Pentagon Gives Company Control of Massive Unused Internet Space
2021-04-27
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1The U.S. Department of Defense has given a private company control over a massive part of its unused internet space.
2The Florida-based company, identified in news reports as Global Resource Systems, now controls more than 175 million IP addresses belonging to the military.
3An IP address is a number given to each computer when it is connected to the internet.
4The addresses have long been owned by the Defense Department, but were not being used by the agency.
5Experts in the computer networking industry had been wondering about the change, which happened the day President Joe Biden was sworn into office in January.
6Military officials made no official announcement about the move.
7The huge number of IP addresses involved has been estimated to be about 1/25th the size of the current internet.
8It is also thought to be more than twice the size of the internet space actually used by the Pentagon.
9"It is massive. That is the biggest thing in the history of the internet," expert Doug Madory told The Associated Press.
10He is the director of internet analysis at Kentik, a company that designs and operates computer networks.
11The Defense Department confirmed the change in a statement by Brett Goldstein, chief of the Pentagon's Defense Digital Service, which is running the project.
12The military hopes to "assess, evaluate and prevent" the "unauthorized use" of agency IP address space, the statement said.
13It added that the "pilot project" also aims to identify possible "vulnerabilities" that could lead to internet attacks by international groups attempting to break into U.S. networks.
14In addition to attempted attacks, the Defense Department has also experienced problems with outside groups or individuals taking over and using its internet space without permission.
15This happened, in part, because there has been a shortage of first-generation internet addresses since 2011.
16Kentik's Madory said advertising the address space will make it easier to get rid of unauthorized users.
17It should also permit the military to "collect a massive amount of background internet traffic for threat intelligence," he added.
18Some cybersecurity experts have suggested the Pentagon may be using the newly advertised space to create so-called "honeypots."
19These are machines set up with vulnerabilities to draw in internet attackers, or hackers.
20The project could also be the start of a new system of software and servers set up to search internet traffic for suspect activity, the experts say.
21"This greatly increases the space they could monitor," Madory said.
22A Defense Department spokesman did not comment on why the military chose Global Resource Systems to oversee the IP addresses.
23The company, which operates an office in Plantation, Florida, did not return phone calls or emails from The Associated Press seeking information.
24A Defense Department spokesman told the AP that even with the current shortage of IP addresses, the Pentagon has no interest in selling any of its unused space.
25I'm Bryan Lynn.
1The U.S. Department of Defense has given a private company control over a massive part of its unused internet space. 2The Florida-based company, identified in news reports as Global Resource Systems, now controls more than 175 million IP addresses belonging to the military. An IP address is a number given to each computer when it is connected to the internet. 3The addresses have long been owned by the Defense Department, but were not being used by the agency. 4Experts in the computer networking industry had been wondering about the change, which happened the day President Joe Biden was sworn into office in January. Military officials made no official announcement about the move. 5The huge number of IP addresses involved has been estimated to be about 1/25th the size of the current internet. It is also thought to be more than twice the size of the internet space actually used by the Pentagon. 6"It is massive. That is the biggest thing in the history of the internet," expert Doug Madory told The Associated Press. He is the director of internet analysis at Kentik, a company that designs and operates computer networks. 7The Defense Department confirmed the change in a statement by Brett Goldstein, chief of the Pentagon's Defense Digital Service, which is running the project. 8The military hopes to "assess, evaluate and prevent" the "unauthorized use" of agency IP address space, the statement said. 9It added that the "pilot project" also aims to identify possible "vulnerabilities" that could lead to internet attacks by international groups attempting to break into U.S. networks. 10In addition to attempted attacks, the Defense Department has also experienced problems with outside groups or individuals taking over and using its internet space without permission. This happened, in part, because there has been a shortage of first-generation internet addresses since 2011. 11Kentik's Madory said advertising the address space will make it easier to get rid of unauthorized users. It should also permit the military to "collect a massive amount of background internet traffic for threat intelligence," he added. 12Some cybersecurity experts have suggested the Pentagon may be using the newly advertised space to create so-called "honeypots." These are machines set up with vulnerabilities to draw in internet attackers, or hackers. 13The project could also be the start of a new system of software and servers set up to search internet traffic for suspect activity, the experts say. "This greatly increases the space they could monitor," Madory said. 14A Defense Department spokesman did not comment on why the military chose Global Resource Systems to oversee the IP addresses. The company, which operates an office in Plantation, Florida, did not return phone calls or emails from The Associated Press seeking information. 15A Defense Department spokesman told the AP that even with the current shortage of IP addresses, the Pentagon has no interest in selling any of its unused space. 16I'm Bryan Lynn. 17The Associated Press reported this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the report for VOA Learning English. Susan Shand was the editor. 18We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. 19____________________________________________ 20Words in This Story 21assess - v. to make a judgment about (something) 22evaluate - v. to study or consider 23unauthorized - adj. without someone's official permission 24vulnerable - adj. able to be easily hurt, influenced or attacked 25monitor - v. to watch, observe, listen to, or check over a period of time