Abstract:

There have been many designs proposed for network anonymity systems, but only a few have seen noticeable adoption. This is due in part to the fact that there are some difficult problems to solve when designing an anonymity system, and often theses problems are "practical" in nature, and not anticipated at the design stage. This seminar will discuss the ways in which anonymity systems are being deployed, what their uses are, and where they meet or fail to meet their intended purposes. Key design points, implementation and deployment pitfalls, abuse concerns, and various attacks on existing systems will be covered.

Speaker:

Len Sassaman is a communication security consultant specializing in Internet privacy and anonymity technologies. Len has been a strong defender of personal rights through technology. As a volunteer, he has lent his expertise to human rights organizations, victim support groups, and civil liberties organizations.

Len is an anonymous remailer operator, and is currently project manager for Mixmaster, the most advanced remailer software available. Previously, he was a software engineer for PGP Security, the provider of the world's best known personal cryptography software. A returning Black Hat speaker, Len is also a frequent contributor to online discussions of electronic privacy issues, and has contributed to the development of free software privacy utilities.