>This problem is endemic and inherent to ALL cable companies because each
>segment (more or less a few block radius) is a common subnet. Some of
>the providers (@work but not for the @home service) provide VPN as an
>(extra cost of course) option.
TCI's @Home service doesn't have this problem, at least not to the same
degree. (San Francisco Bay Area.)
A number of the networking folks who I work with have the service, and
sniffers reveal nothing besides their own traffic. TCI uses the Motorola
Cybersurfer "modems".
I read through the architecture paper Motorola provides, and they
indicate that each home connection is encrypted with 56-bit DES,
providing a virtual point-to-point connection to the head-end router.
Clearly, there could be an implementation bug, or TCI could
have forced the feature off, and our lack of ability to monitor
other's traffic could simply be bridging. We dont have the time
or broadband equipment to analyze much further.
Still, if the features work like Motorola claims, this raises the bar
significantly for neighborhood script kiddies who want to sniff.
Of course, we use our own VPN on top of the service.
Ryan
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