Future Proofing - Mesh Networking As Insurance Against ISP Attack

[TraderTimm]

It's becoming painfully obvious to me that the efforts to control and regulate Bitcoin are reaching an increasingly fevered pitch. Whether you agree or not with that kind of control isn't the point of this post, but what could happen as the awareness created by these attempts percolate through the internet and countries around the world.

The topic of "what if they do 'x' to stop Bitcoin" has been debated quite a bit, and I'm not trying to repeat that here. I'm just thinking we need to implement some robust communications that don't depend on commercial internet service providers. Fortunately, there are other very smart people who have been doing the same thing for different reasons. And as the whole three-letter-agency debacle has shown, commercial networks are increasingly compliant towards controlling government entities.

Enter Hyperboria. What is it? From their main page: Link - http://hyperboria.net/

Hyperboria is a global decentralized network of "nodes" running cjdns software. The goal of Hyperboria is to provide an alternative to the internet with the principles of security, scalability and decentralization at the core. Anyone can participate in the network by locating a peer that is already connected.

I hope a few of you are nodding at this - the keywords, security, scalability and decentralization resonated strongly with me.
Best part is, you don't need to have dedicated hardware right away - you can participate in the network and be routed over the commercial internet with end-to-end encryption from the start.

The big difference between this and Tor?

It doesn't rely on ISPs if you have set up a local mesh with your friends. Naturally, this growth pattern will be restricted to smaller groups before being able to 'link up' with other meshes over long distances, but we had better start now -- because the future I see is ISPs being asked to monitor/restrict Bitcoin traffic, restrict Tor nodes, and a whole litany of other nasty things that haven't yet come to pass.

We need insurance, and we need it before they crack down on the commercial internet.

Please consider running a node, if you believe in the key values of Bitcoin you should also believe in making the communication network it uses just as free and available.

Thanks for reading.

[TippingPoint]

Good advice.  Start making preps now.  You are one of the voices in the wilderness.

I use Tor, but Hyperboria is new to me.  I will check it out.

I also advise people to not link their Bitcoin use to social networking sites.  It becomes easier to be identified.

Mesh Networking:

http://computer.howstuffworks.com/how-wireless-mesh-networks-work.htm

Anyone can join by peering with someone already connected.
The network is censorship resistant.
Packets are encrypted end-to-end using your unique cjdns ipv6 address.
Nodes use the common WiFi standards known as 802.11a, b and g to communicate wirelessly with users, and, more importantly, with each other.

[cbeast]

bitcoincard.org is working on a mesh network for Bitcoin.

[TraderTimm]

bitcoincard.org is working on a mesh network for Bitcoin.

Yes, I'm aware of that product and I think it is fantastic, but as their page states:

The cards should periodically come close to any gateway in order to synchronize their state with the global bitcoin system.

So unless they're making their own mesh, I'm not sure how that would solve anything. Is that what you meant, they're working on another network besides the one employed by their cards?

Edit: On further inspection the gateways are possibly self-sufficient, but I'm not entirely sure if that isolates them completely - as bitcoin mining pools and verification nodes are mostly on commercial networks and/or Tor.

[Rassah]

OpenGarden, too!

[TraderTimm]

OpenGarden, too!

Thanks, that looks rather nice as well but it lacks built-in encryption. Still, can be useful for an underlying communications layer - if anyone has other suggestions, please post so we can have an arsenal of options in one thread.

OpenGarden link - http://opengarden.com/ android/windows

[Carlton Banks]

I was kinda speculating recently that stopping mesh nets may have been the reason that Wi-Max got talked down in the technology press. The weak point of mesh nets is getting them all linked to each other, and having a tech like Wi-Max that allows domestic transceivers to get a usable ~50 mile range would be a real game changer for mesh-nets, at least in densely populated countries. Too bad I have a Wi-Max laptop already  

[TraderTimm]

We have to do something, even if it means a hybrid approach where the commercial internet is used for bridging smaller meshnets together. There are thousands of flights to other countries every day, and even if we resort to "Data Couriers" making drops of the blockchain to other countries on flash drives, it is still worth it.

Every day that passes without any kind of contingency plan is a day wasted. We really collectively need to get off our asses and get something together, instead of focusing on the next-and-greatest mining tech, or convincing a shop owner to use bitcoin.

Bitcoin will get seriously 'effed with, and soon -- we really need to be in front of this.

[cbeast]

It's not so much about showing how resistant Bitcoin is to the government, but how resistant it is to outside threats.  Bitcoin is more reliable than banks.

[Carlton Banks]

I intend to buy some dedicated hardware to act as a 24/7/365 meshnet server, I wouldn't want to frustrate any network by providing an intermittent node at this stage. Does anyone know how valuable/feasible it would be to install Hyperboria on a router? Could kill two birds with the one stone, that way.

[TraderTimm]

I intend to buy some dedicated hardware to act as a 24/7/365 meshnet server, I wouldn't want to frustrate any network by providing an intermittent node at this stage. Does anyone know how valuable/feasible it would be to install Hyperboria on a router? Could kill two birds with the one stone, that way.

I'm still researching this, but on this page there's a bit at the bottom on what hardware will support CJDNS:

https://wiki.projectmeshnet.org/Getting_started#Install_it

The main references for this effort besides the Hyperboria page are:

https://projectmeshnet.org/ -- Project Meshnet home page, links to a wiki and guides

Link to some "Meshlocals" that are already in operation that you could peer to:

https://wiki.projectmeshnet.org/List_of_Mesh_Locals

Ideally we'd create one that is intended to be just for Bitcoin and secure communications with low bandwidth needs.

There is a list of public peers as well, but they're probably already overloaded with other connections.

https://wiki.projectmeshnet.org/Public_peers

[Rassah]

*cough* https://www.bitmit.net/en/item/8408-meshdynamics-md4350-aaix-wifi-mesh-access-point-400-500m-range

[TraderTimm]

*cough* https://www.bitmit.net/en/item/8408-meshdynamics-md4350-aaix-wifi-mesh-access-point-400-500m-range

That is a non-trivial bit of hardware, and the price reflects that

I'm thinking as a first effort to get consumer-grade hardware into the mix, then start adding 'heavy lifters' like that one to help it scale.

[TippingPoint]

Yes

First effort, download the Hyperboria software and have it available to share and propagate.  

2nd step, install, test and get experience using standard WiFi propocols with Ubuntu.

Extra credit, use more powerful transmitter.

[td services]

I concur, this is extremely important. Ideally, we should have modular configurable mobile devices with software radios with WiFi, mesh networking, SMS, VOIP, and connectivity to cell networks. Similar devices could be plugged in like Freedomboxes or connected to small, low cost solar panels to extend the network. External USB drives can be plugged in to add storage. Wireless routers like the Linksys WRT and WAP series running OpenWRT may be re-purposed as well.

Users can have personal clouds distributed across the network with redundant encrypted storage for personal files and an unencrypted, anonymously accessible commons of shared files. The meshnet would be similar to a large RAID drive operating over a network, with enough redundancy to accommodate missing nodes due to mobility, usage patterns, and hardware failures.

Several of us have also discussed the concept of a cryptocurrency recently at meetups recently to promote growth and resource allocation of the network, a Netcoin or Meshcoin, maybe generated by doing cryptographic work encrypting the communications, earned when data is uploaded from a node, spent when data is downloaded to a node. Nodes may encourage traffic to earn coin by providing local storage, internet access, cpu power for computing, or hosting content.

[Carlton Banks]

Reading about the commercialisation of drone aircraft, I'm thinking that meshnets could be easily their most positive application. Software to create a smooth handover between a mesh-drone that needs it's fuel/charge replacing could be pretty vital. Or better yet, something with the radio range to fly above the typical cloud cover, collect an uninterrupted 16 hours of solar power per day, then see how much literal "uptime" you can bag  . How much of this could be 3D printed? How much once we can print graphene superconductors? Stealth shapes to avoid detection? Meta-materials to avoid detection?

Meshnet drone wars = prelude to a conscious skynet 

[TraderTimm]

Solar plus a small lifting envelope would help as well. Have to consider the design challenges though, the energy density needed to run a decent transmitter would be one of the harder parts. We really need graphene and its related technologies sooner rather than later.

[Carlton Banks]

All this pie-eyed wondering is reminding me of another factor: the battle for good engineers to help with the development of these ideas. Will it be enough to just wait to capitalise on and re-use commercially developed technology, maladapted for meshnets, or would it be more expedient to try to incentivise the engineers who work for commercial companies to down tools and come and work for Bitcoins? There's already alot of programmers doing great work in the cryptocoin arena, but I wonder how many of these can pay their bills this way? Could we kickstart a Bitcoin driven technocratic symbiosis, starting with a global meshnet project? If this is in any way feasible, then no wonder our political establishment are beginning to act like cornered dogs.

If I were to write a novel about where the post-Snowden/NSA/Wikileaks planet goes from here, I'd sure as hell chuck that into the jar of potential background narratives.

[td services]

P2P transport is on my radar as well. It will be a critical component for a P2P based alternative economy.

I think the 'killer app' for self driving vehicles currently getting little attention is door to door delivery, even room to room with motorcycle sized electric vehicles which can reconfigure to enter buildings. Eliminating the driver eliminates the need for large vehicles in most cases. P2P transport of single packages eliminates the need for heavy duty packaging to protect contents during handling and stacking. Convoys with 24/7 power generation vehicles can extend the range for long distance transport.

P2P VTOL aerial drone mesh transport networks as Carlton discussed are also a possibility. Drones are the only way I can think of to safely handle automated Bitcoin/Cash exchange. A drone can drop a cash packet from a safe height in exchange for Bitcoin. A deposit in BTC could also insure the safety of the drone during the exchange. A drone could drop a container for cash pick-up, which the customer loads with cash and tosses into the air for the drone to catch to purchase BTC for cash.

[TheButterZone]

"tosses into the air for the drone to catch"?