From 4376ca2d5a6f83721628acd48622210ea53844be Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Pieter Hintjens Date: Sun, 19 Oct 2014 20:57:51 +0200 Subject: [PATCH] Added edgenet proposal --- proposed/edgenet.md | 31 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 31 insertions(+) create mode 100644 proposed/edgenet.md diff --git a/proposed/edgenet.md b/proposed/edgenet.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..0516df5 --- /dev/null +++ b/proposed/edgenet.md @@ -0,0 +1,31 @@ +#infos + +auth-name : Pieter Hintjens +tag : freedom, privacy, decentralized + +advance costs : N +need room : N +Location : Brussels, Belgium +Can host ppl : no, sorry + +# edgenet + +edgenet lives safely at the edge of the Internet, on our smart phones. It uses mobile WiFi hotspots to create "cells" for exchanging news and content. Cells talk to cells, asynchronously, covering neighborhoods, and cities. edgenet doesn't exist yet. This project is about building it. + +# More details + +The spy state cannot be voted out of office. It eats laws for breakfast and excretes excuses for breaking them. We will either build a spy-proof Internet, that cannot be banned or controlled, or we accept to become slaves. + +These are the three main points of attack on the privacy of our communications: + +* The centralized servers where we meet to share information. These can be hacked, or their owners ordered to hand over information. No matter what encryption you use between your PC and the server, data is held unprotected on servers. +* The client PCs and devices where we run our browsers. These are often laden with spyware, or hacked individually when the case needs it, in a "targeted attack." +* The broadband connections across which the clients talk to the servers. Broadband providers record metadata and provide it to the authorities as a matter of course. + +If the Web is not safe, and the Deep Web is not safe, what is? There is only one long term answer, and that is a new web that lives "off the grid," treating central websites and broadband connections with the full distrust they deserve. + +To build truly secure communities, we must address all three of these weak points. It’s not sufficient to improve our encryption to create a more robust Deep Web. Rather, we need a radical rethink of how we build digital communities in the first place. We need a new kind of Internet, which I’ll call the "edgenet," that is resistant to all threats except targeted attacks. + +# Technologies + +Open source on open protocols. Slices of edgenet already exist in the ZeroMQ community, mainly Zyre, a clustering library designed for opportunistic WiFi clusters. On October 30 & 31 in Brussels we're organizing a hackathon to push the technology forwards. I'd like to present our work in Paris.