[LINK] unlawful interception of internet traffic?

[Craig Sanders]

i've recently found that a certain ISP is not only blocking access to
at least two rival ISP's IP addresses, they are also intercepting DNS
requests for one of the rival ISP's nameservers and diverting it to
their own nameservers in order to provide false responses.

specifically they are sending back NS records which claim that their own
NS is authoritative for the rival's domain, and they are sending back a
false MX record which points to localhost [127.0.0.1] (i.e. preventing
mail delivery to the rival ISP's domain). they are also sending back A
records pointing to localhost 127.0.0.1 for the rival's hostnames (thus
diverting www and other traffic).


i'm pretty sure that all of this is actually illegal because it's an
unlawful interception of communications traffic....and while the IP
address blocking may be a squirmable grey-area (at least according to
a lawyer's infinitely flexible connection with reality), the actual
interception of DNS traffic and providing false responses is a clear-cut
infringement that they can't even pretend is OK.


anyone know off hand whether this is true? and maybe even the
name/section etc of the relevant Act(s)?


craig

ps: i've only just begun to investigate, so i guess there's probably
lots more that they're doing. a shame, i've recommended this ISP to
several people in the past...i'm going to have to un-recommend them now.


-- 
craig sanders <cas at taz.net.au>           (part time cyborg)