Explore local network privacy solutions beyond MAC address randomization

[andrewdavidwong]

In our issue on MAC randomization (#938), @adrelanos shared a recent research paper by Vanhoef et al., "Why MAC Address Randomization is not Enough: An Analysis of Wi-Fi Network Discovery Mechanisms."

@tasket then recommended that a new issue be created for the problem raised by this research.

Abstract:

We present several novel techniques to track (unassociated)
mobile devices by abusing features of the Wi-Fi standard. This shows
that using random MAC addresses, on its own, does not guarantee privacy.
First, we show that information elements in probe requests can be used
to fingerprint devices. We then combine these fingerprints with
incremental sequence numbers, to create a tracking algorithm that does
not rely on unique identifiers such as MAC addresses. Based on
real-world datasets, we demonstrate that our algorithm can correctly
track as much as 50% of devices for at least 20 minutes. We also show
that commodity Wi-Fi devices use predictable scrambler seeds. These can
be used to improve the performance of our tracking algorithm. Finally,
we present two attacks that reveal the real MAC address of a device,
even if MAC address randomization is used. In the first one, we create
fake hotspots to induce clients to connect using their real MAC address.
The second technique relies on the new 802.11u standard, commonly
referred to as Hotspot 2.0, where we show that Linux and Windows send
Access Network Query Protocol (ANQP) requests using their real MAC address.

[mfc]

scoped this to focus on local network, since "privacy solutions" include many things (browser fingerprinting, etc)

[mfc]

scoped this to focus on local network, since "privacy solutions" include many things (browser fingerprinting, etc)

[tasket]

Yeah, local network = LAN/WLAN

[tasket]

Yeah, local network = LAN/WLAN

[desmond-decker]

I think adding the MAC randomization scripts into the Net-VM by default would be good in the short term. There are plenty of less exotic scenarios where it would provide additional anonymity.

[desmond-decker]

I think adding the MAC randomization scripts into the Net-VM by default would be good in the short term. There are plenty of less exotic scenarios where it would provide additional anonymity.

[tasket]

@desmond-decker : Probably NetworkManager will be supplying MAC randomization since they have been working on it for months and now their 1.4.2 release can handle it as just another feature of running the NICs. The scripted approach was always rather spotty and the hardware address would keep returning with some NICs.

If you would like to have randomization working correctly now, I'd suggest reading this:
https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/qubes-users/0300e698-0120-e9bb-65d4-b4bd0a3d54f1%40openmailbox.org

[tasket]

@desmond-decker : Probably NetworkManager will be supplying MAC randomization since they have been working on it for months and now their 1.4.2 release can handle it as just another feature of running the NICs. The scripted approach was always rather spotty and the hardware address would keep returning with some NICs.

If you would like to have randomization working correctly now, I'd suggest reading this:
https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/qubes-users/0300e698-0120-e9bb-65d4-b4bd0a3d54f1%40openmailbox.org