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Volunteers Around the World Build Surveillance-Free Cellular Network Called 'Sopranica' (vice.com)
dmoberhaus writes: Motherboard's Daniel Oberhaus spoke to Denver Gingerich, the programmer behind Sopranica, a DIY, community-oriented cell phone network. "Sopranica is a project intended to replace all aspects of the existing cell phone network with their freedom-respecting equivalents," says Gingerich. "Taking out all the basement firmware on the cellphone, the towers that track your location, the payment methods that track who you are and who owns the number, and replacing it so we can have the same functionality without having to give up all the privacy that we have to give up right now. At a high level, it's about running community networks instead of having companies control the cell towers that we connect to." Motherboard interviews Gingerich and shows you how to use the network to avoid cell surveillance. According to Motherboard, all you need to do to join Sopranica is "create a free and anonymous Jabber ID, which is like an email address." Jabber is slang for a secure instant messaging protocol called XMPP that let's you communicate over voice and text from an anonymous phone number. "Next, you need to install a Jabber app on your phone," reports Motherboard. "You'll also need to install a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) app, which allows your phone to make calls and send texts over the internet instead of the regular cellular network." Lastly, you need to get your phone number, which you can do by navigating to Sopranica's JMP website. (JMP is the code, which was published by Gingerich in January, and "first part of Sopranica.") "These phone numbers are generated by Sopranica's Voice Over IP (VOIP) provider which provides talk and text services over the internet. Click whichever number you want to be your new number on the Sopranica network and enter your Jabber ID. A confirmation code should be sent to your phone and will appear in your Jabber app." As for how JMP protects against surveillance, Gingerich says, "If you're communicating with someone using your JMP number, your cell carrier doesn't actually know what your JMP number is because that's going over data and it's encrypted. So they don't know that that communication is happening."
SIP over XMPP? Already had it. It doesn't work well. And towers still need to know where you are in order to reach your phone. Amazing.
As of right now, I've walked MANY through getting google voice going on mobiles and ditching the monthly bill. Works good until they catch on and force you re-verify the number you setup, at which point it seems your no longer able to make calls (originating from that number) but you can still receive voice mail. The privacy trade-off is obvious when working with any google product, but for quick and dirty free wifi phone it worked great (last time i set it up for somebody)
It sounds like this is pretty damn close to the same thing, only without all the snoopy big tech middle man garbage. I'm going to try it.
These phone numbers are generated by Sopranica's Voice Over IP (VOIP) provider which provides talk and text services over the internet.
Regarding the encryption, where does it take place? Is this privacy-centric un-named VOIP provider/DIY network subject to NSLs?
I suppose I should RTFA....
You are being ripped off every second of every day, so that advertisers can help rip you off even more tomorrow.
Sopranica is a portmanteau of the words "Sopranos" (i.e. The Sopranos, criminal activity and shady dealings hidden from public view and the authorities) and "Silica" (i.e. the chemical compound used to make silicon wafers for manufacturing microchips).
Crime through Technology.
Sopran-ica.
I'm Denver, "the programmer behind Soprani.ca", and specifically JMP. Feel free to ask me any questions about JMP, WOM, or Soprani.ca as a whole that haven't been answered in the comments section yet. I'd be happy to hear from you.