Re: [yam] [Imap-protocol] Re: draft-daboo-srv-email: POP3S/IMAPS?

[Arnt Gulbrandsen <[e-mail]>]

Tony Finch writes:
> On Mon, 18 Jan 2010, Arnt Gulbrandsen wrote:
>> Yeah. But I can't remember talking to anyone who really cared about 
>> allowing cleartext imap inside the firewall.
>
> I'm not sure exactly what you mean here, but I have counter examples 
> for two possible interpretations.

I meant that I can't remember speaking to anyone who REALLY WANTED to 
allow unencrypted IMAP inside the firewall. Sorry about the lack of 
clarity.

> If you mean that no one in your experience is worried by unencrypted 
> access from local IP addresses, then we certainly are especially for 
> wireless users.

Yes. I have also heard mutterings about ethernet jacks and ARP attacks, 
although that may be more paranoia than realism.

> If you mean that no one in your experience enables unencrypted access 
> from local IP addresses,

(On the contrary, people do, and I think it makes sense. A low-value 
feature is worth using if it's also low-cost, right?)

> then I believe it's fairly common for universities to do so to avoid 
> having to reconfigure thousands of desktop clients. It took us about 
> a year to completely disable unencrypted access - we wanted to avoid 
> huge spikes in support load.

Yes.

> With the right software it's fairly easy to restrict unencrypted 
> logins to local wired networks.

Timo's mail made me think of a different approach: Immediately expire a 
password if a server receives that password in clear text. Bang bang. 
(Let me guess: The words "support spike" entered your mind now.)

Arnt