Re: interesting notes -- Western DPI firms helping Iran government spy on Internet traffic

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: "David P. Reed" <dpreed () reed com>
Date: June 25, 2009 8:50:30 AM EDT
To: dave () farber net
Cc: ip <ip () v2 listbox com>, Christopher Parsons <parsons () uvic ca>,  
Lauren Weinstein <lauren () vortex com>
Subject: Re: [IP] interesting notes -- Western DPI firms helping Iran  
government spy on Internet traffic

I also don't know what the Iranian ISPs are doing or not doing.  But,  
in reading Parson's interesting blog post, I found it quite  
interesting that the core of his skepticism surrounds an extremely  
narrow definition of a "DPI appliance" as a device that

1. is capable of separating packets into distinct "streams" (which is  
not a precisely defined term, but I suspect he means "end-to-end  
virtual circuit" perhaps or a different concept used by some in the  
engineering community: "flow").

2. looks only at a few packets at the "beginning of a stream" and  
applies some "rules".

This would seem to omit boxes that, for example, record for later  
analysis elements of packet contents, shipping those to other points  
in the network.  Such boxes, made by companies like Narus, exist.  If  
Parsons' purpose is to create a distinction of "OK", "bad" and "evil"  
where DPI is limited to "OK" things, perhaps he is just "negotiating  
definitions".

We have seen this with "P2P" rhetoric - by those who deliberately  
equate "P2P" with copyright piracy, or perhaps with "using cable  
modems in ways that don't let cable providers "0wn your eyeballs".

WSJ may also be guilty of overstating the facts and capabilities.   
Though to be honest, the capabilities of nation-states to deploy large- 
scale tapping and analysis of data has been underestimated in the  
press, and kept secret by governments.

I'd call for engineering analysis, open discussion, etc.

On 06/25/2009 05:58 AM, David Farber wrote:
> Begin forwarded message:
>
> From: Lauren Weinstein <lauren () vortex com>
> Date: June 24, 2009 8:53:56 PM EDT
> To: nnsquad () nnsquad org
> Subject: [ NNSquad ] Re: Western DPI firms helping Iran government  
> spy on Internet traffic
>
>
>
>
>  [ Forwarded with permission -- Lauren ]
>
>
> ----- Forwarded message from Christopher Parsons <parsons () uvic ca>  
> -----
>
> Date: Wed, 24 Jun 2009 14:29:13 -0700
> From: Christopher Parsons <parsons () uvic ca>
> Subject: Re: [ NNSquad ] Western DPI firms helping Iran government  
> spy on
>     Internet traffic
> To: Lauren Weinstein <lauren () vortex com>
>
> Hi Lauren,
>
> I have some serious doubts that the WSJ is accurate in their  
> depiction of
> DPI. I'm doing my doctoral studies on DPI as it relates to privacy,  
> and
> neither I nor the network engineers that I have communicated with  
> (who are
> using DPI appliances) are aware of ANY DPI appliance that is actually
> capable of doing what the WSJ is claiming is going on. I've written  
> about
> this, informally, here:
> http://www.christopher-parsons.com/blog/politics/iran-traffic-analysis-and-deep-packet-inspection/
>
> Cheers,
> Chris
> ******************************************
> Christopher Parsons
> Doctoral Student
> Political Science, University of Victoria
> http://www.christopher-parsons.com
> *******************************************
>
>
>
>
> On 21-Jun-09, at 9:41 PM, Lauren Weinstein wrote:
>
> > -- From the "Anything for a buck" department -- 
> >
> > Western DPI firms helping Iran government spy on Internet traffic
> >
> > http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124562668777335653.html
> >
> > --Lauren--
> > NNSquad Moderator
>
>
> ----- End forwarded message -----
>
>
>
>
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