >> > but recommended instead the creation of a
> multi-stakeholder forum,
> >> > the IGF – the Internet Governance Forum
> which continues to study
> >> > and deliberate on these issues to date. WSIS
> also supplied the
> >> > working definition for Internet Governance
> as:- the development and
> >> > application by Stakeholders of the rules,
> norms, procedures and
> >> > practices that influence the evolution and
> use of the Internet.
> >> >
> >> > The Stakeholders (States, Civil Society,
> Academia, Media,
> >> > Businesses, etc) are all actively involved in
> the Internet
> >> > Governance Forum with the sole objective of
> ensuring that their
> >> > interests are catered for as the Internet
> continues to evolve. The
> >> > IGF has so far held two summits, Greece, and
> Brazil with a 3rd due
> >> > at the end of this year in India.  The
> stakeholders propose
> >> > positions on the emerging and contentious
> issues that are used to
> >> > somewhat inform the direction the Internet
> takes. However, most of
> >> > Africa continues to sleep as Nations and
> other stakeholders
> >> > scramble to claim a stake and positions on
> what is becoming the
> >> > most important battle of the 21st Century –
> the battle for the
> >> > Information Superhighway.
> >> >
> >> > Those with experiences, comments,
> clarifications, observations or
> >> > objections have 1day to say something on
> today's Introductory theme.
> >> >
> >> > walu.
> >> >
> >> >
> >> >
> >> >
> >> >
> >> >
> >> >
> _______________________________________________
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> >> >
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> >> >
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> >>
> >>
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> 
> -- 
> "Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where
> there is no path and
> leave a trail."
> ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
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