• SIP
Broadband & Mobile Featured Article
April 14, 2008
Targeted P2P?
By Gary Kim Contributing Editor
Some users argue that there should be no traffic shaping or filtering whatsoever by any Internet service provider, for any reason. Not many ISPs would agree, however there is growing recognition that there are legal and proper P2P applications users wish to access, and whatever the headaches this might cause ISPs, some way to support those applications is required.
"About 98 percent of all peer-to-peer traffic contains unlawful and illegal content such as pirated music, videos, child pornography, worms, malware and viruses," says Bill Weiss, vice president of SafeMedia. In fact, he says, "less than one half of one percent of P2P traffic is used to deliver legitimate open source and other digital material."
You might think SafeMedia, which builds P2P security devices, is a "BitTorrent (News - Alert) killer." Not so. In fact, the whole idea behind SafeMedia's technology is to allow legal BitTorrent applications to operate while possibly-dangerous and certainly unknown P2P applications are scrubbed out.
There's a difference between BitTorrent and other possibly malevolent peer-to-peer networks that might harbor viruses and other threats: BitTorrent requires the identification and consent of its peer members, others use anonymous sharing that not require user consent, says SafeMedia CEO Safwat Fahmy.
That has consequences for the design of systems intended to control anonymous P2P while permitting BitTorrent and other P2P networks to form, without slowing down legitimate traffic or inspecting packets, he argues.
SafeMedia's "Clouseau" network appliance, for example, "prohibits illegal P2P traffic while allowing passage of legal P2P such as BitTorrent and other systems, Fahmy says. "Clouseau never captures or records user IDs, does not decrypt any traffic and allows the execution of all current security techniques such as tunneling."
One can argue about whether any forms of P2P management are desirable, ever. One has less room for arguing that non-intrusive systems that protect privacy while not imposing additional latency, are better, if P2P management is applied to a network.
Gary Kim (News - Alert) is a TMCnet Contributing Editor.
Don't forget to check out TMCnet’s White Paper Library, which provides a selection of in-depth information on relevant topics affecting the IP
Communications industry. The library offers white papers, case studies and other documents which are free to registered users.
One of the potential issues in that regard is that not all P2P networks are equally desired by users or ISPs.
"About 98 percent of all peer-to-peer traffic contains unlawful and illegal content such as pirated music, videos, child pornography, worms, malware and viruses," says Bill Weiss, vice president of SafeMedia. In fact, he says, "less than one half of one percent of P2P traffic is used to deliver legitimate open source and other digital material."
You might think SafeMedia, which builds P2P security devices, is a "BitTorrent (News - Alert) killer." Not so. In fact, the whole idea behind SafeMedia's technology is to allow legal BitTorrent applications to operate while possibly-dangerous and certainly unknown P2P applications are scrubbed out.
There's a difference between BitTorrent and other possibly malevolent peer-to-peer networks that might harbor viruses and other threats: BitTorrent requires the identification and consent of its peer members, others use anonymous sharing that not require user consent, says SafeMedia CEO Safwat Fahmy.
That has consequences for the design of systems intended to control anonymous P2P while permitting BitTorrent and other P2P networks to form, without slowing down legitimate traffic or inspecting packets, he argues.
SafeMedia's "Clouseau" network appliance, for example, "prohibits illegal P2P traffic while allowing passage of legal P2P such as BitTorrent and other systems, Fahmy says. "Clouseau never captures or records user IDs, does not decrypt any traffic and allows the execution of all current security techniques such as tunneling."
One can argue about whether any forms of P2P management are desirable, ever. One has less room for arguing that non-intrusive systems that protect privacy while not imposing additional latency, are better, if P2P management is applied to a network.
Gary Kim (News - Alert) is a TMCnet Contributing Editor.
Don't forget to check out TMCnet’s White Paper Library, which provides a selection of in-depth information on relevant topics affecting the IP
Communications industry. The library offers white papers, case studies and other documents which are free to registered users.
