If you’ve ever sent a package across the country, you trust that it will take the right route to reach its destination. But what if someone could sneakily change the path, so it ends up somewhere it shouldn’t? That’s a bit like what can happen on the internet with something called Border Gateway Protocol, or BGP for short.
BGP is like the postal service of the internet. It makes sure that when you send an email or look up a website, your data heads off in the right direction and reaches the right place. Unfortunately, just like a postal route, BGP’s instructions can be tampered with, and that’s not good news.
Enter Jessica Rosenworcel, the boss at the FCC, which is kind of like the principal for the internet in the United States. She is telling big internet companies that they need to have a game plan on how to keep things safe with BGP. Because if the bad guys get into BGP, they could cause a lot of trouble, like stealing our personal data, messing up important deals, and even spying for their countries.
Think about what happens if someone starts redirecting loads of internet traffic. It would be like if someone could redirect all the mail in a city to their house. They could steal things, figure out what you’re up to, or just cause chaos. That’s why it’s important to make sure only the right people can give directions to internet traffic.
Last year, when Russia was causing trouble in Ukraine, the FCC got really worried. Some Russian hackers are pretty clever at causing a ruckus with BGP, and that could put our data and privacy at risk in a big way.
It’s a big deal that the FCC is stepping up. They’re not just worried about keeping our internet running smoothly; they’re looking out for our safety from bigger threats, too. It’s a bit like if your school had a plan to not only get you through the day safely but protect you from big storms or other dangers.
Talking about BGP and internet security might seem complicated, but it’s important for keeping our lives and our information safe. And if you or your company ever need a little help with these kinds of things, there are experts out there.
The Diversified Outlook Group, for example, specializes in making sure your internet journey is as safe as a well-guarded treasure. They can explain all this in a way that makes sense and help protect you or your business from internet troublemakers. For more info, just shoot an email to support@diversifiedoutlookgroup.com, and they’ll be like your personal internet security guards.
For those looking to learn a bit more about the proposed BGP security measures, check out the detailed article here: www.networkworld.com/article/2111862/fcc-proposes-bgp-security-measures.html.
