Mandatory Internet Censorship in Australia

[Third_Density_Resident]

As someone living in Australia, I am extremely alarmed at this latest development. The idiotic Communications Minister responsible for all this has equated people who oppose internet censorship as "supporters of child pornography". Sounds a lot like "you're either with us or against us". To me, this is psychopath-speak.

Apparently there is a connection between the Family First Party (a right-wing, ultraconservative Christian group) who the Labour party did a deal with, since the Family First Party Party holds the balance of power in the Senate.

It appears as if 95% of the Australian population are dead against this Orwellian idea, and many of the top ISP administrators are saying how unworkable the whole thing will be. If it is implemented, many legitimate sites will get blocked, both intentionally and unintentionally. Also, it may slow down speeds by up to 87%.

If the government does manage to push this proposal through, I'm just hoping sites like SOTT are not on their target list, though I wouldn't be at all surprised if they were. I'm just wondering if there would be a way around such a blockage. I have heard it is possible using proxy servers.

The relevant article is included below:

No opting out of Australian plan to censor websites
http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,24567413-952,00.html

By Jennifer Dudley-Nicholson
October 29, 2008 12:00am

THE Federal Government will make internet censorship compulsory for all Australians and could ban controversial websites on euthanasia or anorexia.

Australia's level of net censorship will put it in the same league as countries including China, Cuba, Iran and North Korea, and the Government will not let users opt out of the proposed national internet filter when it is introduced.

Broadband, Communications and Digital Economy Minister Stephen Conroy admitted the Federal Government's $44.2 million internet censorship plan would now include two tiers - one level of mandatory filtering for all Australians and an optional level that will provide a "clean feed", censoring adult material.
Do you support the internet filter? Have your say.

Despite planning to hold "live trials" before the end of the year, Senator Conroy said it was not known what content the mandatory filter would bar, with euthanasia or pro-anorexia sites on the chopping block.

"We are talking about mandatory blocking, where possible, of illegal material," he told a Senate Estimates Committee.

Previously the net nanny proposal was going to allow Australians who wanted uncensored access to the web the option to contact their internet service provider and be excluded from the service.

Groups including the System Administrators Guild of Australia and Electronic Frontiers Australia have slammed the proposal, saying it would unfairly restrict Australians' access to the World Wide Web, slow internet speeds and raise the price of internet access.

EFA board member Colin Jacobs said it would have little effect on illegal internet content, including child pornography, as it would not cover peer-to-peer file-sharing networks.

"If the Government would actually come out and say we're only targeting child pornography it would be a different debate," he said. But the Australian Christian Lobby yesterday welcomed the Government's proposals.

Its managing director Jim Wallace said he expected resistance from the industry but the measures were needed.

"The need to prevent access to illegal hard-core material and child pornography must be placed above the industry's desire for unfettered access," Mr Wallace said.

 

[Jacques]

If the government does manage to push this proposal through, I'm just hoping sites like SOTT are not on their target list, though I wouldn't be at all surprised if they were. I'm just wondering if there would be a way around such a blockage. I have heard it is possible using proxy servers.

Hum, it is going to be very difficult to access site that are going to be blocked.

Where i work, they have installed a such system and that system is in a certain way able to learn. Which means if you use a proxy server for the first time, it can work but the system is able to realise that is a proxy server and next time, that proxy server will be blocked.

 

[RedFox]

Having come across bypassing filters in a round about way whilst searching for 'remote access' to our office network, the two subjects you need to look up are Internet Tunneling/SSH tunneling and VPN's (Virtual Private Networks).
If the tunneling doesn't get you round, the VPN's will. The drawback is you need a server (even if its just a trusted friends PC) outside the restricted area.
Basically with a VPN you dial into the other PC over the internet (best make sure its encrypted). Companies use this all the time for remote workers (even on a global scale), so its unlikely to be blocked. The connection means you are using the internet 'from there PC', thus bypassing all barriers.
Windows has it all built in, and any PC can be setup as a server (all its needs is an internet connection, and a way for you to find its IP to dial into _www.dyndns.org for example).
Be aware that using a VPN is like literally connecting 2 PC's with a network cable, they can both see each other so may offer security risks if one is not well protected.

Should they somehow stop VPN's (there would be complaints from big business), look up remote PC access. Again if you have a PC outside the blocked area you could simply connect to it, and use it (remotely view/control its desktop) to browse the blocked webpage.

Should you want to know more let me know.

:)


*edit* A note of caution regarding a strategic enclosure _should_ this happens and you use it. If caught you may be treated (demonised) as a 'pedophile'.

 

[Third_Density_Resident]

Thanks for your information RedFox. What you say about strategic enclosure is very true. Since my main concern with the filtering is the blockage of informational sites like SOTT and other sites related to health (alternative treatments and vaccine information), it would be good if I could continue to get RSS feeds. But since RSS feeds are linked to the website itself, I doubt that would work. It would be good if SOTT could just have an email subscription list where people can get the really important facts that they need to know emailed to them.

 

[Bobo08]

It would be good if SOTT could just have an email subscription list where people can get the really important facts that they need to know emailed to them.

I'm not sure what you mean by "really important facts" but SOTT does have a email edition that contains the summary of all articles posted in a day. I'm subscribing to it myself. However, to read an entire article, you still have to go to the website.

 

[Nathan]

Something else to look at are the anonymity services provided by Xerobank.com, which would have no problem getting around server-level censorship. All of the software is free and can be used on tor anonymity networks (which are not that secure and painfully slow). This includes xB Browser (based on Firefox) and xB machine, which is currently the most leak resistant design implemented in an OS. It is Linux Gentoo-based. It can also be run virtually through Windows. You can use it to connect to the free but slow tor network or you can pay for the Xerobank services, which are used in conjunction with your ISP.

I think there will be a cheap no-frills VPN service offered soon, probably at around $5US a month, but the standard service is around $35 per month. Their network is multijursidictional, meaning no single server can compromise anonymity. They claim no personally identifying information is kept on their communications servers, and identities are separate from accounts. Requests from intelligence agencies to investigate your activity is useless because it isn't logged. Of course, if an especially advanced agency is determined to monitor you (e.g. NSA) then all you can really do is make it extremely difficult - but not impossible - for them.

Also, there is a cryptorouter on offer from Xerobank (personal edition is $500). By the looks of it, it protects everything you plug into it. The feature list includes: Stream Mixing, Multiplexing, Padding, Balancing, Timing attack immunity, Watermark attack immunity, Fingerprint attack restistance, Double Firewalling. And then if you definitely have a lot of money to throw around, there's also the Onyx network, which can be used with or without a cryptorouter. Xerobank claim it to be the most advanced anonymity network ever designed. The Onyx network works by the user sending traffic in, it is routed it through at least three hops, where it meets a cryptographic terminator and is decrypted and recrypted to protect against fingerprinting and watermarking. It is then routed out to the internet. The internet responds and Onyx passes the data back to the user. Of course it comes at a premium, about $600-1000 per year. Unlike the free tor service, it is immune to traffic injection, sybil attacks, timing attacks etc.

The website (_xerobank.com) has some whitepapers on their technology for those who are interested. And for those who have the time, there is plenty of discussion on Wilders Security Forum about different services (_wilderssecurity.com). Xerobank's Operations Advisor, Steve, posts regularly on that forum and appears to be quite patient in answering any questions, even from trolls. On some occasions you might mistake his enthusiasm for arrogance, but he does seem very passionate about his work. He created the original Torpark and xB Browser and is an outspoken member of Hacktivismo, which promotes privacy and human rights.

 

[Sodajaxon]

"The need to prevent access to illegal hard-core material and child pornography must be placed above the industry's desire for unfettered access," Mr Wallace said.

My dad says it is amazing how one thief can change the neighborhood. Our house was robbed when i was little about 25yrs ago. Before the robbery everyone in the neighborhood had the house doors unlocked and car keys in the car. Today- You're' either asking for it, or crazy to even think too leave the doors open. Much less the keys in a car!

One bad apple is enough to change an entire country!
Reminds me of the phrase from V 4 Vendetta, with a twist- "Bad Guys WIN! Good Guys Lose! And as always - evil prevails!"

In the movie it is stated as "Good guys win, bad guys lose and as always, England prevails."

 

[Jacques]

Something else to look at are the anonymity services provided by Xerobank.com, which would have no problem getting around server-level censorship. All of the software is free and can be used on tor anonymity networks (which are not that secure and painfully slow). This includes xB Browser (based on Firefox) and xB machine, which is currently the most leak resistant design implemented in an OS. It is Linux Gentoo-based. It can also be run virtually through Windows. You can use it to connect to the free but slow tor network or you can pay for the Xerobank services, which are used in conjunction with your ISP.

As a test, I tried to access _xerobank.com from the office and the site is blocked.

 

[Nathan]

An interesting article was recently published by Xerobank: "The Top 10 Anonymity Myths". It's worth checking out for anyone interested in internet privacy and anonymity (or lack thereof).
Interestingly, images used in this article include the same "man crossing his fingers behind his back" used in a SOTT promotional graphic and the Guy Fawkes mask, also used for a time for SOTT graphics.

_http://xerobank.com/support/articles/top-10-anonymity-myths/

In the following list, we will dispel the most common misconceptions about anonymity, privacy, and their consequences. This document is designed in detail yet with simple explanations and embedded links so that interested readers, security professionals, politicians, journalists, and privacy enthusiasts can all understand these issues.

Myth #10: You're anonymous when you use the Internet.
Myth #9: You can achieve complete anonymity simply by using an anonymity network.
Myth #8: Only Criminals Need Anonymity.
Myth #7: You Can Get Anonymity By Running Your Own Proxy Server.
Myth #6: Anonymity Means Nobody Can Eavesdrop Or Tamper With Your Communications.
Myth #5: Privacy Is The Same As Anonymity.
Myth #4: You Don't Have To Trust Anyone In An Anonymity Network.
Myth #3: Privacy And Anonymity Are Dead. Long Live Transparency And Oversight.
Myth #2: Anonymity Is The Same No Matter Where It Comes From.
Myth #1: The More IP Addresses You Have, The Greater Your Anonymity.

 

[Buddy]

Has the mentioned proposal gone through yet, considering it's been 5 months now?

This is what I find amazing: First, the knowledge and technology already exists to hijack websites and identify and serve notice to illegal music down-loaders. Second, the info concerning the top-ten anonymity myths shows that total internet anonymity is not possible. Third, the "War on Terror" has implemented sweeping powers of surveillance by government(s) themselves.
So, with all this in mind, I wonder why internet censorship is being promoted as the solution, instead of direct contact/action with the 'offending' websites and operators?

Does Jim Wallace not realize that people know that the tools he needs are, more likely than not, already available? Maybe he's hoping no one will suspect a hidden agenda. It could be good to keep the sites intact, so that the PTB can continue to "gather evidence".
That may sound like a mean thing to say, but I try not to underestimate the depths to which hypocrisy can plunge...especially in myself as I study my machine.

 

[Third_Density_Resident]

Right now, the proposals are about to go into the first "testing phase". At first it was thought that none of the major ISPs would put their hands up to act as testers, but now Optus, one of the major carriers in Australia, has raised its hand. One wonders what incentive/bribery has gone on behind the scenes, given that all technical experts have said that this filtering would greatly slow down the internet (and much of Australia's internet is already a joke compared with many other countries). However, some of the things that Optus has said it would regulate are in conflict with what the Australian Government has said it wants regulated. It seems as if Optus is saying that it will not filter any site which is legal, as that in itself would be an illegal act. But the government wants any site IT deems "inappropriate" to be filtered, even if most other countries would consider such sites legal. So as an example, as wikileaks showed, an anti-abortion site is one of many such legal sites which is on the government's black-band list.

 

[chaps23]

So just a quick update to put Aussie minds at ease,

With an announcement made on 5 August 2010 by Joe Hockey that the Coalition parties will not vote in favour of the policy should the Labor party be re-elected,[5] it is now virtually impossible for the filtering scheme to pass through the Senate.

As of November last year Department of Broadband, Comunications and Digital Economy (DBCDE) released this http://www.dbcde.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0019/131275/Strategy_papers.pdf

Which basically states that the earliest date that this reform could reach the senate would be somewhere mid 2013. So we dont have to stress as of now.

for now Gandalf, I suggest using the old HTTPS trick to get past your offices firewall/router. Simply get the website address that is blocked ie. Gmail- which is http://mail.google.com/mail/ and place an s after the Http so it reads https://mail.google.com/mail/ this may require some fiddling on your part for example if the web address has a www. 50% of the time you will have to remove the www.

I have about a 70%- succsess rate. so good luck. I know it works with gmail.... and facebook.

 

[Jacques]

for now Gandalf, I suggest using the old HTTPS trick to get past your offices firewall/router. Simply get the website address that is blocked ie. Gmail- which is http://mail.google.com/mail/ and place an s after the Http so it reads https://mail.google.com/mail/ this may require some fiddling on your part for example if the web address has a www. 50% of the time you will have to remove the www.

I have about a 70%- succsess rate. so good luck. I know it works with gmail.... and facebook.

Thanks for the tip.

It works for facebook but I still can not access xerobank.

 

[Nathan]

The Xerobank forum is back up and running, perhaps you can post your problems there.

 

[Jacques]

The Xerobank forum is back up and running, perhaps you can post your problems there.

Hi Nathan,

I have no problem to access xerobank at home but it is blocked at the office.

I tried the tip given by chaps23 but it does not work for xerobank but works for other websites as facebook...