Data brokers sell access to the backbone of the internet
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Re: Data brokers sell access to the backbone of the internet
#2Is there actually any contract here? Is there even an implied contract or obligations to privacy? I'm pretty sure that it's different for transit compared to edge.
Re: Data brokers sell access to the backbone of the internet
#3Could this be used to de-anonymize Tor users?
Re: Data brokers sell access to the backbone of the internet
#4link to original article https://www.vice.com/en/article/jg84yy/data-brokers-netflow-...
Re: Data brokers sell access to the backbone of the internet
#5I'm still not sure how this compromises VPN use. ISP routes the connection so of course they can see when I use my VPN. From there I would assume the VPN works as a mixer and handles multiple connections through the same exit point, so you couldn't tell my traffic from another users. Is that not the case?
Re: Data brokers sell access to the backbone of the internet
#6I'm still not sure how this compromises VPN use. ISP routes the connection so of course they can see when I use my VPN. From there I would assume the VPN works as a mixer and handles multiple connections through the same exit point, so you couldn't tell my traffic from another users. Is that not the case?
I’m wondering the same thing. The only thing I can think of is being able to correlate times, ports, and traffic volume from some origin, to some VPN node, then look for near identical data coming from that node to an ISP, and then on down the chain to identify the victi-err, I mean “person” accused of being a bad actor.
So I wonder: would the copyright nazis be able to use this kind of data corollary in court against an accused defendant? If the offense is civil I could see it being admissible since the burden of proof is lower (just has to be “fairly likely” AFAIK, but IANAL) than in criminal court. Though I don’t know if copyright infringement is a civil or criminal charge, and trust may depend on state.
Still, at best they could only match up pieces of the chain to dates times and data sizes, not see the actual data being transmitted over that connection (broken/weak crypto withstanding). But that might be enough to further persecute fair use, not to mention since other very dark stuff.
Re: Data brokers sell access to the backbone of the internet
#7Worldwide governments are starting to seek backdoors/monitoring into everything.
It's only a matter of time before either hardware or OS creators are all compelled.
Re: Data brokers sell access to the backbone of the internet
#8What blows my mind is the number of people signing up for these "VPN" services thinking it's secure. Time and time again we've found that they are logging and if they aren't it's logged at the flow point (as linked in this article).
I'm fine with VPN to evade restrictions or whatever purpose you want, but stop pretending it's all that different.
I can say though for a fact that a few of the largest security companies have been paying for strategic access to netflow in the us for years. The reality is there are good arguments pro and against.. and that doesn't even account for any "netflow" visibility US and Foreign Agencies may have.
We really have to determine what we want to be standard for privacy and what advancements we're willing to give up in exchange.
Re: Data brokers sell access to the backbone of the internet
#9Why is it not illegal to sell this type of data everywhere?
Re: Data brokers sell access to the backbone of the internet
#10What blows my mind is the number of people signing up for these "VPN" services thinking it's secure. Time and time again we've found that they are logging and if they aren't it's logged at the flow point (as linked in this article). I'm fine with VPN to evade restrictions or whatever purpose you want, but stop pretending it's all that different. I can say though for a fact that a few of the largest security companies…
I've held the same opinion for a long time, but this news gave me pause. Why would it be worth paying for data that can trace VPN traffic if they weren't doing _something_?