[Cerowrt-devel] Nokia decrypts user's HTTPS to compress to improve speed

[dpreed at reed.com]

Where is the data decompressed again?  That's a vulnerable point, too.  It's where I would attack - a much more "target rich environment" to make money, because you see *everybody's* data in the clear there.
 
In other words, the vulnerability is not just "in the phone" but systemic.
 
Creating a concentrated vultnerability, with uncertain protection - in the US, this would also violate HIPAA compliance, which is a *very* serious law, with very severe monetary and felony criminal consequences for anyone who systematically opens up encrypted personal health-related data.  One violation by Nokia technology would be enough to trigger the HIPAA stuff, if intentional.
 
 
-----Original Message-----
From: "Maciej Soltysiak" <maciej at soltysiak.com>
Sent: Thursday, January 10, 2013 11:50am
To: dpreed at reed.com
Cc: cerowrt-devel at lists.bufferbloat.net
Subject: Re: [Cerowrt-devel] Nokia decrypts user's HTTPS to compress to improve speed



On Thu, Jan 10, 2013 at 3:58 PM, <[mailto:dpreed at reed.com] dpreed at reed.com> wrote:

I'm curious if they have data about how much compression they are achieving?  Most HTTPS servers are set up by people who use quite a bit of compression in the payload (gzip of web pages, etc, "minification" of javascript), so I would hypothesize that the actual savings are minimal on the average.
My finger in the air suggests that it is no more than 30% on average. Is it worth it? If it's up to 1/3 of more media time available for other stations to send data, perhaps it is.

However, it points out that there is a man-in-the-middle problem with HTTPS alone.  Your phone's browser should be checking the certificates more rigorously than it does.  It can do that quite easily, and I think the destination can do that in Javascript that comes with the pages.
Hmm, wouldn't something like HTTPS Everywhere + SSL Observatory help here? It should detect the certs are different than what they've been seen by other users.

"We don't look" is not a defense in the EU privacy regime, and probably not in the US one (though many US Senators think that ISP's looking at content is just fine).
You are right. There's a different angle than privacy here too. A one that users should be able to understand better. Such a phone might also be a security threat. Maybe Nokia don't do anyting with except compression, but malicious code knowing this might steer the compromised browser+dodgy_cert+phone to rob you of money in your bank.



Maciej



---Original Message-----
From: "Maciej Soltysiak" <[mailto:maciej at soltysiak.com] maciej at soltysiak.com>
 Sent: Thursday, January 10, 2013 9:46am
To: [mailto:cerowrt-devel at lists.bufferbloat.net] cerowrt-devel at lists.bufferbloat.net
Subject: [Cerowrt-devel] Nokia decrypts user's HTTPS to compress to improve speed



[http://yro.slashdot.org/story/13/01/10/1356228/nokia-admits-decrypting-user-data-claiming-it-isnt-looking] http://yro.slashdot.org/story/13/01/10/1356228/nokia-admits-decrypting-user-data-claiming-it-isnt-looking
Have a look at what corporations resort to when they're in need of serious debloating and things like TCP Fast Open? :-|
Regards,
Maciej
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