Multipath TCP Introduces Security Blind Spot

MPTCP is an extension to the Internet’s primary communication protocol. It allows a TCP session to move over multiple connections and network providers to the same destination. Should one drop, the session seamlessly moves to its second, backup connection, keeping phone calls or Internet sessions alive.

via Black Hat 2014: Multipath TCP Introduces Security Blind Spot | Threatpost | The first stop for security news.

“Technology like MPTCP makes it much harder for surveillance states,” Pearce said. “If I split traffic across my cell provider and an ISP I may not trust, in order for a surveillance state to snoop they have to collaborate with all these parties. It’s a much harder proposition.”

MultiPath TCP

MultiPath TCP (MPTCP) is an effort towards enabling the simultaneous use of several IP-addresses/interfaces by a modification of TCP that presents a regular TCP interface to applications, while in fact spreading data across several subflows. Benefits of this include better resource utilization, better throughput and smoother reaction to failures. Slides – explaining MultiPath TCP – are available in .pdf and .pptx format. You can also have a look at our Google Techtalk about MPTCP.

via MultiPath TCP – Linux Kernel implementation : Main – Home Page browse.