[freehaven-dev] DefCon talks of interest

[Michael J Freedman <mfreed@MIT.EDU>]

http://www.defcon.org/html/defcon-9-speakers.html

If anybody goes, I'd love a "trip report."
--mike

----------

Cypherpunk-Grade Covert Network Channels 

Two parties, both operating in hostile network territory, need to
communicate covertly via an internetwork.  They need to do so in a
manner such that a well-resourced attacker cannot gain knowledge of the
content of their transactions, nor even gain evidence beyond plausible
deniability that discrete communication is taking place.  The
assumptions made are extreme; it is understood that lives may be at
stake. 

Is the creation of such a clandestine network mechanism technically
feasible?  Absolutely.  Should you be concerned about the implications
of undetectable traffic?  Most definitely. 

An initial r+d implementation in library form as well as
proof-of-concept code built upon it will be presented.  By taking
advantage of peculiarities in many fielded protocols, steganographic
techniques applied to the network layers, and using dynamic polymorphism
based on local traffic patterns and cryptographic control, the channel
is effectively able to resist detection and attack.  Discussion
concerning the theory, implementation, and political ramifications is
welcomed. 

Jason Peel (jsyn@nthought.com) is a Senior Network Architect with
Network Thought Co.  Recent research+development efforts have covered
wireless infrastructure auditing (including marsupial-in-the-middle
attacks), PKI, anti-promisc-detection, managed enterprise lockdowns, and
IPv6 vulnerabilities.

----------

Arranging an Anonymous Rendezvous: Privacy Protection for Internet
Servers 

As the Internet grows in popularity around the world, we are beginning
to see clashes between individuals and governments from different
cultural backgrounds.  Corporations, organizations, and legislatures are
using local laws in order to enforce their wishes on others worldwide.  

Much work has been put into producing privacy-enhancing technologies
that protect clients of online interactive Internet services.  In this
talk, we present the _rendezvous server_, a primitive which allows the
transformation of any such technology into one which can equally protect
the providers of those services. 
 
It is our hope that being able to provide privacy for providers of
online services, such as mailing lists, discussion groups, web sites,
file servers, and chat rooms, they will be less susceptible to attack,
and so will help prevent the Internet from becoming a place where the
powerful can control the availability of content worldwide. 

Dr. Ian Goldberg is Chief Scientist and Head Cypherpunk of
Zero-Knowledge Systems, a Canadian company producing Internet privacy
software for consumers.  Having recently received his Ph.D. from UC
Berkeley, Ian is recognized internationally as one of the leading
cryptographers and cypherpunks.  In addition to developing many of the
leading network software titles for the Palm Pilot, Ian is known for his
part in cracking the first RSA Secret Key Challenge in three and a half
hours, for breaking Netscape's implementation of the encryption system
SSL, for breaking the cryptography in the GSM cellular phone standard,
and for throwing lots of parties.

----------

SafeWeb's Triangle Boy: IP spoofing and strong encryption in service of
a free Internet 

SafeWeb is an encrypted (SSL) anonymous proxy service, used
approximately 100 million times per month by hundreds of thousands of
people worldwide. Triangle Boy is an Open Source program that lets
volunteers turn their PCs into entry points into the SafeWeb network,
thereby foiling censorship in countries like China and Iran. Triangle
Boy uses IP spoofing and innovative packet routing to minimize the load
on volunteer machines. I discuss SafeWeb's goals and technologies, its
involvement with the CIA through In-Q-Tel (the agency's venture fund)
and the Internet as a catalyst for social transformation in
China. 

Stephen Hsu is the CEO and co-founder of SafeWeb. He is currently on
leave from his position as a professor of theoretical physics at the
University of Oregon. Previously, he was an assistant professor at Yale
University, and a research fellow at Harvard. His
research specialty is quantum field theory and its applications to
particle physics, astrophysics and cosmology. He holds a PhD from UC
Berkeley and a BS from Caltech.

----------