Feature #9832

Explain the security drawbacks of DVD

Added by sajolida 2015-08-01 08:30:40 . Updated 2016-11-04 13:46:13 .

Status:
Rejected
Priority:
Normal
Assignee:
Category:
Target version:
Start date:
2015-08-01
Due date:
% Done:

0%

Feature Branch:
Type of work:
End-user documentation
Blueprint:

Starter:
Affected tool:
Deliverable for:

Description

We’re telling users about some security benefits of booting Tails from a DVD (as opposed to from a USB stick), but there are some drawbacks too. Let’s start by listing them…

  • Once we get Tor persistent state, Tor will be stronger with persistence.
  • Without persistent you might be tempted to not use asymetric encryption, persistent keys, and fallback on weaker solutions.
  • No automatic upgrades. That’s not practical, and if you don’t take the time to upgrade manually, it’s a security risk.
  • A malicious or buggy DVD drive’s firmware can modify the Tails system on-the-fly.

Subtasks

History

#1 Updated by sajolida 2015-08-01 08:31:23

  • Type of work changed from End-user documentation to Research

#2 Updated by BitingBird 2015-08-01 09:44:13

With DVD, you don’t have automatic upgrades. That’s not practical, and if you don’t take the time to upgrade manually, it’s a security risk.

#3 Updated by intrigeri 2015-08-02 07:24:08

  • Description updated

#4 Updated by intrigeri 2015-08-02 07:25:51

  • Assignee set to sajolida
  • Type of work changed from Research to End-user documentation

Provided the info sajolida requested => reassigning to him so that he can decide what are the next steps / priority / etc.

#5 Updated by sajolida 2015-08-03 01:25:11

  • related to Feature #9884: Rewrite explanation of benefits and drawbacks of different supports added

#6 Updated by sajolida 2015-08-03 01:27:00

  • Description updated

#7 Updated by sajolida 2015-08-03 01:55:48

  • Assignee deleted (sajolida)

Actually, I don’t mind other people working on this one now that its scope has been clarified :) Still, beware of Feature #9884.

#8 Updated by emmapeel 2016-02-28 13:59:59

  • Assignee set to emmapeel

#9 Updated by sajolida 2016-03-07 12:40:23

Actually, now that we decided what to do with /doc/first_steps/media in Feature #9884. This ticket should be part of Feature #9884. Still, maybe this one could be resolved first by adding more bullet points to /doc/first_steps/media. But it could also probably benefit from a bit more rewriting and restructuring of the whole page.

#10 Updated by sajolida 2016-03-07 12:40:41

  • related to deleted (Feature #9884: Rewrite explanation of benefits and drawbacks of different supports)

#11 Updated by sajolida 2016-03-07 12:40:53

#12 Updated by sajolida 2016-11-04 13:46:13

  • Status changed from Confirmed to Rejected
  • Assignee deleted (emmapeel)

Parent task was rejected.