Who cares about abuse?

Rodney Tillotson, JANET-CERTAPNIC, August 2001

  UnitedKingdomEducation &ResearchNetworkingAssociation

Three points

• UBE is like other abuse• Only global consensus will stop it

• We would like to talk with AP

RIPE

• Réseaux IP Européens• Anti-spam Working Group• WG chair

RIPE view

• Originate no spam• Persuade originators to stop

• Block and filter

Originate no spam

• Contracts with customers• Penalties available• Act on reports of abuse

• RIPE-206http://www.ripe.net/ripe/docs/ripe-206.html

Problems

• Free accounts• Cybercafé use

• Competitive advantage

Block and filter

• Local choice• MAPS• Other blacklists

• Outbound blocks

Filtering

• Content-based• Subjective, always changing• Can help with other abuse

– Viruses, porn

DNS blacklists

• Test IP addresses• Hooks in most mailers

– (but not Exchange)

• Getting on/off the list– Who decides?

Other public blacklists

• ORBS not now operating• Several others

– A variety of behaviours

MAPS

• Paul Vixie, Dave Rand• Highly respected• Thorough, not fast

– Will let through some spam

• Pressure on originators

http://mail-abuse.org/

MAPS update

• Subscription only from 1 Aug 2001• Costs

– DNS operation– List management– Legal

http://mail-abuse.org/feestructure.html

UBE

• What is spam?– Usenet

• Unsolicited• Bulk• E-mail

Pressure on originators

• RBL– Realtime Blackhole List

• Focus for consensus and conflict– Advice on good practice

Other abuse

• The issues are the same• Consensus is better• Compliance is about the same

Who said this?

“I don’t want to report spam to the spammer’s ISP.”

“I want to report it to my own ISP, or if I am an ISP then I want to report it to my own peers. They ought to verify my identity and the complaint format and then pitch it on to their peers or upstreams or customers or whatever and so on …”

Who said this?

“… until it finally gets to the owner of the the address space which is being abused. If that owner won’t act, then they ought to lose peering or be dropped as a customer or whatever, because the standard contracts among Internet peers and between customers and their ISPs ought to require proper response.”

Who said this?

• Paul Vixie– To a private list, June 2001– (quoted with permission)

UBE issues with AP

• US is the major source• Many relays in AP

– Increased early 2000

• Little response from abuse@domain

Code Red

• Many sources in AP– Fewer in US (still too many)

• Unclear where to report it

• Lots in JANET, too!

JANET-CERT

• Coordinate security responseshttp://www.ja.net/CERT/

• Contacts at customer sites• Network blocks if needed

• Contacts with other CSIRTs

0

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Num

ber

of In

cide

nts

Dec-99 Jan-00 Feb-00 Mar-00 Apr-00 May-00 Jun-00 Jul-00 Aug-00 Sep-00 Oct-00 Nov-00 Dec-00 Jan-01 Feb-01 Mar-01 Apr-01 May-01 Jun-01 Jul-01

Month

OverloadDenial of ServiceSnifferPassword capture/etc/passwd grabbedRoot compromiseUnauthorised useVirusProbeSpamProbes (not escalated)Spam (not escalated)QueryPresentationInformationOtherUnclassified

Other CSIRTs

• FIRSThttp://www.first.org/

• TERENA Trusted Introducerhttp://www.ti.terena.nl/

AP CSIRTs

• Useful responses from AP CSIRTs– AUS-CERT, JP-CERT, KR-CERT etc

• Whois data usually available– Not easy to find abuse contact

My guess

• Fast-growing networks and user communities– Support lags behind– Many small companies

• Expectations are different• Guidance is in (bad) English

Those points again

• UBE is like other abuse• Only global consensus will stop it

• We would like to talk with AP

My questions

• How should we make contact?• What problems do you have with

the RIPE region?• Do we need a new forum?• How can we help?

• Who cares about abuse?

Your questions?

Thank you!

• Rodney Tillotsonsenior JANET-CERT member

• Rodney.Tillotson@ukerna.ac.uk+44 1235 822 255