GATINEAU – The CRTC said today that telecommunications service providers will have to adhere to a regime that will set a minimum standard for blocking botnet traffic, which it said constitutes a “significant issue for cyber security, both in terms of volume and severity of harm.”
Botnets are networks of malware-infected devices that are controlled from a central location and used to do things like steal data and/or send an overwhelming number of communications to a server, which causes it to fail (denial-of-service attack). The increasing number of internet-connected devices coming to market, a lot largely with flimsy security measures, are multiplying the risk of the presence of botnets.
The regulator said in its decision that regulatory action on the malicious traffic is needed because the current practice of the service providers is “opaque and lack a practical and consistent mechanism” for sharing botnet indicators of compromise (IOCs); service providers are “uniquely” positioned to address the issue; network-level blocking is “effective and appropriate;” and there is “confusion among the parties regarding the regulatory basis for the existing botnet blocking” by the carriers.
The CRTC said its Interconnection Steering Committee will need to examine issues to assist in the development of the technical parameters of such a regime and produce a report detailing recommendations within nine months of today’s decision. A comment period will follow the issuance of the report before action is taken.
Rogers, Bell, Telus, Eastlink, Xplornet and consumer group the Public Interest Advocacy Centre submitted to the CRTC last year that they were opposed to a blocking framework, while Shaw and Quebecor were in favour.
The blocking of certain internet traffic has already been established by a Federal Court order that forced internet service providers to block access to the website of unlicensed IPTV provider, GoldTV. The Federal Court expanded that application to on-the-fly blocking of live streaming NHL games this month.
