14 12, 2016
  • Get Your Tech On | The Industry's #1 DOCSIS Podcast

DOCSIS 3.1 Downstream and Upstream

2021-08-16T18:43:42-04:00December 14th, 2016|

DOCSIS 3.1 Downstream and Upstream Testing and Throughput Episode 24 Hosted by Brady Volpe of the Volpe Firm, this video / podcast has a focus on the DOCSIS 3.1 downstream and upstream with  a practical review of the latest advancements in DOCSIS 3.1 and practical applications in production systems.  Guests include John Downey, CMTS Technical Leader at Cisco Systems, Jeff Riddel, Solutions Architect at Cisco Systems and Jason Miller Technical Marketing Engineer at Cisco Systems. Hello Everyone.  Today is November 17th and this is episode 24 of our shows on

28 09, 2015
  • hacked

Hacked – Are You Sure You’re Secure?

2021-11-24T09:42:37-05:00September 28th, 2015|

Hacked - Are you sure you're secure? Security has the been a hot topic lately.  As I’m writing this article I think about all of the recent events that we hear about impacting our daily lives such as: Hacks of OPM databases compromised 22.1 million people Experts warn 2015 could be 'Year of the Healthcare Hack - reuters.com' Cost of a Potential Blackout From Cybercrime: $1 Trillion - CNBC These headlines are really quite scary.  I’m certain that some, possibly many of you have experienced security issues first hand.

13 04, 2015
  • Get Your Tech On

DOCSIS Internet Security – internet security and recommended best practices Episode 11

2021-08-17T09:01:26-04:00April 13th, 2015|

DOCSIS Internet Security Episode 11 Brady Volpe was joined by John Downey, Dan Hegglin and Brian Wilson discussing the challenges cable operators face with DOCSIS internet security and recommended best practices they can follow to secure their networks from DDoS, DoS, DNS, High Value Targets and many more. More about Dan Hegglin of Cisco and Brain Wilson of Alcatel-Lucent Brian has been in the IT Security & Cable industry for just at 20 years. He started his career in the US Army in the Signal Corps and has worked since with many

26 11, 2012
  • openDNS

OpenDNS | Security at the Network Level

2012-11-26T13:16:13-05:00November 26th, 2012|

With a lot of adult content and other nefarious sites all over cyber space, it is paramount to protect your family from as appropriate. This can be done by filtering content coming into your computer. There are fundamentally two ways to successfully block adult and other malicious contents from gaining entry into your computer and your home. The first is by installing software designed to block such contents from your PC. The second way can be done at the network level. This later method does not involve the

8 10, 2012
  • Web Hog

Capacity Planning | Build It & They Will Fill It

2012-10-08T10:01:54-04:00October 8th, 2012|

Capacity Planning - Helps Make Future Capital Expenditure Decisions Capacity Planning in the good old days, was an issue that impacted neighborhoods with web hogs in the them.  Peak usage hours were dreaded, teenagers downloading music were seen as a scourge, and web surfers were just plan old annoying.  What did these people think the internet was for? How things have changed.  Today people not only download music and surf the web but also watch movie content, make video conference calls, teach classes, and do just about anything else they can think of.  What

20 08, 2012

DOCSIS Security | Mac Address Cloning

2021-08-18T10:07:01-04:00August 20th, 2012|

Theft of Service via Cloning DOCSIS Security - If only cloning your favorite pet was as easy as cloning a MAC address on a cable modem.  There are dozens of websites out there giving subscribers or hackers step by step instructions on how to clone a MAC address.  Each cable modem, regardless of brand, is uniquely identified by its Cable Modems ID, or MAC address - short for Media Access Control. This address is programmed into a writable memory address of the hardware in the cable modem, and is associated with a

6 08, 2012

DOCSIS Network Security | Theft of Service

2021-11-24T09:10:08-05:00August 6th, 2012|

DOCSIS Network Security - It Matters! My next few posts will focus on the security issues associated with DOCSIS networks including, but not limited to theft of service, uncapping modems, illegal wire-tapping by unauthorized citizens, viewing of operating internal network infrastructure and more.  These security issues are an increasing threat as the number of DOCSIS subscribers increase, economic drivers cause subscribers to reduce costs, and un-ethical web sites provide easy step-by-step solutions for how to hack your network.  While the posts will provide a reality check for everyone

1 08, 2010
  • Hacking DOCSIS Cable Modems

Hacking DOCSIS Cable Modems

2021-08-17T13:18:52-04:00August 1st, 2010|

Fundamental Precautions You Should Take to Secure Your Network DOCSIS security wholes are a serious problem, even if you are a major MSO (Multiple System Operator). Recently a reader contacted me and said that theft of service, especially uncapping cable modems via hacking, was still impacting his network. Not surprisingly, one vendor's CMTS was able to ward off the hacker's while another vendor's CMTS was unable to prevent the uncapping and subsequent theft of service. I will protect the vendor's identities because I believe that the CMTS is the first line of defense. Vendors have put into place very effective, CMTS specific techniques, such as Cisco's TFTP-Enforce which prohibits a cable modem from registering and coming on line if there is no matching TFTP traffic through the CMTS preceding the registration attempt. But often individual techniques are "hacked" (such as in the TFTP-Enforce bypass method found on hacker sites). What this indicates is that any reliance on a single point or method of hack-proofing your network WILL NOT WORK. You must implement a layered approach consisting of a number of CMTS, DHCP, TFTP and potentially SNMP and Kerbos related methods. The later would apply for MTAs and set top boxes. For now we will just focus on cable modems and the realm of CMTSs and DHCP/TFTP servers. Here are is the bare minimum of what you should be doing:

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