Computer science researchers at the University of Michigan and the University of Waterloo in Canada have come up with a radical new approach to beating internet censorship.
The researchers are at the proof-of-concept stage, and have created a test system in their lab. They've tested it with a client in Beijing who was able to stream YouTube videos even though the site is blocked there.
"This has the potential to shift the arms race regarding censorship to be in favor of free and open communication," says J Alex Halderman, assistant professor of computer science and engineering at UM.
"The internet has the ability to catalyze change by empowering people through information and communication services. Repressive governments have responded by aggressively filtering it. If we can find ways to keep those channels open, we can give more people the ability to take part in free speech and access to information."
Under the new system, users would need to install Telex software - maybe downloading it from an intermittently available website or borrowing a copy from a friend.
And ISPs outside the censoring nation would need to deploy equipment dubbed Telex stations.Users wanting to visit a blacklisted site would establish a secure connection to an HTTPS website, which could be any password-protected site that isn't blocked. This is a decoy connection.
The Telex software marks the connection as a Telex request by inserting a secret-coded tag into the page headers. The tag utilizes a cryptographic technique called public-key steganography.
The researchers are at the proof-of-concept stage, and have created a test system in their lab. They've tested it with a client in Beijing who was able to stream YouTube videos even though the site is blocked there.
"This has the potential to shift the arms race regarding censorship to be in favor of free and open communication," says J Alex Halderman, assistant professor of computer science and engineering at UM.
"The internet has the ability to catalyze change by empowering people through information and communication services. Repressive governments have responded by aggressively filtering it. If we can find ways to keep those channels open, we can give more people the ability to take part in free speech and access to information."
Under the new system, users would need to install Telex software - maybe downloading it from an intermittently available website or borrowing a copy from a friend.
And ISPs outside the censoring nation would need to deploy equipment dubbed Telex stations.Users wanting to visit a blacklisted site would establish a secure connection to an HTTPS website, which could be any password-protected site that isn't blocked. This is a decoy connection.
The Telex software marks the connection as a Telex request by inserting a secret-coded tag into the page headers. The tag utilizes a cryptographic technique called public-key steganography.
