93 lines
3.8 KiB
Markdown
93 lines
3.8 KiB
Markdown
---
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layout: post
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comments: true
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title: "IRC over TLS is not pointless"
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category: [english]
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tags: [english, IRC, SSL, TLS]
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redirect_from:
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- /irctls/
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- /ircssl/
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- /english/2015/04/22/IRC-over-TLS.html
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sitemap: true
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robots: noai
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---
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_IRC over TLS is not pointless unless you only worry about things that you
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cannot affect at all. SSL is pointless, because of [POODLE]._
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I use IRC over TLS on all networks that support it (=other than IRCnet) and I
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also [verify the certificates]. TLS is used
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_Update on 2015-06-18: I was told that IRCnet does have SSL on
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ssl.irc.atw-inter.net and ssl.rfc1459.ca, but server links are mostly
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unencrypted. I am not able to use those though as Finnish channels are mostly
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stupid and letting people only in from Finnish servers._
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- between my client and bouncer
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- when they both are on localhost it's not used and my bouncer only listens
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for plain text connections only on `127.0.0.1` and `::1`.
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- between my bouncer and IRCd
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These are the points that I can affect. I cannot do anything to server links
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other than hope that the network operators know what they are doing and use TLS.
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I cannot affect whether other users use TLS or not or do they check the
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certificates or blindly accept whatever they are offered.
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As I use TLS everywhere where I can affect, I can be more sure that my
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discussions aren't so easily read on:
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- open WLAN
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- any router between me and the bouncer
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- any router between bouncer and the IRC server
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And like everyone else says, you cannot be sure on the server links or other
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people on the channels or queries. You can only make sure that **you** are using
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TLS.
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One example where TLS is very helpful even if you have no idea whether the other
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people use SSL is passwords:
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- your NickServ password isn't in plain text between you and the IRC server, but
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you again cannot know if the IRC server sends it to other IRC server(s) in
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plain text that are between the server where you are connected to and services
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server.
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- your /OPER password in case you are IRC operator. Imagine being on open WLAN
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or similar situation and transmitting your password in plain text and someone
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else taking that password. What kind of "fun" things they could do with it?
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_Now you can move into reading why [IRC over SSL is pointless],
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[web.archive.org]..._
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[poodle]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/POODLE
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[verify the certificates]:{% post_url blog/2015-02-24-znc160-ssl %} [IRC
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over SSL
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is
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pointless]:https://www.quakenet.org/articles/99-trust-is-not-transitive-or-why-irc-over-ssl-is-pointless
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[web.archive.org]:https://web.archive.org/web/20130425123002/http://www.quakenet.org/articles/99-trust-is-not-transitive-or-why-irc-over-ssl-is-pointless
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## Addition: who is interested in my traffic?
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- Finland - Security Police & Defence Forces
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- Currently law allowing Security Police and the Defence Forces to do network
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monitoring without limitations is going to pass in the parlament.
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- Sweden - National Defence Radio Establishment & Security Police & Police
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- Sweden has monitored all traffic going through them since 2008 and most of
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Finnish traffic goes through them.
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- 2015-04-23
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https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=National_Defence_Radio_Establishment&oldid=651267187#Legal_framework
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- 2015-04-23
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https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=National_Defence_Radio_Establishment&oldid=651267187#Mass_surveillance
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- 2015-04-23 (in Finnish)
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https://www.hackingthroughcomplexity.fi/2013/10/ruotsin-verkkovalvonta-latakon.html
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/ https://archive.is/iYrsl
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- UK - GCHQ
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- Cooperating with Sweden
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- 2015-04-23
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https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Government_Communications_Headquarters&oldid=656835589#2000s:_Coping_with_the_Internet
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- USA - NSA
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- Cooperating with Sweden
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- 2015-04-23
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https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Global_surveillance_disclosures_(2013%E2%80%93present)&oldid=655974095
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- Many others? :(
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