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Security Flaws In Aussie Net Filter Exposed
Faldo writes "There's a three-part interview with a computer security expert on BanThisURL that goes into the flaws in the Aussie net filtering scheme. In addition to SSH tunnels and proxies, more worrying problems like trojaning the boxes to set up man in the middle attacks (which the interviewee has done in his lab), cross site scripting and the Australian blacklist leaking are all discussed. Worrying and relevant, especially since Thailand's blacklist has just been leaked."
The concept itself is flawed. Centralized filters will never work, and any filtering system is imperfect. The best we can do is have individuals ascribe a reputation to a particular resource and based on trusting others' ratings we can tailor the firehose to our liking.
Anything else is just a way for some fearmongers to stay in office and/or make a quick buck.
Disagree, they could just use a Windows box for this, as long as they keep it up-to-date with patches they'll be fine, right?
Once I was a four stone apology. Now I am two separate gorillas.
...it will only serve to piss off those that can't circumvent the firewall (or unskippable anti-piracy adverts in the case of legit DVDs)
To do something right, you often have to roll up your sleeves and get busy.
that things are unhackable.
"If you code it, it will be hacked!"
The Titanic was an example of what should be called Cockyisms. (The beliefe that one is better or their product is better than it truly is.) in this case, Unsinkable...and we all know how THAT turned out!
DVD encryption, DRM and now Net Censorship...the tighter the grip, the faster they will lose control.
So Jesus, Mohammed and Abraham walk into a Bar....
An amazing story would be "NO SECURITY FLAWS IN AUSSIE NET FILTER WHATSOEVER". I'm just sayin'. There are flaws in everything.
We figured out a long time ago that it's easier to elect seven judges than to elect 132 legislators.
The Australian government seems to have gone pretty crazy over this thing, and is taking one of the classic paths when meeting resistance; that is to make the plan even bolder and more sweeping. There seems no recognition of the fact that this won't do a damned thing to prevent the production and distribution of child pornography, but will cause no end of problems for legitimate users. But this government clearly feels it's back is against the wall, and rather than simply taking the more sensible path and admitting that filtering is flawed, and in its own way dangerous, and that any attempt to screw with various P2P and secure protocols is going to real harm to legitimate users, is basically saying "We know better than the ISPs and technical experts."
Politics tends to attract the insanely vain, but these guys are way out to lunch. I have no idea who their technical advisers are, but either these guys are morons or simply being paid to tell the government what it wants to here.
But as anyone who has dealt with any kind of Internet security can tell you, it's always a game of catch-up. Whether it's viruses, root kits, DRM, firewalls, and so on, there's always someone willing, for good or ill, to crack systems, and believe me, if they actually go through with this nonsense, the desire to crack the filters, and more dangerous and delerious attempts to bust encryption and P2P is simply going to be met with better innovations to overcome them.
But it does go to show you that the intellectual tyrannies are not simply the product of political tyrannies, but any government so sure in its own righteousness can play the part of the tyrant, simply by repeating the mantra "it's for their own good".
The Enlightenment has died in Australia, and it's sad that the people aren't marching on Adelaide demanding the government's resignation and Rudd's forced expulsion. Western Civilization has lost its balls. We've fought world wars, sacrificed our young on countless battlefields, beat back the Communists by even the most questionable means, for what? So some religious nut can make decrees as to what law-abiding citizens of a so-called free country can view on the Internet?
What a sad, fearful, pathetic lot the West has become.
The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
If stopping 100% of the users from getting indie music is the goal, then it fails. However, if stopping or impeding 50% of indie music perhaps it could be labeled a success? Becaue that's what this is about - stopping the use of a legal and legitimate product to destroy an industry's independant competetion.
The industry isn't afraid of Fergie being downloaded, it's afraid of The Station being downloaded.
Free Martian Whores!
doesn't the govenment publish the blacklist? this isn't like other countries where they just pretend like there is no filtering going on at all.
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Stay tuned for some shock and awe coming right up after this messages!
I bet the filter isn't ipv6 capable... I just can't see the lawmakers being that tech savvy.
That could be just the boost the protocol needs, in Australia at least.
If a proposal is only going to stop a small proportion, stomps all over civil liberties, could potentially break important protocols, can be circumvented by the technically savvy (which tends to include the very people who the proposal alleges it can stop) and introduces dangerous new security flaws, then I'd say the proposal ought to be rejected.
Let's be clear here. All this plan may do, at the very best, is catch the technically challenged pedophiles. That's a best case scenario, and basically undermining an entire country's Internet access to catch this group is rather like a sniper sitting on an overpass randomly shooting at cars because some of those cars may be driven by drug dealers. Yes, it's true, some small number of drug dealers may actually be killed, but if that's your idea of policing, then we might as well declare everyone guilty, take away their computers and call it a day.
The plan is idiotic, it's proponents are at best naive, and international child abuse won't be dented by it.
The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
The industry isn't afraid of Fergie being downloaded, it's afraid of The Station being downloaded.
They should be. But I don't think the industry, that didn't even see P2P coming, has that much collective intelligence or foresight.
I think what they're really afraid of is a generation of potential consumers who give no thought to the copyright status or label affiliation of an album, who don't care if their downloads are legal or not. They're afraid of a culture which doesn't even consider paying for music. They're afraid that their role as musical gatekeepers will become obsolete. They're afraid that their product will have to compete with all others on a level playing field. And they should be.
... and that's when the C.H.U.D.'s came at me.
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