back to article Security boss calls for end to net anonymity

The CEO of Russia's No. 1 anti-virus package has said that the internet's biggest security vulnerability is anonymity, calling for mandatory internet passports that would work much like driver licenses do in the offline world. The comments by Eugene Kaspersky, who is also the founder of Kaspersky Lab, came during an interview …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Wow

    Yeah, thats not going to work

    AC for the exact reason that isnt going to work

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Black Helicopters

    in theory a good idea... to a point...

    but the genie is already out of the bottle.

  3. LaeMi Qian
    FAIL

    Great idea!

    Cyber criminals gain another way to profit from the Internet.

    "Anyone want to buy a fake 'Net ID?"

    There are already ample provisions for ensuring that the people party to an Internet transaction are who they say they are. They are available on an opt-in basis to those who can be bothered, as they should be.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Stop

    Half empty vs. half full

    The tone of El Reg article title and contents is not following "what if" tone of the interview. Go (re)read the original.

  5. Pete 2 Silver badge

    internet passports? because real ones work so well

    They say that a question well asked is half answered. It seems to me that so far no-one has actually framed the right question. Yes, we all agree that in abstract terms the internet (or more properly, it's users) could do with more security - but security from what? from each other, from the baddies, from their governments - or other country's governments - or who?

    You also can't have it both ways: security for "good" people also provides "bad" people with the ability to conduct their badness, for want of a better term, unfettered. You can't say "these people are good, worthy citizens - we won't surveil them, but these other people (the ones with the forged internet passports) are bad - we need to keep a close eye on them." Likewise, having an internet passport won't act as a safety blanket and protect it's owner from viruses, worms or even their own stupidity: just like having a real passport (or even a medal from the queen) doesn't stop people trying to break into your house.

    When it boils down to it, all I can think this guy wants is for more people to buy his security products. Well ... no thanks.

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Big Brother

    Time to ditch Kaspersky!

    Is anybody happy about having this guy's software running your security?

  7. Anonymous Coward
    WTF?

    Fascist Clown?

    The moron doesn't seem to understand that the Internet made his parasitic business possible, and that the seeming chaos of the Internet actually enhances security, by enhancing privacy and allowing redundant data routing.

    A network with a compulsory authentication layer will actually be less secure, because it would make user data easier to intercept, modify and obstruct, also smart people would eventually figure out how to add covert data channels, to carry data undetected by outside observers. Such a network could be far less resistant to outrages, and far more costly to build and run.

    It is already possible to set-up independent networks, which could easily subvert the Fascist network he suggests.

  8. noodle heimer
    Jobs Halo

    is he

    Running for UK parliament on the labour platform? Sounds as if he ought, if he isn't yet.

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Down

    great idea

    Let's raise another barrier to internet access just in case there was not already enough of a digital divide.

    That is, assuming this was even practical-- what if someone uses my computer while I'm in another room?

    Anonymous, because I can be.

  10. Anonymous Coward
    FAIL

    Obviously..

    .. a PHB and not an engineer

  11. steve 124
    Big Brother

    Hammer and Sickle time

    Comrad, what a wonderful idea. I'm sure we could find some ex-stasi officers who are looking for work that could help us police the internet. Oh, and we have all these left over uniforms from the "good ole" days (you remember, the ones with fur hats and that distinctive hammer and sickle emblem) for some internet "auditors" to wear as they go door to door performing ID checks. Yes, this is wonderful. Where is a petition to sign, I'll vote for this... oh yea, it won't be optional. No thanks Mr. Kapersky.

  12. Christopher Martin

    Licenses, yes

    Like driving, you should need a permit to operate a machine as root if that machine is going on the internet.

    Has nothing to do with identification, though.

  13. Terry Barnes

    @ b ws

    Erm, which point is that then? The point where we abandon all notion of personal freedom and hand the tools of oppression to every single government in the world for no obviously discernible benefit? Or were you thinking of somewhere a bit further down the line? I'm intrigued.

  14. Christoph
    Big Brother

    All sorts of uses

    Useful for NuLab to 'encourage' ID cards - no card, no net access.

    Useful for Saudi Arabia to stop women being able to use the net and maybe make contact with a man they're not related to.

    Useful for all governments, big companies, and busybodies to be able to withdraw anyone's net access at whim.

  15. Jeremy 2
    WTF?

    He'll win an award for this...

    If there was ever an idea with the possibility of prizing the Villain of the Year award out of that nutjob Stephen Conroy's hands, it's this one.

  16. James O'Brien
    WTF?

    "mandatory internet passports"

    Two words. FUCK THAT!

    Course If the online passports could be revoked for sheer stupidity that could be fun. Also what happens when there are 50k people running around with his Online Drivers License?

    Can anyone say NetForce? I think Tom Clancy might have trademark on this idea.

  17. Alan Esworthy
    Grenade

    I sure am sick and tired...

    ...of arrogant tyrant wanna-be assholes who are just so damned sure they know what I need better than I.

    And, Mr. Kaspersky, suck on my real name. I use it when I want, and I don't use it when I don't want. I'll post anonymously when I write something inflammatory, unlike this mild message. Why should you have any say in the matter, you impotent jerk?

  18. Anonymous Coward
    Unhappy

    Who wants to be Number One!

    I am not a number & I intend to remain a FREE MAN!

    Just like grains of sand running through your fingers.........

    Numbers UIDs on their own can be applied/ misapplied to identify/misidentify anyone!

    I think he's tired of the Security Game & is searching for a very dangerous short cut!

  19. jim 45
    Stop

    this idea has merit...

    ... but the chance of anything ike this ever being implemented is zero, so why even discuss it?

  20. This post has been deleted by its author

  21. Solomon Grundy
    Badgers

    In Soviet Russia the Internets Search You

    Kaspersky is a tool.

    How long to you think in will be before Kaspersky offers a "Passport Solution"? My money says less than 90 days.

  22. Pete 2 Silver badge

    @Alan Esworthy

    > I sure am sick and tired. ...of arrogant tyrant wanna-be assholes who are just so damned sure they know what I need better than I.

    In my country we call these people "politicians".

  23. Anonymous Coward
    Stop

    Anon Because

    anon criticism of politics > internet criminal phishing scam.

    The greater danger is to freedom to criticise without prejudice, not to have you granny ask you once whether she should trust emails from ur6Ent@ll)0yds.com.

  24. Anonymous Coward
    Coat

    I always use my real name online

    And so do my beloved parents, Duffle and Rain.

  25. Pablo
    Thumb Down

    Looks like an admission of defeat

    When a maker of security software proposes authoritarian regulation as a preferable alternative to conventional internet security, it doesn't exactly inspire confidence in his company's product.

  26. theloon
    Stop

    Dear Kaspersky the cold war is over!

    Dear Kaspersky

    We do not need to return to the world you propose.

    We do not need to be controlled as you propose.

    We wish to continue to have free and unmonitored access to all the information which has been denied to us for so long.

    We wish to make our own decisions on the information or even disinformation we receive.

    We like the direction we are going in.

    Dear Kaspersky, go fly a kite....

  27. Mr_freedom
    Stop

    Many will give them away. Their rights that is.

    Seems there are never enough idiots in the world. How is it that some here would embrace this insanity. They would probably sell their mothers for favor if they could. No Kaspersky, you are wrong about this. And to think you have a privacy lock included with you software. What would that be for do you suppose? I can feel a boycott coming on. I for one won't purchase this software again. Not after this stab at the heart of Internet.

  28. tempemeaty
    FAIL

    FAIL

    Eugene Kaspersky you just accomplished nothing but FAIL.

    I won't touch that software ever....

  29. Pete 8

    ...is a Globalist Idiot

    Eugene = Eugenicist perhaps

    Google "Eugenics"

    hmm

    "Google Eugenics"

    Mr K & friends want you RFID chipped.

    Have a nice day.

  30. Someone

    The typewriter licence

    The Internet isn’t a means of conveyance. It’s a means of communication. It’s not like driving. It’s like telephoning. In all the decades we’ve had the telephone, has any democracy suggested a telephone licence?

    The country that gave us the Internet would be a major stumbling block for such a plan. US courts generally take the position that anonymous speech is constitutionally protected.

    Kaspersky’s had this crazy idea for some time. He outlined the same principles on the BBC’s Click programme, last year. [1] While Kaspersky may be as mad as a Russian president, his company produces the best anti-virus software for Windows. So, telling him to stick it up his Bering Strait isn’t very helpful.

  31. Daemon ZOGG
    Pirate

    Kaspersky's world..

    No. It will never happen. The more you lock down a human system, the more humans will want to bust out of that system. We cannot be labled & directed like ants or lab rats in a controlled environment. Human nature, lawfull or not, will always triumph. A history of too much "big brother" has forced human nature into the wild time and time again. WHere do you think we got freedom fighters, revolutionaries, AND PIRATES! AARRRRRRRRRRR! ;)

  32. Sitaram Chamarty
    Flame

    only way to hide his and his ilk's failure I guess

    I seem to recall hearing, over the years, about lots of spyware and rootkits that were undetectable by most AV, including this bozos self-named product. They leeched off the insecurity of Windows for as many years as they could, never once pointing out or attempting to help come up with any real, long term, cure for all of Windows' security ills. Naturally.

    Now MS has gotten into that game (took 'em long enough...) these leeches stand to lose most of their blood supply, so they come up with bone-headed schemes like this.

    Yes, I know someone said the original article is more of a "what if". So here's mine: what if we banned the use of Windows to access the internet? Seems to me a lot easier to do, and no downsides either.

    Killing off leeches like this would be just a bonus, not the main focus...

  33. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge
    Flame

    Hardcore Stalinism

    ...is always welcome, if cloaked in the zit-eaten fur of "reasonable regulation".

    It gives the Security State money and gives Old Ladies the heart-warming feeling that Something is being Done.

    Kaspy just made my shit list.

  34. Anonymous Coward
    FAIL

    Is he..

    ...now a politician? Has he been recruited by the UK / Aus Government? Which person is pulling the strings that control his mouth? Did he eat mouldy bread and in a fit of bacteria induced madness spout off this tripe? Look, no one has to give ID for sending a letter, buying a book, ordering food, or any other number of entirely normal activities that a paranoid person or gov. could be inclined to think is subversive, or just against what "they" like. so please, just leave us the F*U*K alone...and deal with things that are a little more pressing.

    Schengen travellers do not require passports - oooooooh nooooo...we dont know where people are going, or when, or sometimes even how or what they are doing...ooooooh nooooo. Although it doesnt seem to cause millions of problems now does it ;-)

    Then, when you remember this guy is a Russian, and that Russians are actually used to, and enjoy, a hard regime (or so it seems, since they do tend to go out of their way to build them up) it all seems to make more sense.In which case my message would be - do as you please in your country - should be easy, you must have all those old in-land passports, ID cards, just add a RFID or Barcode to everyone's and you can be happy. However, just because one country has a masochistic tendency for police states and dictators, this does not mean they should foist it on others.

    I would also expect a security expert to know how hard a completely fool-proof and fail-proof system would be to devise (lets be Honest, the Russian hackers are showing him that every day...right?)

  35. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    If this was implemented tomorrow....

    America would be cut off since so much spam originates from there, Russia would be cut off since so many malware tools phone back to servers there, China would be cut off for just not paying any attention to the rest of the world and doing their own equally totalitarian thing..... the list goes on.

  36. Doug Glass
    Go

    Works For Me

    As long as there are three licensee levels or classes of competency: Dumb Ass Kid (DAK class), Smart Ass Know-it-all (SAKiA class), and the Oh My F**ckin' God Whata F**kin' Geek ( OMFGWFG class). And I get to decide who goes in each class based on my criteria.

    Paris because Paris is in a class by herself.

  37. Anonymous Coward
    Grenade

    if this happens

    start up another internet that doesn't require passports.

  38. Starlight
    FAIL

    Did he really say that?

    Or was it a competitor trying to harm his business?

    If Kaspersky really did that, it is Gerald Ratner saying that his products were cr.p or more recently Michael Dell saying how netbooks like he sells are rubbish.

    This could be a big boost to AVG...

  39. pitagora

    total lack on common sense

    @Anonymous Coward:

    I'm using Kasperky and I'm starting to think that my trust in their security practices and common sense is misplaced. I doubt I'll renew my subscription next month. Perhaps it's time to try other products.

  40. Anonymous Coward
    WTF?

    Idiot

    Downloading alternative protection as I write. Thank you Barclays but No thankyou, I no longer require your free AV/Firewall.

    What's this guys middle name, Ratner?

  41. mox
    Grenade

    No way...never..it would destroy the culture of the internet and freedom.

    I knew this was coming, i've posted about it before on various sites, that one day the powers that be are going to want people to have a virtual, verifiable online ID that traces everything you do online back to your real identity that everyone who wants to go online will be forced to have.

    This absolutely has to be stopped, it obviously won't work, any system can be gamed or hacked but the real issue (even if you believe something like this would help) is that it will stifle free speech - so many people go online to learn, to anonymously get info and talk to people about health issues and personal things that should always be anonymous if the person involved wants it this way.

    Just think about political speech and organizing...Say goodbye to that - with the way the US federal government now behaves, just look at Pittsburg - tons of innocent people ]bombarded with LRADs (which can cause permanent hearing damage) for just coming out of their hosue to see what was going on...Police or agent provocateurs dressed up in black and knocking over trash cans - then riot police (and even hired military contractors like blackwater drressed as police) brtualizing innocent people... - SO with all of that sort of behavior, if this sort of thing gets mandated it will be the end of the last truly free medium of communication we have.

    I believe that this is the biggest threat to freedom and to the internet, bigger even than network neutrality (which, in some respects can cause similar problems, with certain types of information being "downgraded" or even not served).

    If this becomes a reality it will destroy the culture of the internet - digital culture will be dealt a death blow - and I expect now that it's been mentioned every organization from the RIAA and similar groups to the national security organizations to the financial sector will hop on board.

    So, Mr Kaspersky....Your products are crap and you can STFU and fuck off.

  42. fortheloveofgod
    Paris Hilton

    Fly back....

    into your cuckoo clock Mr. Kaspersky.

    Kaspersky idea + infinite variables to overcome = unworkable.

    Paris because even she makes more sense...

  43. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Up

    Oh well

    That's kasperkshite removed never to be installed again. Maybe his ideal world is the return of the good ole KGB 'we've got our eye'skys on you' era.

  44. DalSoft
    Grenade

    Don't allow this at all costs

    The internet is the last unmolested medium, don't allow anyone to ruin it. So many things have been made possible because of anonymity, imagine if every blogger had to have a ID card, so many breaking stories wouldn't see the light of day because of government censorship and in the case of some regimes it could cost you your life. Just this week http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8311885.stm

    What a irresponsible thing to say. If this is ever proposed protest in every way you can, it would be the worst thing to happen period.

    Given Eugene Kaspersky comments consider what spyware Kaspersky products may contain, boycott his "software" go with OS or AVG solutions.

    Eugene Kaspersky doesn't understand why the interent is the success it is - think about it how many people would of bothered to get a ID card for the internet in the 90's, no one.

  45. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Eugene Kaspersky...

    is on crack obviously

  46. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Quite right!

    You don't need to worry if you have nothing to hide.

  47. Anonymous Coward
    FAIL

    kick out countries that harbor net crims...

    ...says the Russian.

    Yuhhhh huh.

  48. D S Hodgson
    Headmaster

    Marketing ploy

    He doesn't believe it'll be achieved, he just wants to justify and market a secure closed sub-set of the internet where everyone has a validated identity. A walled compound. You pay to join (be issued an identify certificate) and then you can trust all your neighbours.

    There are lots of people who would "trade" their privacy for a feeling of safety. There always have been. How many people regret the passing of AOL's closed version of the internet?

  49. slack
    Big Brother

    Twat

    Presumably he'd also like everybody to run the same operating system, the one he's made so much money from selling his crappy software.

  50. D. M
    Big Brother

    @peter 2

    I think you forgot "someone". In my part of world, we call those "people" - politicians and religious leader.

    I have a better idea, which will make big money. I'm going to make telescreen, who is going to fund my business.

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