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THE CHINA INTERNET FREEDOM PROJECT Written by Dr. David Shi Friday, 25 April 2008
While Beijing was sending in troops to crack down on protesters in Tibet, they also made sure to boot out the foreign journalists, jam the short wave radios, and lock down the Internet. So, how did the Tibetans get the news out? By using tiny software tools that seek out cracks in the Chinese Great Firewall and connect users' computers to the biggest anti-censorship network in the world.

These tools scramble the users' communications and shuttle the data back and forth along an underground cyber network in a way that cannot be detected by high-tech monitoring and jamming equipment. At this point, the censors' firewalls virtually disappear to the users. They can now access blocked websites and also freely communicate with the rest of the world.

The group that built this special network and tools like DynaWeb and UltraReach and recent additions, GPass and FirePhoenix, is the Global Internet Freedom Consortium or GIF.

You may have never heard of GIF, but it is easily the largest and most mature anti-censorship operation in the world -- loved by users, loathed and attacked by censors. The technology is such a threat to censorship that the study of counter-measures against GIF's technologies has even been published in the computer science journal of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Repressive regimes around the world are always trying to shut down the network using censorship technology that is, shamefully, built by certain Western high tech giants such as Google, Yahoo, Cisco, and Microsoft.

Congressman Chris Shays (R-NJ), for example has accused Yahoo of "complicity with the (Chinese) secret police," while Google has "created an exclusively Chinese search engine that only Joseph Goebbels would love."

But GIF technology just keeps gaining ground. People love the tools because they're easy to use and they work. With advanced security features, they also offer much-needed protection in the fierce cat and mouse game that plays out in cyberspace.

Why should Americans care about Internet freedom? One reason is because closed societies have a tendency to cover up news of public health threats and natural disasters in order to save face. SARS is a case in point. The cover up allowed the virus to spread to South East Asia, Europe, and even San Francisco.

Another reason we should care about Internet freedom is because the governments of closed societies use their closed Internet systems to block out outside information and deliver propaganda that breeds hostility toward the United States and other democratic nations. We have already seen how dangerous that can be. Just think of the millions of hot-blooded young Chinese and Iranian men who cheered when they watched TV footage of the downing of the World Trade Center with thousands of Americans dying.

When Chinese "patriotic hackers" break into computer systems at the Pentagon or maliciously compromise US corporate data, it's usually the result of Chinese government media demonizing the US and whipping up nationalistic fervor. A battle being fought in cyberspace can all too quickly spill over into daily reality. The threat to US and global security is very, very real.

Dictatorships like the PRC and Iran are spending billions on their Firewalls and cyber-attacks upon America. How much is the US spending combating this cyber threat? Not hardly enough.

With limited funds and limited manpower, the members of GIF are maintaining the network and struggling to keep up with the demand in closed societies for access to a free Internet. After the protests began on March 10, 2008 in Tibet, for example, the number of hits to the DynaWeb and UltraReach anti-censorship portals from Tibet skyrocketed from the daily average of 120,000 before March 10 to more than 800,000.

The cyber warriors at GIF, such as Bill Xia and Peter Li, who develop anti-censorship tools offer their software products for free because supporting freedom is their mission. They don't think anyone should run into a brick wall trying to look something up on Wikipedia or get a visit in the middle of the night by the secret police just because they typed in some "sensitive term" in a web browser.

The service GIF provides is invaluable and the impact goes far beyond the Internet. When the people in closed societies have gained a taste of freedom and are given a way to share information, they will no longer tolerate tyranny.

With the tools and smarts of those at GIF backing them, these citizens finally have a way to tear down the walls, both real and virtual, that conspire to keep them separated from the rest of the world.

The Internet Freedom Project is helping to bring real freedom to China and other closed societies. I am proud to be a part of it and hope that you will become a part as well.

Dr. David Shi is a Chinese-American expert of computer security and Internet privacy who is devoted to securing freedom for all people of China, including the people of Tibet.

Michael

What a fascinating article, you learn something new everyday. Thanks.

November Rain

Link? Even if you can't add a link, you can write it in. We're (well, most of us! ) able to figure out what is meant. So far, you've made interesting posts, but there has been no back-up.

Mid

here we go NR

THE CHINA INTERNET FREEDOM PROJECT
Written by Dr. David Shi
Friday, 25 April 2008

tothepointnews.com

DynaWeb: Dynamic Internet Technologie, Inc. - DynaWeb

GPass : GPass | Global Internet Freedom Consortium

FirePhoenix : FirePhoenix | Global Internet Freedom Consortium

Global Information Freedom : Global Internet Freedom Consortium

UltraReach.Net : Ultrareach

Texpat

Couldn't the same technology easily turn malicious, theft identity, nuclear assurity, banking fraud, server jammers?

Marmite the Dog

Sadly, my True connection blocks this link. Luckily I use TOR so the Thai Gov can stick their censorship up their arse.

stroller

It is not blocked on TOT, but:

"Currently the UltraReach.Net is available only in Chinese:"

Enjoy!