METADATA: TRACKING AND ENCRYPTION
METADATA EXAMPLES Microsoft Word document properties Telephone/ metadata Camera/image metadata Web browser identification and tracking
MICROSOFT WORD – DOCUMENT INSPECTOR
TELEPHONE & Similar to postal mail: Information needed to route and deliver the message In many cases, content is less valuable than metadata
CAMERA / IMAGE METADATA EXIF Date & time Camera settings (e.g. aperture, shutter speed, ISO speed) GPS location
WEBPAGE METADATA Evercookie Panopticlick Do Not Track HTTP Header
SOCIAL NETWORKING METADATA Sleeping Time Please Rob Me
INTERLUDE – SHOPPING METADATA
METADATA PRIVACY LAWS Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA) Driver's Privacy Protection Act of 1994 (DPPA)
ENCRYPTION Doesn’t apply to metadata that is needed for routing (in most cases)
TOR – THE ONION ROUTER Origin node randomly selects three network nodes Data is wrapped in three layers of encryption
TOR - WEAKNESSES Tracking cookies Exit node eavesdropping Traffic (timing) analysis Site operators may block Tor traffic Heartbleed
HEARTBLEED Exploits a flaw in TLS “heartbeat” extension Affects servers and clients Heartbeat message consists of a payload and a buffer Attack consists of sending a maliciously constructed heartbeat message