Will Scott

It is easier to chat online securely today than it ever has been. Widespread adoption of signal, wire, and the private mode of WhatsApp have led a broader recognition of the importance of end-to-end encryption. There's still plenty of work to be done in finding new designs that balance privacy and usability in online communication.

This introduction to secure messaging will lay out the different risks that are present in communications, and talk about the projects and techniques under development to do better. The talk will begin with a threat modeling exercise to be able to concretely talk about the different actors and potential risks that a secure messaging system can attempt to address. From there, we'll dive into end-to-end encryption, OTR and deniability, and then the axolotl construction used by Signal (and now the noise framework). The bulk of the talk will focus on the rest of the problem which is more in-progress, and in particular consider the various metadata risks around communication. We'll survey the problems that can arise around contact discovery, network surveillance, and server compromise. In doing so, we'll look at the forays into communication systems that attempt to address these issues. Pond offered a novel design point for discovery and a global network adversary. Katzenpost adapts mixnets to limit the power of network adversaries and server compromise in a different way. Private Information Retrieval (PIR) trades off high server costs for a scheme that could more realistically work with mobile clients. Others, for instance Secure Scuttlebutt attempt to remove the need for infrastructural servers entirely with gossip and partial views of the network, a whole other set of tradeoffs.

Internet access in Cuba is notoriously restrictive. ETECSA, the government-run teleco, offers 60 wireless hotspots in parks and hotels, allowing foreigners and citizens alike to "visit" the Internet for only $1/hour… That’s what most tourists know about the Internet in Cuba, but of course, that can't be the whole story! In this talk, we'll take a deeper look at what life is like for Cuban hackers, and we’ll get to tour a vibrant set of community-driven networks that typical tourists never see. The story that emerges is an inspiring view of what communities can (and can’t) accomplish in the face of adversity.

Internet access in Cuba is a study in resilience. By the official numbers, the island seems hopelessly disconnected: Cuba ranked last in the Americas in the ITU’s 2016 ICT development index, having only 5.6% household Internet penetration, and international bandwidth per user measures a mere 572 bits/s. Yet Cubans have developed a number of bottom-up, community-oriented responses to these limitations. This talk will focus on three indigenous networks that aren't seen by the typical tourist. These include “El Paquete”, a sneaker-net distribution of media files that’s passed around the country on USB sticks and hard drives, and which may be Cuba’s largest source of private employment. There is also the Cuban educational network, which connects more than 20 higher education institutions around the country. Perhaps most unusual is Havana’s “Street Network”, or SNET, a vast unsanctioned IP network, constructed by volunteers using salvaged equipment. Though entirely isolated from the Internet, the SNET connects over 50,000 residential users across the capital city, and it’s home to a vibrant community and hundreds of websites. In describing these three systems, we'll draw lessons about what is necessary for network communities to survive and thrive in the island’s challenging environment, including places where flexibility and compromise have been essential. Cuba presents a highly unusual regulatory and technological environment, and the approaches that have succeeded there are both inspiring and demonstrative of what communities can (and can't) accomplish through organic, distributed networks.

Other people: kopek

The DPRK has largely succeeded at hiding its consumer technology. While versions of the desktop operating system, Red Star, have leaked, the mobile equivalent hasn't, and there remains little knowledge of the content available on the intranet. Let's fix that!

Previous talks at CCC, including CS in the DPRK, Lifting the fog on RedStar OS, and Woolim: Lifting the fog on DPRK's latest Tablet, have given us a taste of what technology in Pyongyang looks like. Unfortunately, we've ended up in a less-than-optimal stalemate: while technical artifacts are taken outside of the country, there remains a significant hesitation to release them - after all, knowledge is power, and the unknown unknowns outweigh the potential benefits. We'll explain the current state of consumer technology in Korea in a bit more depth, and then explore some of the unique quirks. The focus will be on understanding that there is a significant, but not well known, internal market, and that it's keeping up with the west closer than we might expect.

Other people: Gabe Edwards

2016 has been marked by major shifts in political policy towards the Internet in Turkey and Thailand, a renegotiation of the responsibilities of content platforms in the west, and a continued struggle for control over the Internet around the world. Turbulent times, indeed. In this session, we'll survey what's changed in Internet surveillance and censorship in the last year, and provide context for the major changes affecting the net today.

The good news is the community ability to monitor and act as a watchdog on policy changes is continuing to develop. The Open Observatory effort has set its sights on monitoring country policy, the US Department of State has called for proposals in the area infusing additional money, and groups like Access Now and Great Fire are working on regular measurement of services and access technologies. As we move from an Internet regulated by DPI and technical controls to one dominated by mobile applications and legal regulations on companies, our ability to argue for policy change from an accurate factual basis is critical for advocacy and our continued right to expression. This session will arm you with an updated set of facts for your discussions in the coming year.

Other people: Philipp Winter

The techniques to control access to the Internet, and the ability to bring transparency to those processes are both continuing to evolve. We’ll give an update on the landscape of online information controls, and our ability to measure them.

The talk will give an update on current country-level practices, the techniques in use to measure them, and an overview of major tools in use. Over the past couple years, restrictions on Internet access have grown even more ubiquitous. Many take the form of URL or Domain blacklists implemented by western countries, along with increased levels of self censorship on social platforms with user generated content. The measurement community continues to play a catch-up game. Through a mixture of watching legislature, an increased understanding of what we need to build to keep track of internet controls, and discoveries of side channels that let us externally measure connectivity, we’re making progress!

Other people: Vasilis Ververis

This talk will reflect on teaching Computer Science in Pyongyang over the last two years, and look at how technology has been integrated into civilian life in the DPRK. Remaining an extremely isolated country, many people would be surprised to hear that cellphones have become commonplace within the capitol, let alone that the country invests in custom hardware and software. I'll talk through the current state of desktop and mobile technology in pyongyang, and what's changing.

From redstar OS, a custom redhat-derived linux desktop and server environment, to the arirang cellphone and tablet, technology in the DPRK is different from what you are likely to see anywhere else in the world. Most systems are not widely available, and exist as much in rumor as reality. Partially from language barrier, and partially due to restrictive import, export, and communication policies, there are large gaps and large amounts of misinformation around most aspects of the country. I've spent the last two falls teaching Computer Science, specifically Operating Systems and Databases, to undergraduates at the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology. In the course of life in Pyongyang, I've been able to observe the growing prevalence of mobile technology, and get a firsthand look at the state of consumer technology in the country. In this talk I'll provide a demonstration of redstar 3.0, the current generation of the desktop operating system, and offer the caveat that it is seldom used in practice. I will also bring a samjiyong android tablet, to demonstrate the state of mobile technology. I'll focus the talk on discussing what international technology is and isn't applicable to the country, and the opportunities going forwards.