"Internet in a Suitcase"
March 20, 2013 11:40 AM Subscribe
The Commotion Wireless Project is a free, open-source (but still early beta) software platform for creating decentralized wireless mesh networks.
The Open Technology Institute (part of the nonprofit New America Foundation) has just announced the developer release of Commotion, a free, open-source software project for building decentralized, ad hoc community networks of wireless devices. The goal of the project is both to bridge the digital divide and to enable those without uncensored internet access to roll their own networks and circumvent repressive internet censorship and telecommunication shutdowns.
The Commotion code currently supports Ubiquiti M-Series wireless routers and a selection of Android devices, with more platforms under active development. The source code is available on OTI's github repository.
Commotion is currently being field-tested in Detroit (in collaboration with the Detroit Digital Justice Coalition) to bridge the digital divide in 48217 (one of Detroit's most impoverished neighborhoods) and in the Cass Corridor.
The Open Technology Institute (part of the nonprofit New America Foundation) has just announced the developer release of Commotion, a free, open-source software project for building decentralized, ad hoc community networks of wireless devices. The goal of the project is both to bridge the digital divide and to enable those without uncensored internet access to roll their own networks and circumvent repressive internet censorship and telecommunication shutdowns.
The Commotion code currently supports Ubiquiti M-Series wireless routers and a selection of Android devices, with more platforms under active development. The source code is available on OTI's github repository.
Commotion is currently being field-tested in Detroit (in collaboration with the Detroit Digital Justice Coalition) to bridge the digital divide in 48217 (one of Detroit's most impoverished neighborhoods) and in the Cass Corridor.
OT1H, I'm totally jazzed that my government is behind something so free, democratic, unweaponized, noncommercial... and living up to the glory days of NSA creating the internet in the first place!
OTOH, I can only assume back doors are being built in. "Partly open source" is not as safe as "open source", by a long shot.
And JHarris, such internet networks already exist, but they require momentum (popularity/user base) to make them work. Your home wifi can reach a close neighbor's wifi; you can pretty cheaply buy an extender to reach farther... but without loads of people joining in, it's never gonna happen. Thus, the suitcases: mobile, battery-powered hotspots. If we seed enough of them, the new-net becomes fairly reliable and relatively impervious to outside intervention.
posted by IAmBroom at 12:12 PM on March 20, 2013
OTOH, I can only assume back doors are being built in. "Partly open source" is not as safe as "open source", by a long shot.
And JHarris, such internet networks already exist, but they require momentum (popularity/user base) to make them work. Your home wifi can reach a close neighbor's wifi; you can pretty cheaply buy an extender to reach farther... but without loads of people joining in, it's never gonna happen. Thus, the suitcases: mobile, battery-powered hotspots. If we seed enough of them, the new-net becomes fairly reliable and relatively impervious to outside intervention.
posted by IAmBroom at 12:12 PM on March 20, 2013
Hey Obama, how about deploying some of those "shadow" Internet networks to the United States, Wi-Fi coverage here in Brunswick, Georgia is less than ideal.
Hopefully someone other than the NSA and the White House will be deploying them here -we have a surveillance state of our own to undermine.
posted by ryanshepard at 12:18 PM on March 20, 2013 [3 favorites]
Hopefully someone other than the NSA and the White House will be deploying them here -we have a surveillance state of our own to undermine.
posted by ryanshepard at 12:18 PM on March 20, 2013 [3 favorites]
I think this is a cool project, but there are a few things I don't really understand. But what happens when there is only one point-of-entry to the rest of the internet? Isn't that a choke point? I mean, if everyone in my condo building who pays for internet access deployed Commotion on their OpenWRT routers, wouldn't everyone eventually stop paying for the connection to the outside world? (Also, I think I should point out that much of Commotion for Linux projects appears to be in alpha stages) I mean, if I were a repressive government and this project gets popular, I'd roll out my own Commotion boxes, configured with access to the internet, shut down other internet carriers, and sniff the traffic...
posted by antonymous at 12:35 PM on March 20, 2013
posted by antonymous at 12:35 PM on March 20, 2013
Whoops: DARPA created the internet, not NSA.
Right, but it's the NSA that is dedicated to its uniform surveillance.
posted by ryanshepard at 12:39 PM on March 20, 2013
Right, but it's the NSA that is dedicated to its uniform surveillance.
posted by ryanshepard at 12:39 PM on March 20, 2013
ryanshepard: right, but as always, other govt run outfits are also getting into the same business, though of course not nearly as huge as NSA in its coverage.
posted by Postroad at 1:09 PM on March 20, 2013
posted by Postroad at 1:09 PM on March 20, 2013
It should be noted that Commotion itself is more similar to a ham radio net than to a private set of lines. That is, it can enable communication in situations where network access is hampered by economic circumstances, infrastructure failures, or deliberate shutdown of centralized communication systems, but surveillance over the mesh (and RF spectrum jamming) is still possible. One would need to encrypt the traffic for secure communication over Commotion, exactly as we currently do on the "normal" internet by using https, ssh, pgp, &c.
The Commotion warning label explains its limitations & offers some alternatives.
> I can only assume back doors are being built in. "Partly open source" is not as safe as "open source", by a long shot.
IAmBroom, I'm not sure where you're getting "partly;" as far as I can tell, the Commotion code is completely open source. Have I missed something?
posted by Westringia F. at 1:18 PM on March 20, 2013
The Commotion warning label explains its limitations & offers some alternatives.
> I can only assume back doors are being built in. "Partly open source" is not as safe as "open source", by a long shot.
IAmBroom, I'm not sure where you're getting "partly;" as far as I can tell, the Commotion code is completely open source. Have I missed something?
posted by Westringia F. at 1:18 PM on March 20, 2013
I was going to post an AskMe about this, but if anyone has any links to resources that can help me quickly debunk anti-WiFi worryworts, it would be great. They're slowly taking over the local school board.
posted by KokuRyu at 1:42 PM on March 20, 2013
posted by KokuRyu at 1:42 PM on March 20, 2013
1. Install Commotion-or-wotevah
2. Change SSID to "Want free Net? Google Commotion"
3. Wait.
Seems simple enougn to me. When can I start?
posted by Devonian at 1:44 PM on March 20, 2013
2. Change SSID to "Want free Net? Google Commotion"
3. Wait.
Seems simple enougn to me. When can I start?
posted by Devonian at 1:44 PM on March 20, 2013
Westringia F.: IAmBroom, I'm not sure where you're getting "partly;" as far as I can tell, the Commotion code is completely open source. Have I missed something?No, I was. Thanks.
posted by IAmBroom at 1:44 PM on March 20, 2013 [1 favorite]
Devonian: 1. Install Commotion-or-wotevahIf I didn't live on a hill far removed from other users of the mesh nets I've investigated, I'd already be there. I suppose there's an argument for starting up the net in my neck of the woods... but I'm lazy.
2. Change SSID to "Want free Net? Google Commotion"
3. Wait.
Seems simple enougn to me. When can I start?
posted by IAmBroom at 1:45 PM on March 20, 2013
Thing is, I've seen that work with Fon (I am a Fonero, or whatever we're supposed to be called). That advertises itself as a shared, public service via SSID. And on modern routers, it's entirely possible to have a mesh-or-whatever service running alongside your existing household Wi-Fi coverage, with its own everythings independent of the normal functionality. Something like an Asus RT-N66U already has up to twelve independent SSIDs and can run multiple services without breaking into a sweat - and that's before you flash it with your favourite open source router package. Or you can do as Fon does and offer as an alternative a small extra router for a few dollars that just plugs into a spare port on your router's LAN switch.
In other words, it is entirely technically feasible to create and populate a mesh network of multiple independent nodes run by people who know nothing of each other except who else is within reach, using existing hardware to both create and publicise the service. It won't be easy to create the ideal, which is something that Joe Q Punter can install just by clicking on a link on a website, that is secure enough to do that safely, and then just autoconfigures with no further effort, but it is feasible both in terms of a plausible roadmap and not needing the resources of a corporate behind it.
I dream of this every time I look at my immediate wireless environment, which has of this moment twenty visible 2.4 GHz SSIDs (only four of which are mine, ahem) with enough signal strength to make a decent connection. (There's only one on 5 GHz. Guess who. Damn right.)
Think of it like CB for the 21st century, only with its own silly lingo. We down, we gone, breaker-break...
posted by Devonian at 2:11 PM on March 20, 2013 [1 favorite]
In other words, it is entirely technically feasible to create and populate a mesh network of multiple independent nodes run by people who know nothing of each other except who else is within reach, using existing hardware to both create and publicise the service. It won't be easy to create the ideal, which is something that Joe Q Punter can install just by clicking on a link on a website, that is secure enough to do that safely, and then just autoconfigures with no further effort, but it is feasible both in terms of a plausible roadmap and not needing the resources of a corporate behind it.
I dream of this every time I look at my immediate wireless environment, which has of this moment twenty visible 2.4 GHz SSIDs (only four of which are mine, ahem) with enough signal strength to make a decent connection. (There's only one on 5 GHz. Guess who. Damn right.)
Think of it like CB for the 21st century, only with its own silly lingo. We down, we gone, breaker-break...
posted by Devonian at 2:11 PM on March 20, 2013 [1 favorite]
It is partially funded by the Department of State, probably the CIA. Never take candy from strangers and no one is stranger than the US government.
Aren't you even a bit suspicious of communication software developed with US Government money and handed out 'for free'?
I would be what with backdoors and all and the NSC practice of sweeping up all electronic communications. There's no such thing as a free lunch and mother said "Never take candy from strangers" and there's nothing stranger than the US Department of State's history of toppling democratic governments beginning as long ago as the invasion and deposition of the Hawaiians' democracy in 1893. I wouldn't want my communications reliant upon USG provided software..... Just a thought or two from the darker side.
after poking around on 'commotion's website, no humans are named other than one 'copyright holder' while the New America Foundation seems to be a bit of a front for corporate and government interests with a middle right bent. It has supported what is deceptively called 'muscular' US foreign policy which means it would be 'okay' with the USG's actions in Iran, Iraq, Libya etc.
The New America Foundation's leadership consists of many 'liberals' who were cheerleaders for the War on Iraq, and/or apologists for torture. such as Anne Marie Slaughter.
posted by SteveLaudig at 3:31 PM on March 20, 2013 [2 favorites]
Aren't you even a bit suspicious of communication software developed with US Government money and handed out 'for free'?
I would be what with backdoors and all and the NSC practice of sweeping up all electronic communications. There's no such thing as a free lunch and mother said "Never take candy from strangers" and there's nothing stranger than the US Department of State's history of toppling democratic governments beginning as long ago as the invasion and deposition of the Hawaiians' democracy in 1893. I wouldn't want my communications reliant upon USG provided software..... Just a thought or two from the darker side.
after poking around on 'commotion's website, no humans are named other than one 'copyright holder' while the New America Foundation seems to be a bit of a front for corporate and government interests with a middle right bent. It has supported what is deceptively called 'muscular' US foreign policy which means it would be 'okay' with the USG's actions in Iran, Iraq, Libya etc.
The New America Foundation's leadership consists of many 'liberals' who were cheerleaders for the War on Iraq, and/or apologists for torture. such as Anne Marie Slaughter.
posted by SteveLaudig at 3:31 PM on March 20, 2013 [2 favorites]
SteveLaudig: as far as I can tell from a cursory examination of the source, they are using standard cryptographic cyphers that are publicly available. If the NSA has a backdoor into those cyphers, they already have the keys to the kingdom and this fancy wrapper isn't going to do much.
That said, with the full source available, and it looks like it is available, if there are backdoors hiding in there, it would be pretty damming in a very public sort of way.
I'm cautiously optimistic...
I'm going to try installing their android and openwrt code this weekend. I don't have any ubiquiti hardware available, but I will try with what I've got and report back to let everyone know how it goes.
posted by Freen at 4:13 PM on March 20, 2013 [4 favorites]
That said, with the full source available, and it looks like it is available, if there are backdoors hiding in there, it would be pretty damming in a very public sort of way.
I'm cautiously optimistic...
I'm going to try installing their android and openwrt code this weekend. I don't have any ubiquiti hardware available, but I will try with what I've got and report back to let everyone know how it goes.
posted by Freen at 4:13 PM on March 20, 2013 [4 favorites]
Also, there are a bunch of actual humans actively committing code on github
posted by Freen at 4:15 PM on March 20, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by Freen at 4:15 PM on March 20, 2013 [1 favorite]
I appreciate where your skepticism is coming from, SteveLaudig, but I think you're taking it to an unreasonable extreme.
> Aren't you even a bit suspicious of communication software developed with US Government money and handed out 'for free'?
That's exactly why it is significant that it is completely open source. The code can be directly audited for "back doors" by anyone with the expertise to do so. (On preview, what Freen said.)
> I wouldn't want my communications reliant upon USG provided software....
First, gov't funded != gov't provided. Second, you routinely communicate via plenty of software, hardware, and infrastructure whose development or implementation has been funded -- or even provided -- by the gov't. The postal service is an obvious example; there's also TV/radio/cell RF bands; FCC-provided 911 and TRS telephone services; the internet's birth as ARPAnet; gov't-funded academic research on data compression, network architecture, cryptography, &c... I'm quite sure that with the exception of direct face-to-face communication, you'd be very hard-pressed to find a medium free of any gov't involvement.
> after poking around on 'commotion's website, no humans are named other than one 'copyright holder'
That's false. OTI's managers and developers for the Commotion project are all named on the code development page that I linked in the post.
posted by Westringia F. at 4:23 PM on March 20, 2013
> Aren't you even a bit suspicious of communication software developed with US Government money and handed out 'for free'?
That's exactly why it is significant that it is completely open source. The code can be directly audited for "back doors" by anyone with the expertise to do so. (On preview, what Freen said.)
> I wouldn't want my communications reliant upon USG provided software....
First, gov't funded != gov't provided. Second, you routinely communicate via plenty of software, hardware, and infrastructure whose development or implementation has been funded -- or even provided -- by the gov't. The postal service is an obvious example; there's also TV/radio/cell RF bands; FCC-provided 911 and TRS telephone services; the internet's birth as ARPAnet; gov't-funded academic research on data compression, network architecture, cryptography, &c... I'm quite sure that with the exception of direct face-to-face communication, you'd be very hard-pressed to find a medium free of any gov't involvement.
> after poking around on 'commotion's website, no humans are named other than one 'copyright holder'
That's false. OTI's managers and developers for the Commotion project are all named on the code development page that I linked in the post.
posted by Westringia F. at 4:23 PM on March 20, 2013
Neat. There's a group here in Seattle which has been working on a community mesh network based on CJDNS; I wonder if they are familiar with this system, which sounds a lot less exotic.
posted by Mars Saxman at 5:51 PM on March 20, 2013
posted by Mars Saxman at 5:51 PM on March 20, 2013
SteveLaudig: "I wouldn't want my communications reliant upon USG provided software...."
So, you've never sent a phone call to nor from the US? True for lots of people, of course, but few by choice; most by geography.
posted by IAmBroom at 3:32 AM on March 21, 2013
So, you've never sent a phone call to nor from the US? True for lots of people, of course, but few by choice; most by geography.
posted by IAmBroom at 3:32 AM on March 21, 2013
I love mesh networks. Yeah, they'll help with internal U.S. political problems too, well not going through as many central servers could only reduce the NSA's snooping. Occupy D.C. used Commotion, btw.
posted by jeffburdges at 9:02 AM on March 21, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by jeffburdges at 9:02 AM on March 21, 2013 [2 favorites]
there are a bunch of actual humans actively committing code
I must confess, I also committed code in my wilder days.
posted by StickyCarpet at 6:44 AM on March 22, 2013 [1 favorite]
I must confess, I also committed code in my wilder days.
posted by StickyCarpet at 6:44 AM on March 22, 2013 [1 favorite]
sorry everyone, got super sick this past weekend, and didn't feel like mucking around with this stuff. I will get to it though, and report back.
posted by Freen at 10:01 AM on March 27, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by Freen at 10:01 AM on March 27, 2013 [1 favorite]
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Hey Obama, how about deploying some of those "shadow" Internet networks to the United States, Wi-Fi coverage here in Brunswick, Georgia is less than ideal.
posted by JHarris at 12:00 PM on March 20, 2013 [2 favorites]