[liberationtech] The Hidden Internet of Iran: Private Address Allocations on a National Network

[Eugen Leitl <eugen () leitl org>]

Sounds just like CGN.

----- Forwarded message from Collin Anderson <collin () averysmallbird com> -----

From: Collin Anderson <collin () averysmallbird com>
Date: Mon, 1 Oct 2012 15:06:34 -0400
To: liberationtech () lists stanford edu
Subject: [liberationtech] The Hidden Internet of Iran: Private Address
        Allocations on a National Network
Reply-To: liberationtech <liberationtech () lists stanford edu>

Libtech,

I want to share a working paper of mine that was posted to arXiv last
night. This is part of an ongoing effort to start producing verifiable
dataset on how Iran's Internet works, and was a surprising discovery that I
wanted to share with everyone else -- in lead up to a broader output


*The Hidden Internet of Iran: Private Address Allocations on a National
Network*

While funding agencies have provided substantial support for the developers
and vendors of services that facilitate the unfettered flow of information
through the Internet, little consolidated knowledge exists on the basic
communications network infrastructure of the Islamic Republic of Iran. In
the absence open access and public data, rumors and fear have reigned
supreme. During provisional research on the country's censorship regime, we
found initial indicators that telecommunications entities in Iran allowed
private addresses to route domestically, whether intentionally or
unintentionally, creating a hidden network only reachable within the
country. Moreover, records such as DNS entries lend evidence of a 'dual
stack' approach, wherein servers are assigned a domestic IP addresses, in
addition to a global one. Despite the clear political implications of the
claim we put forward, particularly in light of rampant speculation
regarding the mandate of Article 46 of the 'Fifth Five Year Development
Plan' to establish a "national information network," we refrain from
hypothesizing the purpose of this structure. In order to solicit critical
feedback for future research, we outline our initial findings and attempt
to demonstrate that the matter under contention is a nation-wide phenomenom
that warrants broader attention.

http://arxiv.org/abs/1209.6398

Cordially,
Collin
-- 
*Collin David Anderson*
averysmallbird.com | @cda | Washington, D.C.

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