Date: Fri, 18 Sep 2015 10:07:36 -0400 From: Ben Bailess <ben.bailess@gmail.com> To: freebsd-security@freebsd.org Subject: Re: HTTPS on freebsd.org, git, reproducible builds Message-ID: <CACf9JSXsEBBMmo57OB_cqgRM7SvbW%2Bdh7n0ybDg2kX4EGyMVjw@mail.gmail.com> In-Reply-To: <7BAECC2B-5001-47D6-9199-8549697E7807@spam.lifeforms.nl> References: <CAD2Ti2_YNkNi2b=PzFCwu3PVaP8hOzADys3=-k0AqvsDRhJpzA@mail.gmail.com> <alpine.LRH.2.11.1509180646470.14490@nber4.nber.org> <7BAECC2B-5001-47D6-9199-8549697E7807@spam.lifeforms.nl>
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I have to echo this sentiment -- authentication is important, and so is integrity. HTTPS would provide both -- to be sure you're talking to the "real" FreeBSD and give you confidence that your page content has not been altered in transit by a network adversary (e.g. if you are using Tor)*. *I honestly don't see that being a realistic defense against NSA/GCHQ-level attackers, though... the coercive power they have over CAs would probably be the weak point there, in my opinion. HTTPS isn't a magic bullet by any means (which should be obvious), but it's also not worthless and would protect against at least some less-than-TLA-level network adversaries. On Fri, Sep 18, 2015 at 9:30 AM, Walter Hop <freebsd@spam.lifeforms.nl> wrote: > > > >> Is there some reason "freebsd.org" and all it's > >> subdomains don't immediately 302 over to > >> https foreverafter? > > > > Is there a reason to encrypt something that is completely public? > Perhaps to allow the visitor to conceal the fact that they are interested > in FreeBSD? That won't work, since the IP address of the server can't be > encrypted. I feel like I am missing something. > > Privacy is often important, but authentication (i.e. not having content > tampered with) may be more important in many cases. > > The US and UK governments are owning sysadmins who browse non-HTTPS sites= : > > http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/ghcq-targets-engineers-with-fak= e-linkedin-pages-a-932821.html > < > http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/ghcq-targets-engineers-with-fak= e-linkedin-pages-a-932821.html > > > > https://theintercept.com/2014/03/20/inside-nsa-secret-efforts-hunt-hack-s= ystem-administrators/ > < > https://theintercept.com/2014/03/20/inside-nsa-secret-efforts-hunt-hack-s= ystem-administrators/ > > > > The Chinese government hijacked non-HTTPS sessions to inject DDoS > javascript: > > https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2015/04/china-uses-unencrypted-websites-to-= hijack-browsers-in-github-attack > < > https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2015/04/china-uses-unencrypted-websites-to-= hijack-browsers-in-github-attack > > > > If often-used sites migrate to HTTPS (together with HSTS) these attacks > will become a lot harder. > > I=E2=80=99m also seeing more demand for HTTPS from customers. In Europe t= here has > been a lot of mainstream coverage of tech privacy issues, and various > non-technical people now distrust sites that don=E2=80=99t have =E2=80=9C= a lock=E2=80=9D. So it > also has credibility/PR benefits to use it by default. > > There is always effort involved in making the switch, but for most sites > and applications this is probably not an unreasonable amount given the > benefits. > > -- > Walter Hop | PGP key: https://lifeforms.nl/pgp > > _______________________________________________ > freebsd-security@freebsd.org mailing list > https://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-security > To unsubscribe, send any mail to "freebsd-security-unsubscribe@freebsd.or= g > " >
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