As someone else mentioned, I'm skeptical that authentication would be as
effective as some might hope, especially given the challenges of securely
propagating authentication across the hive of the spotting network.
However, I do think it would be helpful if there were a shift towards a 2.0
format of spotting traffic, one where (perhaps among other data) "name of
originating node" in addition to the spotter were propagated across the
network, and where nodes reported where they received a particular from (both
IP address and node name?) rather than just retaining that information in the
logs. The spotting network has been primarily internet-focused rather than
packet-focused for years; we don't need to be quite so miserly when it comes to
information relayed with individual spots (although the processing implications
of the RBN firehose still must be considered).
Such a format wouldn't prevent spoofing, of course. However, those two pieces
of information would facilitate analysis of node logs for contest inquiries
about self-spotting, as well as providing sysops another tool for blocking bad
actors / crap spots.
(And if the project resulted in node software that works as well as AR Cluster,
I'd be extremely happy.)
--
Michael Adams | mda@n1en.org
-----Original Message-----
From: CQ-Contest <cq-contest-bounces+mda=n1en.org@contesting.com> On Behalf Of
K3IB Peter
Sent: Tuesday, 2 November, 2021 08.07
To: cq-contest@contesting.com
Subject: Re: [CQ-Contest] Spoofed Self spots
Hi Pete
convincing (incenting?) each of the stakeholder groups to get on board is the
problem. We could come up with the greatest idea in the world, but if no one
uses it, it's a failure.
I imagine an authenticated spotting network in parallel with what we use today.
On this new network (Spotting 2.0?) spots from authenticated sources are
distinguished from unauthenticated spots on the original (Spotting Classic?)
network; spots could flow both ways between the 2 networks. Access to Spotting
2.0 could be bimodal, ie read only (unauthenticated) or read write
(authenticated), to make adoption/transition as easy as possible.
On day 1 several years from now, both networks run, with Spotting 2.0 showing
mostly spots from the Classic network, plus spots from early adopters (contest
clubs maybe?). I expect a transition to authentication will happen over many
years (a decade?), with several step function moves along the way, likely as
contest sponsors and organizers get on board, and/or as some malfeasor attacks
the network and causes enough damage.
Authentication makes at least 2 things possible: spotters will be unable to
deny sending spots, so self-spotting will continue to be available for groups
which use it, like POTA / IOTA, but easily detectable by contest scorers; and
sources of bad spots, or intentional interference, could have their ability to
spot revoked until the problem is fixed (the revocation moves the spotter from
read write back to read only). If spotting node operators all use / support
the same authentication mechanism, then a single revocation could remove the
bad actor globally.
This is not a small amount of work... but we're better off starting the work
now before it's forced upon us.
-peter K3IB
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