MIT Creates Untraceable Anonymous Messaging System Called Vuvuzela
http://news.softpedia.com/news/mit-creates-untraceable-anonymous-messaging-system-called-vuvuzela-497537.shtml
The server notifies the recipient that there's a message for
them, the user then goes to retrieve it, also passing through
different mailboxes to get at the message's location. When a
connection is made through one of these mailboxes by a recipient
searching for their message, each of these servers sends out
dummy network packets on the network. With so much fake
traffic, and with senders and recipients moving past their
destinations to intentionally create even more fake traffic
after they've left or retrieved the actual message, you can only
imagine how much data an attacker would have to sniff out before
getting a clue of who's talking to whom. MIT researchers claim
that attackers can even infiltrate more than half of its mailbox
network, but if at least one mailbox server is left intact,
users will be able to safely communicate because of all the fake
traffic. First test shows promising results but a 44-second
latency ...
- - -
If you want to encourage the deployment of ISP bandwidth caps, this sure
looks like one way to do it. And I doubt it would stay secure for very
long in any case. Remember -- it's *endpoints* that are most at risk.
--Lauren--
Lauren Weinstein ([email protected]): http://www.vortex.com/lauren
Founder:
- Network Neutrality Squad: http://www.nnsquad.org
- PRIVACY Forum: http://www.vortex.com/privacy-info
Co-Founder: People For Internet Responsibility: http://www.pfir.org/pfir-info
Member: ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com
Google+: http://google.com/+LaurenWeinstein
Twitter: http://twitter.com/laurenweinstein
Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800 / Skype: vortex.com
I have consulted to Google, but I am not currently doing so.
My opinions expressed here are mine alone.
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