At 11:50 AM 3/19/02, Fraasch James wrote: >You guys are both right. Cable modem plants are a broadcast network. All >packets are sent down the line and you have the ability to see everyone's >traffic 'IF' you could sniff the cable line and not sniff the ethernet cable >going to your PC. Most cable modems are simply mini-routers so if packets >are not destined for you then they are dropped. However, if you could >console into your modem (depending on brand) you could change the thing to a >bridge. So if your modem was set up as a bridge then you could see all the >traffic.
Just changing the cable modem to bridging mode wouldn't mean you could see everyone else's traffic, would it? It doesn't cause the cable modem to act like a hub. You could see broadcasts, but not everyone else's traffic, don't you think? Priscilla >And baseline privacy it's great in theory yes. But think about this: When >subcribers first get their equipment installed there is no software added to >their PC that allows them to de-encrypt the data traveling around the >network. So where does the de-encryption happen? The modem and CMTS are >what de-encyrpt the data. And in order for your modem to know if a packet >is destined for you on this broadcast network it needs to de-encrypt the >packet and then drop it. > >So you are on a broadcast network where all cable modems can de-encrypt all >data. If the modem was configured as a bridge and simply forwarded all data >to the ethernet port, then you could sniff til the cows come home. > >Understand that I am a HUGE fan of cable modem services. There are just >some small holes that need to be filled. Security is one issue and quality >of service at the cable modem level is another- although this can be >addressed a little bit by playing with the bandwidth settings in the >cmconfig files that are downloaded when the thing boots up. > >James > >www.itpapers.com has about 85 papers on Cable Modems. Registration is >required and free- except for the occasional email. ________________________ Priscilla Oppenheimer http://www.priscilla.com Message Posted at: http://www.groupstudy.com/form/read.php?f=7&i=38842&t=38718 -------------------------------------------------- FAQ, list archives, and subscription info: http://www.groupstudy.com/list/cisco.html Report misconduct and Nondisclosure violations to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
