[anti-abuse-wg] Bulletproof servers causing mischief on the internet

Greetings,

Maybe we need a bulletproof hosting directory on the web? :-))

>From what i've learned, illegal content depends on jurisdiction, and 
effectively that's what greatly impacts the possibility of takedowns.

I've also seen what you mention about advertising services as 
'bulletproof', but i've already seen some of those companies remove that 
kind of advertising (in this case, web archives are your friend!)

The RIPE NCC, afaik, doesn't act on illegal content, because it lacks any 
mandate for that.

In the same way criminals are able to use phones, they are allowed to 
use IP addresses. The downside with the IP addresses is they can in 
practice build/manage (informal?) network operators, which provide them 
with a lot more flexibility. But that's the model we have had for 
decades...

I totally agree with the ICANN comparison, but it wouldn't be only RIPE 
NCC, for efectiveness you would have to have all the five RIRs on the same 
page.

But i'm afraid "the community" -- which also includes the 'bulletproofers' 
-- will not issue any mandate to the RIPE NCC to do something. Instead, 
at some point, we well see more regulatory stuff kicking in........


Best Regards,
Carlos



On Wed, 17 Jan 2024, OSINTGuardian wrote:

> hi,
> 
> There are more and more bulletproof hosting in the world every month and they are causing more and more chaos, feeding the dark web by
> providing servers to criminals of all kinds who use the servers on .onion websites in Tor and flooding the clear web with illegal
> content.
> 
> There is a bulletproof hosting market that is even openly promoted, it is as easy to find companies that provide bulletproof servers as
> searching on Google, hacker forums or simple internet websites that provide lists of bulletproof hosting companies.
> 
> The business model of these companies is to ignore reports of abuse of illegal content, to look the other way when someone uploads
> illegal content. This is openly their business model, what does RIPE NCC do about this?
> 
> RIPE NCC provides IP addresses to many of these companies with bulletproof servers that are then used by criminals on the Internet,
> strengthening organized crime. 
> 
> ICANN publicly has an abuse reporting form, where users can report if a company provides bulletproof domains or ignores abuse reports.
> If RIPE NCC did this same thing, the internet would become a better place.
> 
> If RIPE NCC did this and also other IP address accreditors, they would greatly affect criminals on the Internet and therefore the
> Internet would become a slightly safer place than it is today. Bulletproof server companies would be afraid of being caught by RIPE NCC
> committing these violations. Unfortunately, these companies currently feel enough freedom to do this, that they even show themselves
> publicly.
> 
> Is RIPE NCC planning to do anything against this?
> 
> - Claudia Lopez
> OSINTGuardian
> 
>