Hacktivismo launches ScatterChat

un1xl0ser writes to tell us Hacktivismo has released a new chat program known as ScatterChat. It is a friendly fork of GAIM that "provides end-to-end encryption, integrated onion-routing with Tor, secure file transfers, and easy-to-read documentation." This announcement was made at HOPE, where CDs were distributed. A torrent and several screenshots are also available."

Comments

OMG I misread that at first

[LiquidCoooled]

And thought it was some kind of poo-flinging device.

Not as plugin(s)?

[AnyoneEB]

Gaim is quite modular and allows plugins to do a lot. The base Gaim with no plugins supports zero IM protocols and does not even show a system tray icon. (It comes with those plugins.) Why could this not have been implemented as a plugin? I already have twoend-to-end encryption plugins installed (gaim-encryption and gaim-otr). I would not expect secure file transfers to be difficult to do as a plugin. Really, I am just not sure about TOR, but that should be submitted as a patch to the offical Gaim source tree (or, at least a patch for a way for plugins to add proxy options).

So basically, it's gaim-encryption and tor

[verbatim_verbose]

I don't see anything particularly interesting here. We already have gaim-encryption. You already can use tor as a proxy for gaim. So... why is this interesting?

The oddity of combining Tor and a keys

[gnoshi]

This strikes me as a little odd, as the use of Tor in this context seems somewhat redundant given that public/private keypairs are being used for the communication, meaning that a the participants can be easily identified in a conversation as being user A and user B. That said, the use of Tor may make it more difficult to track that back to Person A and Person B.

The problem is that because the key pairs are persistant, a user need only connect without Tor once, and suddenly it is possible to identify the person demonstratably responsible for a potentially large number of conversations.
As another person here has mentioned, OTR would have probably been a better choice due to the deniability aspect. In conjuction with Tor, this would mean that tracking (and proving) a conversation is connected to a person would be more difficult. The exception may be if users had already exchanged public keys, in which case the ability to use those public keys may be conventient. Of course, those keys can still be taken advantage of in the first-step verification of the user for OTR communication.

It seems like a good idea, just the choice of method of encrypted communication of messages seems a strange.

Re:The oddity of combining Tor and a keys

[gnoshi]

You make a valid point - encryption != digital signature.

When the system is initially setting up encryption, the public key for the user's signing key is sent.
Unless the signature keys are single-use, this reveals the user's identity. Sure, the session key protects the conversation itself, but it reveals with certainty who is involved in the conversation. Furthermore, should the conversation encryption be broken, there is no deniability.

That is my understanding based on: http://www.scatterchat.com/docs/crypto_protocol.tx t

I've got the CD

[murph]

But am I willing to put a CD from cDc in my machine? I think not.

I made something like this about a year ago...

[Afecks]

http://freehaven.net/~aphex/torch/torch.png

It is more like jabber. It uses .onion addresses to identify buddies. It is very secure.

missing the point

[Anonymous Coward]

You guys are all missing the point, but thats alright since the article didn't tell it to you and none of you were there.

I was, so I'll be kind enough to point it out.

ScatterChat was designed for people who have reason to fear their conversations being watched. Specifically political dissadents and activists in countries where censorship is common, such as in the middle east or channel. This is to be used for them, and for reporters, and for people who are, in some way or another, are trying to save the world but don't have the time to learn about computers.

Along these lines, Hacktivismo developed a tool that runs out of the box encryption and anonomizer. They have already met with activists to help learn what the tool should do (from a user end) and to teach them how to use it. They're also working on the next version. They mentioned that they are looking for people to help with the documentation, and for the translation into other languages (mainly, Chinese and Arab).

So, don't be so harsh. While you're all here whining about how this program isn't 1337 enough for you, these guys are working on a program that will keep people out of jail just because those people have thoughts of freedom. You think it could be better? Email them and help.

tedivm