Skip to content

Commit

Permalink
Minor edits to KZ report (#1620)
Browse files Browse the repository at this point in the history
* Minor edits to KZ report

* Minor edit
  • Loading branch information
agrabeli authored Oct 24, 2024
1 parent 51b192f commit ceeb416
Showing 1 changed file with 2 additions and 2 deletions.
4 changes: 2 additions & 2 deletions content/post/2024-kazakhstan-report/index.md
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ categories: ["report"]

In recent years, internet censorship in Kazakhstan has been [reported](https://freedomhouse.org/country/kazakhstan/freedom-net/2023) quite extensively. As part of this study, [OONI](https://ooni.org/), [Internet Freedom Kazakhstan (IFKZ)](https://ifkz.org/en), and [Eurasian Digital Foundation](https://www.digitalrights.asia) collaborated to investigate internet censorship in Kazakhstan over the past year (between June 2023 to June 2024) through the analysis of empirical network measurement data.

In this report, we share OONI censorship measurement findings and relevant legal context. We found numerous [news media](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=KZ&test_name=web_connectivity&since=2023-06-01&until=2024-06-01&failure=false&category_code=NEWS&only=anomalies), [human rights](https://explorer.ooni.org/chart/mat?test_name=web_connectivity&axis_x=measurement_start_day&since=2023-06-01&until=2024-06-01&time_grain=day&probe_cc=KZ&axis_y=domain&domain=www.ipetitions.com%2Cwww.change.org%2Cegov.press%2Camnesty.org.ru), and [circumvention tool websites blocked](https://explorer.ooni.org/chart/mat?test_name=web_connectivity&axis_x=measurement_start_day&since=2023-06-01&until=2024-06-01&time_grain=day&probe_cc=KZ&axis_y=domain&category_code=ANON) in Kazakhstan by means of TLS interference. We also documented the use of the latest government-mandated root certificate authority (CA) – and its use to emit 6 distinct intermediate certificates – that were used to carry out [TLS man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks](https://explorer.ooni.org/m/20210808015758.022737_KZ_webconnectivity_3b9213f9ee4f2d06), targeting at least 14 distinct domain names on at least 19 different networks in Kazakhstan. We share more details below.
In this report, we share OONI censorship measurement findings and relevant legal context. We found numerous [news media](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=KZ&test_name=web_connectivity&since=2023-06-01&until=2024-06-01&failure=false&category_code=NEWS&only=anomalies), [human rights](https://explorer.ooni.org/chart/mat?test_name=web_connectivity&axis_x=measurement_start_day&since=2023-06-01&until=2024-06-01&time_grain=day&probe_cc=KZ&axis_y=domain&domain=www.ipetitions.com%2Cwww.change.org%2Cegov.press%2Camnesty.org.ru), and [circumvention tool websites blocked](https://explorer.ooni.org/chart/mat?test_name=web_connectivity&axis_x=measurement_start_day&since=2023-06-01&until=2024-06-01&time_grain=day&probe_cc=KZ&axis_y=domain&category_code=ANON) in Kazakhstan by means of TLS interference. We also found 7 distinct intermediate certificates signed by 4 distinct root CAs being used to carry out TLS man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks, targeting at least 14 distinct domain names on at least 19 different networks in Kazakhstan. We share more details below.

{{<table-of-contents>}}

Expand Down Expand Up @@ -134,7 +134,7 @@ Overall, we did not detect strong cases involving the blocking of political webs

What we mainly found as part of OONI data analysis is the **blocking of 73 circumvention tool websites**, as well as the **blocking of 17 news media websites and several human rights websites**. In almost all cases, the blocks appear to be implemented by means of **TLS interference**, as OONI data shows that the TLS handshakes result in [timeout errors](https://explorer.ooni.org/m/20240514233718.029308_KZ_webconnectivity_007c5a9f4031213d) after the Client Hello message. This is observed uniformly on all tested networks in Kazakhstan during the analysis period, providing a strong signal of blocking. It further suggests that ISPs in Kazakhstan implement censorship in a coordinated manner, perhaps through the use of Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) technology.

It’s worth highlighting that we [documented the use of the latest government-mandated root certificate authority (CA)](https://explorer.ooni.org/m/20210808015758.022737_KZ_webconnectivity_3b9213f9ee4f2d06) – and its use to emit 6 distinct intermediate certificates – that were used to carry out **TLS man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks, targeting at least 14 distinct domain names on at least 19 different networks in Kazakhstan**.
It’s worth highlighting that we **found 7 distinct intermediate certificates signed by 4 distinct root CAs being used to carry out TLS man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks**, targeting at least 14 distinct domain names on at least 19 different networks in Kazakhstan.

We share more details on the blocks in the following sections.

Expand Down

0 comments on commit ceeb416

Please sign in to comment.