BitTorrent Devs Introduce Comcast-Proof Encryption

Dean Garfield writes "An article at TorrentFreak notes that several BitTorrent developers have proposed a new protocol extension with the ability to bypass the BitTorrent interfering techniques used by Comcast and other ISPs. 'This new form of encryption will be implemented in BitTorrent clients including uTorrent, so Comcast subscribers are free to share again. The goal of this new type of encryption (or obfuscation) is to prevent ISPs from blocking or disrupting BitTorrent traffic connections that span between the receiver of a tracker response and any peer IP-port appearing in that tracker response, according to the proposal.'"

Comments

Traffic Analysis

[gaika]

Most blocking systems use traffic analysis to block encrypted protocols, even the ones pretending to be something else. There's no way you can confuse p2p sharing with normal browsing if you look at the pattern of data flows.

Re:Traffic Analysis

[gaika]

Nobody is going to block all encrypted protocols, that's stupid. They identify the application that is using encryption by looking at the shape of the traffic flows. p2p apps open tons of connections, exchange about equal amount of data both ways, and have a distinct negotiation phase.

Re:Traffic Analysis

[Anonymous Coward]

Actually, IPSec will prevent the ISP from being able to reset the flow. If a packet comes in that is not signed/encrypted (depending on the mode) with the credentials of the other end-point, it is discarded as an attack. It's a pain to set up IPSec security associations in many conditions, but IKEv2 has made it somewhat better.

The fact that you are buying service from the attacker doesn't make them not an attacker. The counter measures developed to fight attackers may have limits, but they are there and are useful in this context.