Anti-snooping operating system close to launch

[Steve Schear]

An interesting thread concerning M-o-o-t can be found at 
http://www.topica.com/lists/m-o-o-t-os-group/read

Of particular interest to cypherpunks may be the "Threats and Weaknesses" 
analysis begun in Dec 2000

Threats and Weaknesses
======================

Workstation:
· Hardware/firmware traps either built-in or add-on (eg
keystroke data capture plugs)
· Execution on a virtual machine designed to compromise the
application
· Surveillance techniques (camera, electronic monitoring,
"Tempest")
· Trojan horse software via doctored compiler
· Trojan horse software via doctored CD

Server:
· Undetected impostors or other subversion of security
software
· Key captures
· Billing/Account/Payment tracing and trawling

Network:
· Denial of service attacks on the havens
· DNS and routing attacks (eg via ARPS, spoofing etc)
· false packet etc protocol attacks
· traffic analysis
· monkey in the middle attacks

User:
· Criminalise this product
· Criminalise encryption
· Problem of creating a personal identifier that cannot be
copied, forged or usurped by force
· Billing systems may expose usage details

Data:
· Data entry and exit to the unsecure world - need to have
anonymous methods for this
· Is the data going to be locked up too tightly to be
useful?
· Can the data be manageable but still secure? Eg,
individual directories may be necessary but a security
risk. If there is no good built-in management system,
people will create hazardous insecure out-of-system ones.

· How can data availability be guaranteed over long periods
of time?

Encryption:
· How can keys be securely created, managed and protected
from mis-use?
· Are there sufficiently top-class cryptographers on tap to
implement new secure systems?

Project:
· Is it too ambitious for the resources?
· Can it be staged to produce useful (and profitable)
subsets more quickly?
· Does it conflict with other similar developments?
· Can it be managed in an insecure environment in a
jurisdiction that is hostile to its purpose?



steve