DtSR Episode 690 - Defenders of the Internet Pipes

The podcast explores the cybersecurity challenges faced by Internet Service Providers (ISPs) concerning consumer internet usage, focusing on residential proxies and the balance between customer protection and privacy. Matt Carothers, Distinguished Security Architect at Cox Communications, shares insights on the increasing prevalence of residential proxies, now significantly driven by AI companies scraping the internet, and their use in facilitating fraud by masking the location of transactions. The discussion covers the difficulties in detecting and mitigating these threats, especially with the increasing encryption of internet traffic and the rise of CDNs like CloudFlare, which obscure the destination of traffic. The team also discusses the ethical considerations and practical limitations of ISPs intervening in user activity, balancing the duty of care with the need to avoid liability and respect user privacy.