White House declares BGP security issues a national priority - BGP handles routing for the entire internet

[Alfonso Maruccia]

A Dangerous Network: The Border Gateway Protocol has been the primary routing technology for the internet for at least three decades. Like other fundamental internet protocols developed in the 1980s, BGP was not originally designed with security in mind – and it shows.

After numerous incidents related to traffic routing among different autonomous systems, the White House has decided to address the security issues of the Border Gateway Protocol. The US administration has tasked the White House Office of the National Cyber Director with developing a roadmap to enhance the security of routing procedures managed through BGP.

The venerable BGP is one of the most fundamental protocols that emerged alongside the modern internet, according to a White House press release. This standardized technology provides a practical way for over 70,000 independent networks or autonomous systems to collaborate and exchange data packets effectively. Cloud providers, internet service providers, universities, utilities, and even government agencies rely on BGP to connect the internet we know today.

However, traditional BGP practices do not mandate specific security measures to protect these critical routing procedures among ASes. Internet traffic can be, and has been, deliberately and maliciously diverted, providing cybercriminals or espionage agencies with a powerful tool to expose or steal personal information, disrupt critical transactions or infrastructure operations, and more.

Traffic for BGP routing has been hijacked and abused several times in recent years, which is why the White House now considers the protocol one of its top tech security priorities. The roadmap prepared by the Office of the National Cyber Director is designed to provide a "blueprint" for implementing robust security practices for BGP, including the adoption of the Resource Public Key Infrastructure.

The White House describes RPKI as a mature, ready-to-implement approach for mitigating BGP security vulnerabilities. RPKI includes Route Origin Validation (ROV) and Route Origin Authorization (ROA), which work in tandem to verify the authority of a remote network announcing a traffic path and to check the authenticity of messages.

According to the ONCD's roadmap, Europe currently leads the US in RPKI adoption, with 70 percent of BGP routes using ROA and ROV to secure routing traffic. The White House expects that by the end of the year, over 60 percent of all US federal agencies, or "the Federal government's advertised IP space," will be covered by Registration Service Agreements and will establish ROAs for federal networks.

The ONCD is also establishing a new partnership between public and private stakeholders to develop an additional framework for network operators to assess routing security effectively. The ultimate goal is to ensure that all entities operating within internet infrastructure adopt RPKI security measures comprehensively.

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White House declares BGP security issues a national priority – BGP handles routing for the entire internet

 

[NumberNine]

I think the White House misunderstood the people yelling at them about securing the borders.

 

[Gars]

White House Office of the National Cyber Director
smells like a teen spirit
haha, keep the good work guys
America need more directors
right?

 

[ThomasTECH]

This topic is very concerning, any type of traffic validation at the exterior gateway level is unwize, consider attempting to secure traffic that is subject to timeouts, if the distance is great and the speed is reduced due to validation the traffic will not be possible. There is no way to test validation on exterior gateway protocols until they are in the wild, no sub-environment can be created to effectively test the technology it basically has to be released to see what will happen. This means just about every country would need to support it and the shift would have to take place sequentially and be able to default back if critical transactions could not be completed. My connection to PSN servers is already trash because of bad networking ideas, please US government consult a variety of experts before trying this, likely break the internet. Insecure protocols such as BGP are a small problem, this is a giant solution. Small problems are best fixed with small solutions.

 

[BuckarooBonzaii]

"...BGP was not originally designed with security in mind – and it shows." I guess they did not expect to have Cyber-crime in the future or perhaps Cyber-criminals to become smarter?

 

[Freddie159]

This topic is very concerning, any type of traffic validation at the exterior gateway level is unwize, consider attempting to secure traffic that is subject to timeouts, if the distance is great and the speed is reduced due to validation the traffic will not be possible. There is no way to test validation on exterior gateway protocols until they are in the wild, no sub-environment can be created to effectively test the technology it basically has to be released to see what will happen. This means just about every country would need to support it and the shift would have to take place sequentially and be able to default back if critical transactions could not be completed. My connection to PSN servers is already trash because of bad networking ideas, please US government consult a variety of experts before trying this, likely break the internet. Insecure protocols such as BGP are a small problem, this is a giant solution. Small problems are best fixed with small solutions.

Your point is well founded but sometimes security is much more important than timeliness, ie the President sending a message to the leader of another country and it gets sidetracked to a 3rd country and missiles are let loose because of it. The time of hardwired communications for that kind of stuff is long gone so security is of primary concern. Suppose a gov't agency is sending info to a local police department and it gets sidetracked to a 3rd party who releases it to the public and we find out that so and so was arrested for child abuse. Who's responsible for releasing that private info? SOME things just need to end up exactly where you think they should be going without any unsecure stops along the way.

 

[scavengerspc]

I think the White House misunderstood the people yelling at them about securing the borders.

But listening to the people is so often a quick way to going back to waiting tables.
So remember, it's a good thing that nobody listened to the yelling about the borders:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/border-crossings-us-mexico-border-june-2024/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/2024/08/16/united-states-mexico-border-apprehensions-july/

Border Patrol agents recorded the fewest monthly migrant apprehensions since 2021 on southern border

Migrant apprehensions in Texas decreased by nearly one-third in June, the first month of a new order by President Joe Biden that widely limited asylum claims.

www.texastribune.org

No way, it should have taken Biden 3 years for his EO. But it did.
Of course, it took Trump 4 years and didn't do a thing. Even though he said he would.
And it took Obama 8 years to not pull the switch.

As a real American. I appreciate Biden's effort that actually had an impact.
And would have felt that way no matter who was in charge.

 

[ThomasTECH]

Your point is well founded but sometimes security is much more important than timeliness, ie the President sending a message to the leader of another country and it gets sidetracked to a 3rd country and missiles are let loose because of it. The time of hardwired communications for that kind of stuff is long gone so security is of primary concern. Suppose a gov't agency is sending info to a local police department and it gets sidetracked to a 3rd party who releases it to the public and we find out that so and so was arrested for child abuse. Who's responsible for releasing that private info? SOME things just need to end up exactly where you think they should be going without any unsecure stops along the way.

Totally agree on your points here, it should be possible to achieve the desired goal of point to point communication securely without messing with the standard that is the backbone of the internet. Hackers are much smarter than governments and even most industry professionals about security if BGP is updated with secure protocols there will likely be another vulnerability down the line anyway. It's a maybe fix with huge risk and transition costs. I think a better reason then point to point secure communication is required for this project.

 

[Endymio]

But listening to the people is so often a quick way to going back to waiting tables.
So remember, it's a good thing that nobody listened to the yelling about the borders:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/border-crossings-us-mexico-border-june-2024/

Eh? Why did Biden do nothing for three years?

Illegal border crossings:

Trump (4-year avg) : 486,000.
Trump (2020) : 405,000.
Border Czar Harris (2023) : 2,065,000.

2024 is project to be even higher than 2023, despite Biden's recent action, designed frantically to shore up support right before the election. Facts matter.

Of course, it took Trump 4 years and didn't do a thing. Even though he said he would.

False, of course. The Trump Administration made over 150 policy changes to reduce and address illegal immigration, including

a. Ending Obama's "catch-and-release" program (Biden reinstituted it)
b. Refusing to allow illegals to enter simply because they brought a minor along with them (Biden reinstituted it)
c. Signing a deal with Mexico to require them to hold asylum seekers on their side of the border (Biden ended it)
d. Constructing or vastly revamping 438 miles of border wall, and starting construction on more than 550 more miles. (Biden stopped construction Day 1, sold off the already-purchased materials for pennies on the dollar....then his own Homeland Security head Mayorkas admitted a border was was necessary.)

Admittedly the entire wall didn't get completed -- but considering the fact that the Democrat Congress angrily refused to budget even one cent for wall construction, and Leftist groups filed more than 35 lawsuits to block construction, what we got was quite decent.

Biden-Harris also took many other actions to increase illegal immigration, such as giving illegals free cell phones, pre-loaded debit cards, and free bus and plane tickets to their desired location in the US.

 

[scavengerspc]

Eh? Why did Biden do nothing for three years?

Maybe for the same reason trump did nothing for 4 years.
But Biden did eventually. tRUMP didnt.
Did you even read what I wrote after than?

Illegal border crossings:

Trump (4-year avg) : 486,000.
Trump (2020) : 405,000.
Border Czar Harris (2023) : 2,065,000.

How could the numbers not go up after trump?
Do you like your flatware covered in dry dog s*** or in silver?
Because with trump out and Biden in, America was once again silver plated.

False, of course. The Trump Administration made over 150 policy changes to reduce and address illegal immigration, including

Did you watch Niel Cavuto yesterday or today? Because this was addressed.
And as I said, the only policy changes trump needed to make was get out of office.
And it all came from your favorite MAGA television network.

And I have said before that the only place tRUMP wasn't completely worthless was the southern border. And all he needed to do for that was just be himself.
Thankfully, legal immigrants eventually vote.

EDIT - Anyone interested can read this. Its an excellent overview with citations:

Breaking Down the Immigration Figures - FactCheck.org

Encounters on the southern border of those trying to enter the U.S. without authorization have gone up significantly under President Joe Biden. Government statistics show that in the initial processing of millions of encounters, 2.5 million people have been released into the U.S. and 2.8 million...

www.factcheck.org

And here is a chart from pew research that show the numbers began to climb even before Biden had done anything on the border. The apprehensions are the focus here.
The biggest factor? COVID was coming to an end. But that tRUMP was gone was big also. America was looking like America again. Finally.

What’s happening at the U.S.-Mexico border in 7 charts

The U.S. Border Patrol reported more than 1.6 million encounters with migrants along the U.S.-Mexico border in the 2021 fiscal year.

www.pewresearch.org

This is all just for general information.

 

[Endymio]

Maybe for the same reason trump did nothing for 4 years.

Oops! I listed just four out of the 150+ actions and policy changes that Trump made to reduce illegal immigration. Facts matter.

here is a chart from pew research that show the numbers began to climb even before Biden had done anything on the border.

LOL, that chart shows no such thing. It shows that within one month of Biden being elected, expulsions dropped 9% (from 83% to 74%), and within 6 months, they dropped to a mere 47% of all border crossings. Biden was watching illegals -- but refusing to deport them.

And that article is three years old. Since, the situation has worsened dramatically. Stop trying to blame the vast increase under Border Czar Harris on Covid". The data proves otherwise:

Illegal Border Crossings:
2014: 486,000
2016: 419,000
2017: 312,000
2018: 404,000
2019: 853,000
2020: 405,000
2021: 1,660,00
2022: 2,200,000
2023: 2,065,000
2024: 2,400,000 (projected)

The apprehensions are the focus here.

Actually, expulsions should be the focus. "Apprehension" means you caught them entering illegally, yet allowed them to remain regardless.

 

[Endymio]

Nothing better illustrates the lunacy of the current administration more than their actions on a border wall. Trump had more than 550 miles of wall under construction when his term ended. Biden immediately halted construction:

https://www.politico.com/news/2021/04/30/biden-terminates-border-wall-construction-485123

Because the contracts were already signed, Biden literally paid contractors to sit idle, and sold off the already-purchased construction materials for pennies on the dollars. Two years later, his own Homeland Security Director said it was a terrible mistake:

Mayorkas Does 180 on Border, Declares Wall Is Needed

"....The Biden administration has fast tracked plans to resume building a barrier along the US-Mexico border, in an admission of the severity of the migrant crisis.

Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas quietly announced late Wednesday that 20 miles of wall will be built in the Rio Grande Valley in Southeast Texas, citing an “acute and immediate need to construct physical barriers” to prevent more people from entering the country illegally...."

Biden admin admits ‘acute and immediate need’ for border wall — despite campaign vow that ‘not another foot’ would be built

Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas quietly announced late Wednesday that 20 miles of wall will be built in the Rio Grande Valley in Southeast Texas.

nypost.com

Biden went even further, actually removing physical barriers at the border to allow illegals to more easily enter undetected:

Supreme Court allows Biden administration to remove razor wire on US-Mexico border

https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/02/politics/razor-wire-appeal-supreme-court/index.html

And Biden also stopped a large portion of automated surveillance at the border, also allowing more illegals to enter undetected:

"DHS shuts down surveillance blimp program at the border "

MSN

Did Biden Halt the Deployment of Advanced Surveillance Systems at the Border?

Here’s What You Need to Know: Advanced surveillance technologies were a critical component of the Trump administration’s construction program. When President Joe Biden terminated funding for former President Donald Trump’s controversial border wall, an unintended consequence of that decision was...

nationalinterest.org

"...There are systems, including the [surveillance] towers discussed above, that have been built and were just waiting to be deployed. Now the government, having already paid for these towers and other surveillance capabilities, will have to store them, at considerable expense...."

 

[ddferrari]

Any moderators around here? Once again, a small group of people who just can't seem to help themselves have completely veered off topic.

I don't come here to read political debates. Take it somewhere else.

 

[Dimitrios]

Nothing better illustrates the lunacy of the current administration more than their actions on a border wall. Trump had more than 550 miles of wall under construction when his term ended. Biden immediately halted construction:

https://www.politico.com/news/2021/04/30/biden-terminates-border-wall-construction-485123

Because the contracts were already signed, Biden literally paid contractors to sit idle, and sold off the already-purchased construction materials for pennies on the dollars. Two years later, his own Homeland Security Director said it was a terrible mistake:

Mayorkas Does 180 on Border, Declares Wall Is Needed

"....The Biden administration has fast tracked plans to resume building a barrier along the US-Mexico border, in an admission of the severity of the migrant crisis.

Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas quietly announced late Wednesday that 20 miles of wall will be built in the Rio Grande Valley in Southeast Texas, citing an “acute and immediate need to construct physical barriers” to prevent more people from entering the country illegally...."

Biden admin admits ‘acute and immediate need’ for border wall — despite campaign vow that ‘not another foot’ would be built

Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas quietly announced late Wednesday that 20 miles of wall will be built in the Rio Grande Valley in Southeast Texas.

nypost.com

Biden went even further, actually removing physical barriers at the border to allow illegals to more easily enter undetected:

Supreme Court allows Biden administration to remove razor wire on US-Mexico border

https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/02/politics/razor-wire-appeal-supreme-court/index.html

And Biden also stopped a large portion of automated surveillance at the border, also allowing more illegals to enter undetected:

"DHS shuts down surveillance blimp program at the border "

MSN

Did Biden Halt the Deployment of Advanced Surveillance Systems at the Border?

Here’s What You Need to Know: Advanced surveillance technologies were a critical component of the Trump administration’s construction program. When President Joe Biden terminated funding for former President Donald Trump’s controversial border wall, an unintended consequence of that decision was...

nationalinterest.org

"...There are systems, including the [surveillance] towers discussed above, that have been built and were just waiting to be deployed. Now the government, having already paid for these towers and other surveillance capabilities, will have to store them, at considerable expense...."

Also add in the administration is suing Texas for trying to protect the border.

 

[scavengerspc]

Oops! I listed just four out of the 150+ actions and policy changes that Trump made to reduce illegal immigration. Facts matter.

Oops? Seriously? But on the subject,
Oops! And I posted the chart that shows illegal crossing doubled in just 2 months.
Before Biden undid tRUMPs, or enacted his own legislation.
Because Biden's election once again made the US that shining city upon the hill once again.

LOL, that chart shows no such thing.

It shows EXACTLY that. Because, you know, that's what I was talking about.

2024: 2,400,000 (projected)

You think it will reach that? I think the totals for August were all of 60k.
Then there is this:

MSN

"After three years of a historic crisis at the southern border, with records of encounters being repeatedly smashed since Biden entered the White House, numbers dropped dramatically over the summer."
Yes, right after Biden did his EO.
Of course, now Abbott is trying to take credit but, that's what MAGA does.
Do nothing, but try to take credit for what works. Nobody is even listening anymore.

Actually, expulsions should be the focus. "Apprehension" means you caught them entering illegally, yet allowed them to remain regardless.

Yes, in another discussion you can have with someone that was focusing on that.
I wasn't.

Anyway, you know the drill by now. You go last, and feel free to ignore the facts and comment on everything I didn't say.

Any moderators around here? Once again, a small group of people who just can't seem to help themselves have completely veered off topic.

I don't come here to read political debates. Take it somewhere else.

Techspot has long established guidelines for what they allow and for how long.
If you don't like it, don't read it.

Also add in the administration is suing Texas for trying to protect the border.

Abbott pulled 2 stunts he is getting sued for, and he should.
Judges have no right to those powers, and local law enforcement should never have a say in immigration. That was surprising, honestly.

 

[ddferrari]

@scanvengerspc "Techspot has long established guidelines for what they allow and for how long.
If you don't like it, don't read it."

You're not getting it. Once you veer way off topic your comments become pointless to the discussion at hand.

Keep spouting off on whatever you like, but just know that irrelevant political commentary does not contribute to this topic whatsoever and shows a complete lack of focus on your part. Aim to be better!