% Tails — Privacy for anyone anywhere
% intrigeri
% June, 2014

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What what who
=============

Who I am
--------

* Tails contributor
* Debian developer

What is Tails
-------------

**T**he **A**mnesic **I**ncognito **L**ive **S**ystem

<https://tails.boum.org/>

A Live operating system
-----------------------

* works on (almost) any computer
* boots off a DD, a USB stick, or a SD card

Preserving privacy and anonymity #1
-----------------------------------

* use the Internet anonymously and circumvent censorship:  
  all connections to the Internet are forced to go through the Tor network
* leave no trace on the computer you are using unless you ask it
  explicitly

Preserving privacy and anonymity #2
-----------------------------------

* cryptographic tools:  
  encrypt your files, emails and instant messaging
* media production tools:  
  sound, video, office publishing, graphics...

Other features
--------------

* exists since 2009
* translated into many languages
* Free Software, public and open development:  
  Git, Redmine, meetings and roadmap
* design documentation : <https://tails.boum.org/contribute/design/>

And... it works?
----------------

> * According to the NSA, yes :  
>   "(S//REL) Tails: Complete Bootable OS on CD for anonymity - includes Tor  
>    (S//REL) Adds Severe CNE misery to equation"  
>   (Thanks to a famous Tails user for providing these documents.)
> * Bruce Schneier, December 2013 :  
>   "What do I trust? I trust, I trust Tails, I trust GPG [...]"  
>   "I don't use Linux. (Shhh. Don't tell anyone.)  
>    Although I have started using Tails""

Usability: a security feature
=============================

Our starting point
------------------

* privacy and anonymity: collective matters
* more secure tool, but less usable  
  ⇒ collectively, less security

Our hypothesis
--------------

Often usability matters more than "pure" security.

Make a "baseline" security level (privacy, anonymity) very accessible  
⇒ Tails is widely used  
⇒ more contributors  
⇒ energy ↗ to improve security without decreasing usability

Examples
--------

* GNOME desktop
* desktop cryptographic tools (Seahorse, OpenPGP applet, GNOME Disks)
* integrates the "Spoof MAC address, or not" decision in
  a user-friendly way
* documentation
* translations
* warnings
* WhisperBack

A small delta, to avoid drowning
================================

## History lesson

Often, specialized distributions die quickly.  
At least in this area.  
✝ Haven, Anonym.OS, ParanoidLinux, onionOS, Phantomix and
many others. RIP.

## Why?

* small teams, not organized to grow
* underestimation of the maintenance and user support work
* no long-term commitment
* NIH

## Our hypothesis

* focus on maintainability
* avoid having a delta that grows too much, or too fast, wrt. our upstreams

## Examples: what we did not do internally

... despite pressure:

* grsecurity
* compile-time hardening

## Examples: what we did internally

... but should share:

* OpenPGP applet
* erasing memory on shutdown

## Examples: what we're doing upstream

* AppArmor
* libvirt
* Seahorse
* Debian
* Debian Live
* fix OTR downgrade → v1

Consequences #1
---------------

* little Tails-specific code
* glue work
* "social" work:  
  talk to upstreams  
  spread the word about our needs  
  find skilled people to do the work at the best place
* slow rhythm (waiting the next Debian release, and sometimes the one
  after), despite backports

Consequences #2
---------------

And, above all...

. . .

*Tails is still alive!*

Challenges
==========

Cadence & popularity
--------------------

- new release every 6 weeks
- about 10k boots a day, doubles every 6-9 months

Limited resources and time
--------------------------

- mostly volunteer work
- 2000 commits, by ~10 persons, on the last 6 months

Roadmap
=======

Overview
--------

> * welcome more varied contributions
> * ... from more varied people
> * make our life easier
> * make Tails (even) more usable
> * better protect users against targeted attacks

This summer
-----------

> - **Tails 1.1** — July 22: Debian Wheezy, UEFI

And then
--------

- **Tails 2.0**: sustainability and maintainability  
  Greeter  
  same-day security updates  
  mitigate effects of security holes
- **Tails 3.0**: hardening, sandboxing
- More?
  <https://labs.riseup.net/code/projects/tails/roadmap>

Tails needs you, for...
=======================

## Translation

Translators can allow more people around the world to use Tails.

<https://tails.boum.org/contribute/how/translate/>

## Documentation

Good writers can make Tails accessible to more people.

<https://tails.boum.org/contribute/how/documentation/>

* &#35;6318: Fix key trusting instructions to work when we update our signing key
* &#35;6469: Document the workflow to upgrade Tails from ISO using 2 USB sticks

## Tests

Early testers help improve Tails quality.

<https://tails.boum.org/contribute/how/testing/>

* &#35;5174: Test Pidgin SSL validation in Debian unstable
* &#35;5709: Test OnionCat unidirectional mode for VoIP

## Design

Web and graphics designers can make Tails easier to use and
more appealing.

<https://tails.boum.org/contribute/how/website/>

<https://tails.boum.org/contribute/how/graphics/>

* &#35;7258: Make the logos on the homepage clickable
* &#35;6323: Improve the CSS of the boxed titles
* &#35;6361: Create a stylesheet for the contributor's role

## Usability

User interface and user experience experts can make Tails easier to
use and more appealing.

<https://tails.boum.org/contribute/how/user_interface/>

* &#35;7437: Design a progress indicator while establishing a connection to Tor
* &#35;6417: Evaluate Tails Greeter revamp proposals

## Code

Software people with very diverse skills can improve Tails.

<https://tails.boum.org/contribute/how/code/>

* &#35;5917: tails-greeter password field : Warn when caps-lock in ON
* &#35;6918: Track hardening status of the binaries shipped in Tails
* &#35;5881: Add reboot button to persistence setup assistant

## Infrastructure

System administrators can improve the development and quality
assurance processes.

<https://tails.boum.org/contribute/how/sysadmin/>

* &#35;6295: Evaluate consequences of importing large amounts of packages into reprepro
* &#35;6891: Monitor broken links on our website

## Debian

One can improve Tails (and other Debian derivatives, such as
Freepto ;) by contributing to Debian.

<https://tails.boum.org/contribute/how/debian/>

* AppArmor (<https://wiki.debian.org/AppArmor/Contribute>)
* &#35;6507: Package our OpenPGP applet for Debian
* &#35;7352: Backport ruby-libvirt 0.5+ for Wheezy

## Money

Those who have too much money can speed up the development of Tails.

<https://tails.boum.org/contribute/how/donate/>

## Where to start?

* <https://tails.boum.org/contribute/>
* "easy" tasks

## Tell us about your skills and desires,

we'll help you get started :)

Contact
=======

## Talk to us

* I'm here.
* Development mailing-list: **<tails-dev@boum.org>**
* Mailing-list for translators: **<tails-l10n@boum.org>**
* Early testers mailing-list: **<tails-testers@boum.org>**
* Private and encrypted mailing-list: **<tails@boum.org>**
* IRC: see <https://tails.boum.org/contribute/>
* Web: **<https://tails.boum.org/>**