FCC: Fighting Computer Crime

http://arstechnica.com/business/news/2012/03/fcc-publishes-voluntary-code-of-isp-conduct-to-combat-botnets.ars

The FCC, or as I like to call them, the Factory of Crazy Censorship, has done something good! They have given something solid and measurable to the field of Internet security. This might actually be one of the biggest steps in security taken recently, and certainly deserves praise.

So what did the FCC actually do? A council in the FCC, the third Communications, Security. Reliability, and Interoperability Council, created a code that describes in details steps that must be taken by ISPs to fight botnets. Now, this code is voluntary, but major communications companies such as AT&T, Sprint, and Time Warner cable have already agreed to follow this code, granting them a position on a list maintained by the FCC that is essentially a "safe list."

This code has already been shown to have an impact. According to the working group who drafted the code, benefits included "fewer class to help desks from customers with infected machines, reduced upstream bandwidth consumption from denial-of-service attacks and spam, increased customer goodwill, and a drop in spam-related complaints from other ISPs." This is real, demonstrable data that touches on a wide variety of important Internet security issues. Hopefully, more major companies will adopt these rules, and the web will be a safer place!