John Markoff has an op-ed in the New York Times where he makes the case for starting over on the Internet in order to improve security. Lots of others are talking about his piece all over the blogosphere–this discussion is clearly warranted. Markoff’s arguments are flimsy and supported by vague statements from experts. One of those experts, Gene Spafford, has already repudiated the implied conclusions of the piece.
My biggest complaint is that in an article entitled, “Do We Need a New Internet?,” the absence of quotes from anyone who would answer that question, “No” is irresponsible, even for an op-ed. “Starting over” is a very naive perspective in the engineering of in-production systems. I’ve been in meetings throughout my career where someone in the room said, “If only we started over.” That is a tantalizing thought, but ultimately impossible in the real world.