Page 92 - CDM Cyber Warnings February 2014

In Orwell�s 1984, the author put forth the provocation that if you analytics and enforcement technologies we market use Deep
manage the vocabulary, you control the thoughts of the citizenry. Packet Inspection (DPI) and can monitor and collect certain
Never has this position been more starkly evident than today. metadata elements. In many applications, anonymity is required
With daily revelations about the of breadth and depth of Internet by enlightened regulation or simple self-policing. This we
spying around the globe, one must wonder if we have not in fact applaud. When data can be collected and generalized for
reached the end state of that great novel. After all, big brother is trending and understanding, everyone wins. Subscribers will be
truly watching. presented with more applicable options and providers can
optimize the right to make an extra dollar or two through
To listen to the proponents of spying tell it, they aren� t doing advanced services that people want and are willing to pay for.
anything wrong, invasive or even slightly untoward. They are
simply making us more secure in an uncertain world. The threat Increasingly though, the darker uses of metadata have come to
we all know from the vandals we all fear. They surely lurk under the fore. It seems that every clickable button on popular social
every bed and in all dark corners of this treacherous planet we media sites is now fair game for inspection and notification. In
inhabit. Their ubiquity our singular shared concern. And what some cases, great effort is expended to break into the trust
are we to give up for this pervasive protection� To hear it told, relationship between subscriber and provider and account for
we don� t need to worry. They are merely collecting metadata the metadata. This we find objectionable. We do not support the
and correlating it with some of the most advanced techniques notion that security vs privacy is a zero-sum game.
and equipment the taxpayer can afford. The word metadata itself
sounds so benign and friendly as to conjure the visual of “Legitimate uses of
snowflakes, unencumbered by ownership, floating down from
heaven toward earth. Ultimately, finding safe haven on the analytics and
ground or neatly tucked away in a drift. It sounds so warm and
fuzzy, it�s unclear what the fuss might be about.
Enforcement
The reality of course is that these snowflakes have owners. And
these owners have assumed trust relationships with their service technologies bring great

providers whom they use online. In the vast majority they are
not terrorists. Whether it is shopping online, banking or simply benefit to all involved”

sending a text to a loved one, there is an implied trust that the
transaction is unencumbered from the prying eyes of an Legitimate uses of analytics and enforcement technologies bring
overactive metadata collection apparatus. great benefit to all involved. Advancing those uses is something
Procera has always believed in and enabled. As a leader in our
As technical folks understand, the basis for that trust between space, we will continue to improve those aspects of our solutions
user and provider is encryption. It turns the underlying that address the promoting of services and the bettering of lives.
communication infrastructure into a simple transport blind to
the details within the transaction. While some information may Where the trust relationship between user and service provider
be exposed, most are obscured, thereby providing the confidence is concerned, we will continue to respect the sanctity of that
that engenders the aforementioned trust. That bond between arrangement. We do this because it is not metadata, but rather
speaker and listener ensures sufficient honesty, facilitates your metadata. It is high time that the industry and a
communication and drives commerce in cases where that is the government or two start treating it that way.
intended purpose. In the simplest terms, some information is
sent in the clear, let the sender beware. In all other cases, as About Shawn Sweeney
encryption implies, there is a relationship between endpoints Shawn Sweeney is a veteran of the network communications
with which no authority should trifle. business with nearly 30 years of experience in a variety of
capacities in development, sales and marketing. He has worked
At Procera, we have long been aware of the thorny issues in for some of the premier brands in the industry and has been a
today�s news and the philosophical dilemmas they present. The key contributor in 5 startup ventures.

CYBER DEFENSE MAGAZINE - ANNUAL EDITION 92