Schneier on Security

Clive Robinson • April 13, 2011 3:13 AM

How about taking things down a few levels to say physical geography and what effect it has on shipping high bandwidth data.

As some might have noticed Australia is a very large island that is almost unoccupied in comparison to other islands.

Then ask yourself how data moves around the island, that is do you think it's microwave link towers or optical cable etc etc. Having done that then ask yourself how it get's out to the rest of the world and how.

Then ask who elses traffic might go through Australia. When you get that in perspective it might give you an insight as to why various countries might well be interested in Australia.

Failing all else go and look up the British USA agreement (BRUSA) where amongst other things the Brit's agreed to spy on USA citizens for the US, and the US agreed to spy on British Citizens for the British Government. All so the Politico's could stand up in their respective places of accountability and say hand on heart "we do not spy on our citizens!".

Over the years BRUSA has expanded to include most White Anglo Saxon Protestant (WASP) nations, and in many cases the "signals directorates" of different countries have better relations than they do with other departments in their own countries.

When you have such agreements in place you generaly form a fraternal intrest in each other and watch each others backs. The UK and USA are known to have informed each others on such things as TEMPEST and Crypto/Signals Security, Traffic Analysis. Less well known is they actually test each others systems and procedures out all the time as it keeps people on their toes.

But you also have to remember that they swap intel all the time (have a look at the Wiki Leaks cables to see that). And once you share a secret it's in your own interest to make sure it stays that way. So they tend to want to ensure "their partners" are upto scratch keeping things confidential. Likewise it's no big secret that the people that most often leak secrets are Government Ministers, Politicos and their various hangers on (think back to the recent cases of Russians being re-patriated who had been working as interns/assistants to various polititions).

Nor is it any secret that Politicos like their electronic toys (ObahmaBerry anybody?) most of which were never designed for high level security. Further other toys of conveniance such as mobile phones, I'm sure it's not just the Greek Government who have had issues with them.

At one point spying was once known as "The Great Game" because you very much knew what your oponents and alies where doing but never quite enough to be sure, so you had to keep playing in the game.

For all their sins good and bad Austrailian Polititions have a history of "gaffs" with their own press (much as we do in Britain). Unlike the US political press who almost all qualify as being sycophantic the British and more so the Australians have a more adversarial relationship, which we tend to regard as being healthier. And sometimes the "rough and ready" nature of things elicits more information out of Politico's and their hangers on than you would expect.

In America most people do not believe (or used not to) that their Government spyed on them one way or another. In Britain most people of any consiquence were well aware the Government took interest in them through the likes of MI5 and the Special Branch but accepted it as part and parcel of having a near civil war going on in the back garden (ie NI and the Unionist and Republican terrorists). Further the likes of the activities of trying to break the Unions during the Thatcher years and her obsesive desire to prosecute people including journalists via the OSA. As she felt that DORA and the 'D notices' were not working with the Press any longer.

In some respects Australia is a bit new to the game with regards the press and any thing with a wiff of politicals embarisment does get rather more of an airing there than it would in Britain or America.

Clive Robinson • April 13, 2011 10:52 AM

@ Robert T,

"OK I'll bite: which other countries Internet routes through Australia?"

Rather more than you would think there are subsea cables from Auz to,

Canada, Guam, Hong Kong, Indionesia, Japan, Korea,Malaysier, New Zeland, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, USA.

However under normal conditions traffic does not go from Korea to the US via Aus but Japan. However under fault conditions it does.

Such fault conditions are as recently experianced a major subsea earthquake to the North East of Japan, or when China sends one of it's subs down again and cuts another subsea cable over the US giving assistance to Taiwan. Or when a China Telecom technician puts the wrong info into the Border Gateway protocol.

Back in the last decade or so I had significant reason to take interest in the subsea cabeling in A-Pac and as you have noted this is were most silicon is produced these days, and these are the cables over which the designs are sent.

Now take a look at this map,

http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-images/...

And look at how Australia is connected at either end of the chain with links of to the continental USA and thus out to most of the rest of the world.

Look at the position of the bulk of the current data carrying cables of to the US is via NE Japan slap bang through the recent subsea earthquage subduction zone and ask what would have happened if all that fiber had gone dark?

Likewise assume China throws the toys out of the pram again and either tries to muck up the routing on their borders or goes swiming with the bolt cutters again...

All of a sudden Australia is going to be appearing in the middle of an awfully large number of trace routes as European and US customers try to talk to their suppliers in the various Tiger countries...

As was once pointed out to me,

"Because something is not of stratigic or tactical importance today, don't make the mistake of thinking it will be the same tomorow. That is how wars are lost, if you don't take the right precautions you can end up like the British, losing Singapore, when the Japanese snuck through the open back door."