Re: Addresses and ports and taxes -- oh my!

[Dennis Glatting]

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?

It is reasonable to assume that HVAC systems will someday soon be
controlled over the Internet by a maintenance firm (video surveillance
systems already are controlled and monitored over the Internet). It may
become possible, for example, to raise building temperatures across the
lower Manhattan area and shut down most financial centers, at least for a
short while.