[LINK] NBN security?

[Richard Chirgwin]

  On 19/10/10 5:03 PM, Roger Clarke wrote:
> At 5:49 +0000 19/10/10, stephen at melbpc.org.au wrote:
>> Spy fears as Chinese firm eyes NBN deal
>> by Maris Beck, October 17, 2010
>> <http://www.theage.com.au/technology/technology-news>
>> SECURITY experts are alarmed that a company with links to the Chinese
> military [Huawei] is bidding to supply equipment to the national broadband
> network, warning that the equipment could be used to spy or launch cyber
> attacks on Australian governments and businesses.
> ...
>> As the rate of cyber attacks on Australian interests intensifies, an
>> intelligence expert at the Australian National University's Strategic and
>> Defence Studies Centre, Desmond Ball, said he didn't want to sound
>> alarmist ''but this is the highest order risk that I would see with
>> regard to network vulnerability''.
>> Bids by Huawei ''would have to be subject to the closest scrutiny, but in
>> the end it would be the government's responsibility to reject such an
>> involvement''.
>> He said the cyber security debate focused on malicious software but more
>> attention should be paid to hardware, which could carry digital
>> trapdoors.
> ...
>
> Concerns along those lines been raised in the privacy context before,
> with limited success:
> http://www.rogerclarke.com/II/NBN-PC-0912.html#Surv
>
> Maybe we need to beat the 'national sovereignty' drum, and get the
> privacy issues to travel with them.
In terms of traffic privacy, Roger, what's the difference between the 
NBN and any other carrier network?

RC