[AusNOG] Internet companies forced to block The Pirate Bay, bittorrent websites in Australia, Federal Court rules

[Mark Smith]

On 17 December 2016 at 17:46, Paul Wilkins <paulwilkins369 at gmail.com> wrote:
> "Of course, it is feasible to require ISPs to block use of external DNS
> servers..."
>
> Which begs the question, why didn't they? They've just been through the
> court process, which is going to road block traffic for as long as it takes
> for someone to tweet instructions for circumventing the block, and someone
> to google for it.
>
> I'd be really curious to know if this was oversite of the rights holders, or
> they didn't want to go there.
>

(c) no or little technical clue, and no obligation to have one. Their
goal and concern is a legal outcome, not the mechanism to implement it
- that's somebody else's problem.


> Reason being, technically, it's possible to intercept DNS requests to other
> service providers. But legally, you'd be in no man's land.
> 1 - due to the costs of doing DPI imposed, and the impacts on the rest of
> the business
> 2 - you run foul of the Telecommunications (Interception) Act 1979 running
> an unauthorised wiretap
>

I'm not a lawyer, however I'm sure it becomes authorised if the court
tells you to do it.

This is a court order to listen in on DNS requests and change the
answers to them.

My fundamental concern is about this whole space is once a general
purpose tool exists it becomes possible to use it for other things,
and it also becomes perceived to be more tolerable to go further - the
boiling the frog scenario.

This is what I think has happened in the UK. Internet filtering was
deemed successful and accepted by the public, and consequently, the
next step of snooping everything has become reality.

  http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/snoopers-charter-theresa-may-online-privacy-investigatory-powers-act-a7426461.html

The trouble with these tools is that they can be put in place by
politicians who intent is reasonable and moral. The trouble is when a
later politician gets control of them who isn't so reasonable and
moral.

Remember all of the NSA's Internet snooping capabilities, disclosed by
Snowden, which mainly haven't been curtailed since? On January 20, a
childish man will be in control of them.

A tool that doesn't exist can't be abused.


> Kind regards
>
> Paul Wilkins
>
>
> On 16 December 2016 at 09:32, <michael.bethune at australiaonline.net.au>
> wrote:
>>
>> Quoting Mark Smith <markzzzsmith at gmail.com>:
>>
>>> On 15 Dec. 2016 5:02 pm, "James Braunegg" <james.braunegg at micron21.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>> ...
>>>
>>>
>>> Once the sites are blocked, people who continue to visit the blocked
>>> sites
>>> will see a warning page informing them the site cannot be accessed.
>>>
>>> The "landing page" as it is referred to, will be hosted by either the ISP
>>> or the rights holder.  ß What a nice attack target that will be for kids
>>> on
>>> Holidays who can not download?
>>>
>>> So where is the official piece of paper?.  And how will this stop users
>>> from using 8.8.8.8 for DNS.
>>
>>
>> Of course, it is feasible to require ISPs to block use of external DNS
>> servers...
>>
>> Just saying.
>>
>> Kind regards
>>
>> Michael Bethune
>> Australia On Line
>>
>>
>>
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>
>
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