[tor-project] OONI Monthly Report: November 2022

[Maria Xynou]

Hello,

Below I share OONI's status report for November 2022.

*# OONI Monthly Report: November 2022*

Throughout November 2022, the OONI team worked on the following sprints:

* Sprint 77 (1st-6th November 2022)
* Sprint 78 (7th-20th November 2022)
* Sprint 79 (21st-30th November 2022)

Our work can be tracked through the various OONI GitHub repositories:
https://github.com/ooni

Highlights are shared in this report below.

*## Technical multi-stakeholder research report on Internet shutdowns in
Iran*

In collaboration with IODA, M-Lab, Cloudflare, Kentik, Censored Planet,
ISOC, and Article19, OONI published a new research report: "Technical
multi-stakeholder report on Internet shutdowns: The case of Iran amid
autumn 2022 protests".

Read the report here:
https://ooni.org/post/2022-iran-technical-multistakeholder-report/

This report combines multiple measurement datasets in an attempt to
investigate the internet shutdown events in Iran over the past months amid
protests. We consider this a particularly important research report, as
it’s likely the first ever report that combines so many internet
measurement datasets in investigating a case study.

Specifically, we provide data and analysis on the following in Iran:
* Mobile network outages
* Regional outages
* HTTP/3 and QUIC traffic drop
* IPv6 disruption on Irancell
* Increased blocking of encrypted DNS
* Impact on internet speed tests
* Blocking of WhatsApp, Instagram, Skype, Linkedin, and Viber
* Blocking of Google Play Store and Apple App Store
* Blocking of browser extension repositories

ISOC also shared their analysis on examining the economic impact of the
shutdowns.

We provide a summary of the key findings here:
https://ooni.org/post/2022-iran-technical-multistakeholder-report/#summary-of-key-findings


ISOC also published a blog post about the report:
https://pulse.internetsociety.org/blog/technical-multistakeholder-report-on-internet-shutdowns-published

*## OONI Team Meeting*

Between 2nd-4th November 2022, we organized and hosted a 3-day OONI Team
Meeting in Rome, Italy.

This was the first in-person OONI Team Meeting since the start of the
COVID-19 pandemic. Unfortunately not everyone was able to join us in person
in Rome, and so we facilitated a hybrid meeting, with some participants in
person, and others joining us remotely online. In addition to OONI’s 9 team
members, the meeting also included the 2 OTF Information Controls Research
Fellows (Ain Ghazal and Gurshabad Grover) that we’re currently hosting.

During this 3-day meeting, we improved our roadmaps and discussed strategic
priorities and implementation details for many new systems we’ll be
building over the next few years.

Specifically, the 3-day OONI Team Meeting included the following sessions:

* Time for reflection
* Community needs and priorities
* Expanding OONI’s testing model to support richer testing input
* Incrementally integrating Websteps into Web Connectivity LTE
* Measuring the blocking of VPNs
* Research on Internet censorship in South Asia and analysis of “failed”
measurements
* Creating a methodology for measuring throttling: Next steps
* Automating the detection and characterization of censorship
* Creating a Social Media Censorship Alert System
* Presenting thematic censorship findings on OONI Explorer
* Creating a Censorship Incident Reporting Platform
* Aligning the anomaly calculations between the pipeline, Explorer, and
probe
* Handling of HTTP response bodies in measurements
* Triage and prioritization of issues
* Roadmapping sessions
* Fundraising priorities

During the OONI Team Meeting, we also had an OONI-themed cake to celebrate
OONI’s 10th Anniversary together (
https://ooni.org/post/ooni-in-2022/images/01.png). After the 3-day OONI
Team Meeting, we had a “team bonding day” together in Rome.

*## Organizing OONI’s 10th Anniversary*

In preparation for OONI’s 10th Anniversary (on 5th December 2022), we
worked towards organizing live-streamed events and creating multimedia
content to mark the important milestone.

In November 2022, we published a blog post which invites the internet
freedom community to attend 2 live-streamed events for OONI’s 10th
Anniversary: https://ooni.org/post/10th-ooniversary-events/

Throughout November 2022, we interviewed 11 OONI community members and
worked with a videographer on creating a video that highlights how OONI has
been useful to the internet freedom community. We also wrote a script for
an animation that provides a timeline of key OONI highlights from the past
10 years, and we worked with animators on producing an animation. Both the
community video and animation were scheduled for publication around OONI’s
10th Anniversary in early December 2022.

*## OONI Probe Mobile*

In November 2022, we released OONI Probe Android 3.7.2 (
https://github.com/ooni/probe-android/releases/tag/v3.7.2) with bug fixes
and improvements. We worked towards ensuring that flutter implementations
are updated properly on all platforms and we started making progress on
unsupported platforms (https://github.com/ooni/probe-cli/pull/880). We also
worked on triaging issues reported in Sentry.

*## OONI Run*

We edited the copy on the OONI Run platform:
https://github.com/ooni/run/pull/118

*## OONI Probe CLI*

We released OONI Probe CLI 3.16.4 (
https://github.com/ooni/probe-cli/releases/tag/v3.16.4)  and v3.16.5 (
https://github.com/ooni/probe-cli/releases/tag/v3.16.5) to fix issues with
the Signal nettest caused by Signal changing the certification authority it
uses to authenticate its endpoints.

Additionally, we started merging ooniprobe (the official command line
client) and miniooni (the research command line client) by abstracting
common functionality into shared Go packages to be used by both tools. This
work is documented through the following pull requests:
https://github.com/ooni/probe-cli/pull/979 and
https://github.com/ooni/probe-cli/pull/982.

Notably, we added support to ooniprobe for a `--proxy` command line
argument, thus facilitating the use of circumvention tools (such as tor):
https://github.com/ooni/probe-cli/pull/981

We also made the code that communicates with the Web Connectivity Test
Helper more reliable by trying all the available Test Helpers, rather than
just using the first one returned by the backend API. This work is
available through the following pull request:
https://github.com/ooni/probe-cli/pull/980

*## OONI Probe Desktop*

We released OONI Probe Desktop 3.8.2 which includes Signal nettest fixes
from OONI Probe CLI:
https://github.com/ooni/probe-desktop/releases/tag/v3.8.2

*## Published an OONI Probe Desktop screencast*

To enable community members worldwide to use OONI Probe, we created an OONI
Probe Desktop screencast which we published on our YouTube channel.

Our OONI Probe Desktop screencast is available here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLDVpyHFsW0

*## Russian translation of the OONI Probe Mobile and Desktop User Guides*

We translated the OONI Probe user guides to Russian, and published the
translated versions:

* OONI Probe Mobile: https://ooni.org/ru/support/ooni-probe-mobile
* OONI Probe Desktop: https://ooni.org/ru/support/ooni-probe-desktop

*## Expanding OONI’s testing model to support richer testing input*

We started refactoring work to support providing richer input to OONI Probe
tests (https://github.com/ooni/ooni.org/issues/1291). This work stems from
the observation that OONI experiments require input that is more complex
than a URL in several cases. For example, to correctly test HTTP/3 websites
we would need to know whether a website supports HTTP/3. We started off by
refactoring the signature of OONI experiment’s “Run” function to simplify
the changing of arguments passed to each experiment (
https://github.com/ooni/probe-cli/pull/983), without having to refactor ~30
Go packages each time.

*## OONI Explorer*

We continued to work on the user feedback reporting mechanism (
https://github.com/ooni/explorer/pull/790), focusing on usability aspects
with the help of a UI/UX designer. In order to improve the current OONI
Explorer interface and plan new features, we started conducting UX research.

We added support for RTL languages and localized date formatting across
OONI Explorer as part of localization work (
https://github.com/ooni/explorer/pull/805). We also fixed the back
navigation on pages that include filter params in the URL (
https://github.com/ooni/explorer/pull/815) and we added support for
filtering by anomalies (https://github.com/ooni/explorer/pull/816) on the
Measurement Aggregation Toolkit (MAT).

*## OONI backend*

We started reviewing the security report from Cure53 (who conducted an
independent security audit of our software) and we deployed different
mitigations based on the feedback we received. We implemented Bearer Token
in the API as an improvement over the previous security cookie (
https://github.com/ooni/api/pull/313). We also implemented a mitigation to
a minor security issue affecting parameter validation in the API
documentation path "/apidocs".

We deployed a fix to hide Clickhouse error traces from the API output for
improved security. We also carried out some tests to compress ooniprobe
binaries using UPX. We updated the fastpath pipeline (
https://github.com/ooni/pipeline/pull/401) to support the updated version
of the Signal test.

*## OONI Test Lists Editor*

Following the backend changes to authentication, the cookie based
authentication was replaced by a Bearer Token one in the Test Lists Editor:
https://github.com/ooni/test-lists-ui/pull/68

*## Automating censorship detection and characterization based on OONI
measurements*

We created a new data analysis tool (https://github.com/ooni/data) for
exposing anomaly details of website measurements and characterizing website
blocking. Some of the building blocks for designing this tool were
previously applied in practice as part of our investigation into emergent
website blocks in Russia (
https://ooni.org/post/2022-russia-blocks-amid-ru-ua-conflict/), where we
were able to characterize the blocking methods across ISPs (
https://ooni.org/post/2022-russia-blocks-amid-ru-ua-conflict/#blocked-website-about-captured-and-killed-russian-soldiers
).

The high level architecture (
https://github.com/ooni/data#architecture-overview) of this new data
analysis tool is that of transforming the raw network measurements coming
from OONI Probes into normalized and post-processed “Observations” (
https://github.com/ooni/data#observation-generation). These Observations
are “time stamped” statements about some network condition that was
observed by a particular vantage point. These observations are then in turn
post-processed to generate what we call an “Experiment result” (
https://github.com/ooni/data#experimentresult-generation), which attributes
to a set of observations from an individual test run a series of outcomes
with an associated level of confidence.

In order to reach a design that would be flexible enough to be expanded,
but also performant enough to run in a reasonable amount of time, we
implemented several prototype iterations of this design (
https://github.com/ooni/data/pull/15). Throughout the process we carried
out benchmarks of key components to identify any performance bottlenecks,
working to resolve them (https://github.com/ooni/data/issues/4). The last
iteration (https://github.com/ooni/data/pull/17), based on some cursory
benchmarks (https://github.com/ooni/data/pull/17#issue-1452100512), should
be able to generate observations from raw OONI measurements in less than a
week and re-generate all experiment results in about a day, running on a
single machine.

Through this data analysis tool (which anyone can run on their own computer
pointing it at the raw public OONI dataset:
https://github.com/ooni/data#developer-setup), it’s possible to gain a much
deeper understanding about the root cause of a blocking event, and to carry
out more advanced research that might not be captured by the existing
analysis.

The new design is an important shift in how we view results from OONI
measurements and we are confident that it will allow us to characterize
blocks in a much richer way. It also opens the door for empowering
researchers to carry out more advanced censorship investigations using our
datasets.

*## Creating a Social Media Censorship Alert System*

To enable human rights defenders to rapidly respond to social media blocks,
we aim to create a Social Media Censorship Alert System which allows access
to real-time OONI data on the blocking of major social media platforms
around the world.

In November 2022, we started the initial research process for designing
this new platform, which involved experimenting with implementations for
social media blocking event detection. Specifically, we experimented with
different designs to provide lightweight event detection without impacting
the backend infrastructure.

As part of this initial experimentation, we applied analysis logic for
issuing an “alert” when anomalies are present for selected social media
targets (the initial experiment involved Twitter and Facebook). We set the
thresholds for issuing “alerts” based on moving averages, as the volume and
frequency of relevant measurements varies significantly from ASN to ASN,
and country to country over time.

Based on our experimentation, we created Jupyter Notebook charts to
investigate ways to classify groups of measurements as blocking or
unblocking events.

*## Social media blocked in Turkey*

On 13th November 2022, following the bomb explosion in Istanbul, some ISPs
in Turkey blocked access to Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.

We responded by sharing real-time OONI data collected from Turkey (along
with a MAT chart), documenting the blocks:
https://twitter.com/OpenObservatory/status/1591871076677701635

Our tweet was cited in articles published by:
* Global Voices:
https://globalvoices.org/2022/11/13/turkey-throttles-internet-access-following-deadly-explosion-in-istanbul/
* Coda Story:
https://www.codastory.com/newsletters/apple-beijing-turkey-istanbul-blast/#new_tab

*## Test list updates*

In collaboration with community members, we updated the test list for
Kazakhstan (https://github.com/citizenlab/test-lists/pull/1182). We also
reviewed and merged updates to the test list for Malaysia (
https://github.com/citizenlab/test-lists/pull/1175) contributed by our
partner, Sinar Project.



*## Community use of OONI tools and data### OONI censorship measurement
campaign during Malaysia’s 2022 general elections*

Leading up to and during Malaysia’s 2022 elections, our partner, Sinar
Project, coordinated an OONI Probe measurement campaign (using OONI Run
widgets for custom testing) to monitor potential censorship events.

Information about the censorship measurement campaign, along with OONI Run
widgets for relevant testing (including election monitoring and political
party websites, among others), was published on their website:
https://sinarproject.org/digital-rights/measuring-and-detecting-network-interference/ge15

Sinar Project also shared relevant OONI Probe testing instructions through
this Twitter thread:
https://twitter.com/sinarproject/status/1592879196610920448

*### OONI censorship measurement testing during Kazakhstan’s 2022 elections*

Leading up to Kazakhstan’s 2022 elections, we collaborated with local
groups on creating a custom list of websites that are most relevant to test
in Kazakhstan for censorship.

To enable the testing of such sites during the elections, we embedded an
OONI Run widget (https://github.com/ooni/ooni.org/pull/1304) into our
website: https://ooni.org/get-involved/run (the “Kazakhstan (38 URLs)”
widget)

We shared relevant OONI Probe testing instructions on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/OpenObservatory/status/1593988313932828675

We also wrote documentation providing relevant OONI Probe testing
instructions for community members in Kazakhstan.

*### Global Voices blog post on the blocking of a website that digitizes
books in Mexico*

Global Voices published a blog post documenting the blocking of a website
run by a Mexican collective that digitizes books as a political position.
This post cites OONI data on the block.

Their blog post is available here:
https://globalvoices.org/2022/11/30/mexican-collective-pirating-books-to-make-culture-accessible-is-blocked/




*## Community activities### OONI workshop for civil society in Kazakhstan*

On 3rd November 2022, OONI’s Elizaveta facilitated an online OONI workshop
for civil society groups in Kazakhstan.

Information about the workshop is available here:
https://www.facebook.com/medianetkaz/posts/pfbid02nhnfrTotir9yaeZA3EJtG64oivV8rUrB7hs9yMDJoLFE152JkSh2ZDb4p2bX4puYl

*### OONI presentations at IETF 115*

On 8th November 2022, OONI’s Simone presented our censorship measurements
in Iran as part of the Internet Architecture Board (IAB) open meeting
during IETF 115 (https://www.ietf.org/live/ietf115-iab-open/). His IAB Open
presentation can be viewed here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_G6XVjlun8&t=1730s

On 9th November 2022, OONI’s Simone presented our strategies for measuring
the blocking and throttling of encrypted protocols (including HTTPS, DNS
over HTTPS, and HTTP/3) as part of the Privacy Enhancements and Assessments
Research Group (PEARG) meeting during IETF 115 (
https://datatracker.ietf.org/meeting/115/session/pearg). His PEARG
presentation can be viewed here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NO3pw3_hees&t=3592s

*### OONI workshop for journalists in Central Asia*

On 10th November 2022, OONI’s Maria facilitated an online OONI workshop for
journalists in Central Asia.

*### OONI presentation at State of the Onion 2022*

On 16th November 2022, OONI’s Maria presented OONI highlights from 2022, as
well as upcoming OONI projects for 2023 as part of the Tor Project’s annual
State of the Onion event (
https://blog.torproject.org/state-of-the-onion-2022/).

The live-streamed event can be viewed here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-7k0PjnBbk

*### OONI presentation at DataFest 2022*

On 17th November 2022, OONI’s Elizaveta presented OONI at DataFest 2022 in
Tbilisi (https://www.datafest.ge/schedule). As part of this presentation,
Elizaveta explained how journalists can use OONI’s Measurement Aggregation
Toolkit (MAT) to investigate internet censorship around the world.

*### OONI datathon at DataFest 2022*

On 19th November 2022, we facilitated an OONI datathon as part of DataFest
2022 in Tbilisi ((https://www.datafest.ge/datathons). During the OONI
datathon, participants worked on analyzing OONI data collected from Russia,
Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan to investigate local internet censorship.

*### OONI presentation at Internet Without Borders conference*

On 18th November 2022, OONI’s Arturo presented censorship measurement
findings from Russia as part of the Internet Without Borders conference in
Paris (
https://web.archive.org/web/20221101023014/https://internetborders.net/conference-agenda/
).

*### OONI hackathon at Internet Without Borders conference*

On 19th November 2022, we facilitated an OONI hackathon as part of the
Internet Without Borders conference in Paris (
https://internetborders.net/ooni-challenge/). During the hackathon, a
participant wrote new SMTP(s), IMAP(s) (
https://github.com/ooni/probe-cli/pull/989) and bittorrent experiments (
https://github.com/ooni/probe-cli/pull/986) for OONI Probe!

*### OONI workshops in Kyrgyzstan*

Between 24th–26th November 2022, OONI’s Elizaveta traveled to Kyrgyzstan to
facilitate 5 in-person OONI workshops for local journalists, students and
civil society organizations. As part of these workshops, Elizaveta
explained how they can use OONI Probe to collect internet measurements and
how they can use OONI data to investigate internet censorship.

*### OONI workshop in Kazakhstan by Access Now*

On 18th November 2022, Access Now organized an offline event for elections
observers in Kazakhstan. As part of this event, Anastasia Zhyrmont from
Access Now facilitated an OONI workshop and explained how election
observers can contribute to collecting internet measurements during the
elections.

*### OONI Community Meeting*

On 29th November 2022, we hosted the monthly OONI Community Meeting on our
Slack channel (https://slack.ooni.org/), during which we discussed the
following topics:

1) Strategies for monitoring potential social media blocks during
Indonesia's 2024 elections. Discussion of how blocks are implemented in
Indonesia and improving the data quality of OONI measurements.

2) Requesting feedback on the type of materials that community members
would find most useful and would like to see in the upcoming OONI Outreach
Kit.

*## Userbase*

In November 2022, 61,907,164 OONI Probe measurements were collected from
2,851 AS networks in 166 countries around the world.

This information can also be found through our measurement stats on OONI
Explorer (see chart on “monthly coverage worldwide”):
https://explorer.ooni.org/

~ OONI team.
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