>From a design perspective, the BOINC architecture should be able to function 
>without the BOINC project server or a central authority to grant keys and the 
>like.

The client software communicates with the server software using libcurl over 
HTTP/HTTPS.

For the most part, I think WCG mostly uses HTTPS as a way to protect volunteer 
privacy, the core protection still comes from the project's code signing key.

----- Rom

-----Original Message-----
From: Jeffrey Walton [mailto:[email protected]] 
Sent: Wednesday, February 13, 2013 12:52 AM
To: Rom Walton
Cc: BOINC Developers Mailing List
Subject: Re: [boinc_dev] BOINC on Android Update

Hi Rom,

Somewhat OT, but somewhat related....

> * Correct ca-bundle.crt is extracted
Ouch! Daggers in my eyes.

Do you really need to confer trust? The secure channel using a public dns and a 
public ca hierarchy leaks like a sieve.

I gave a talk last week on the evils of trusting [foreign] DNS, PKI{X} and 
public CAs (https://www.owasp.org/index.php/Virginia).

There are alternatives, if interested. For example, you could:
* supply the needed certificate root during provisioning
  - trust only one instead of many
* use a password authenticated key exchange (PAKE)
  - for example, Secure Remote Password (SRP)
* pin the server's expected certificate or public key
  - provide during provisioning

I also provided sample programs for public key pinning at the talk. It includes 
Android, iOS, .Net, and OpenSSL. Its as easy as copy/paste.
It does not throw away SSL/TLS - it hardens the channel.

Jeff

On Wed, Feb 13, 2013 at 12:40 AM, Rom Walton <[email protected]> wrote:
> I've uploaded a new build:
> http://boinc.berkeley.edu/dl/boinc_7.0.51_arm-android-linux-gnu.apk
>
> This build has the following fixes:
> * Correct ca-bundle.crt is extracted from the installation package, SSL 
> connections should now work.
> * Client should now be able to track the temp and status of the battery and 
> suspend before overheating.
> * Client is now started in daemon mode.  Logs can be viewed from the shell.
> * Moved the projects tab before the tasks tab.
> * Settings tab has been renamed to preferences.
> * Enabled the messages tab, it'll display the client messages in the next 
> build.
> * The UI can now be used in landscape mode.
> * The Android setup package has the debug flag enabled right now.
>
> If you have the Android SDK installed, you can view the core client state by 
> executing:
> $ adb shell
> $ run-as edu.berkeley.boinc /system/bin/sh
>
> >From here you'll be logged in as the user account created for the BOINC 
> >application, the core client and data files are in the client subdirectory.
>
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