PlebNet
A self-replicating botnet for privacy protection
Thijmen Jaspers Focks (TU Delft - Civil Engineering & Geosciences)
Harvey van Veltom (TU Delft - Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science)
Viktor Wigmore (TU Delft - Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science)
Wing Nguyen (TU Delft - Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science)
Johan Pouwelse – Mentor
Martijn de Vos – Mentor
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Abstract
As the amount of digital content being shared is increasing, the need for a privacy protecting and resilient method of file sharing grows. New copyright law proposals are suggesting that governments and corporations are attempting to claim control over the use of the internet. As these new laws may lead to restrictions in digital content sharing, as well as endangering the privacy of users, alternative methods of sharing files may be able to solve these issues. Peer-to-peer networks for file sharing, such as BitTorrent, are resilient networks due to their decentralised nature. Tribler combines the BitTorrent protocol with a Tor-like anonymity system to protect its users against governments and spooks. Due to its Tor-like onion routing protocol, exit nodes are important for a robust network. This project focuses on PlebNet, an autonomous self-replicating network of Tribler exit nodes. Using Cloudomate, PlebNet is able to purchase servers with Bitcoins acquired from selling Tribler’s bandwidth tokens and replicate itself to expand its network of exit nodes.