Re: Norwegian DNS compromized

[Paul Syverson <syverson@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Tue, Feb 27, 2007 at 09:19:36PM +0100, Lasse Øverlier wrote:
> 
> If this is true, the answer to the strange DNS query is likely that
> NextGenTel is using a filter service developed by the Norwegian Police
> on their DNS queries to stop this type of traffic. I think that being
> registered here is a verification for that the address already is
> reported to (at least) the Norwegian authorities.
> 
> BTW. This filter is possible to implement on exit nodes, but I have
> found too little information on how the filter works. (Yes, I know, some
> people think that all censorship is bad, but if they stop only reported
> illegal sites, it might be worth discussing.)
> 

It's not about one's opinion about censorship. We can leave that
entirely aside. Two major questions loom: first, Tor is an
international network.  Sometimes the node operator and the hosting
site are not even in the same country. Whose definition of illegal do
we go by? The Netherlands, Iran, the US, Norway, ...?

Much more importantly, once you start filtering for content at all
even really poorly wrt what you are targeting, you are implying (in
the sense of the law, rather than logic and rationality) that you
_can_ filter content and therefore are obligated to filter whatever
the local/regional/national authorities du jour want you to
filter. (Admittedly this might be more important in the US but not
elsewhere; I'm not as up on that as I might be.)

aloha,
Paul