GNUnet 0.16 has already been released and these are its news

GNUnet-p2p-network-framework

Recently the release of the new version of the GNUnet framework 0.16 was presented, in which some important improvements have been made, of which we can highlight, for example, that Taler now supports digital signatures and that the distributed hash table (DHT) also implements the ability to certify routes with a digital signature.

In addition to that, it is mentioned that this is an important new release, since breaks protocol compatibility with 0.15.x versions, and interactions between old and new peers will cause problems. 0.15.x peers will be able to communicate with the Git master or 0.16.x peers, but some services, notably GNS, will not be supported.

For those who are not familiar with GNUnet, you should know that is designed to build secure decentralized P2P networks. Networks created with GNUnet do not have a single point of failure and can guarantee the inviolability of users' private information, including the elimination of possible abuse by intelligence agencies and administrators who have access to network nodes. .

GNUnet supports P2P networking over TCP, UDP, HTTP / HTTPS, Bluetooth and WLAN, and it can work in F2F (Friend-to-friend) mode. NAT traversal is supported, including the use of UPnP and ICMP. A distributed hash table (DHT) can be used to address data placement.

Tools for implementing mesh networks are provided. To selectively grant and revoke access rights, reclaimID's decentralized identity attribute exchange service uses GNS (GNU Name System) and attribute-based encryption (Attribute-Based Encryption).

Several ready-to-use applications based on GNUnet technologies are being developed:

  • The GNS Domain Name System (GNU Name System), which serves as a fully decentralized and uncensorable replacement for DNS.
  • An anonymous file sharing service that does not allow information to be analyzed by transmitting data only in encrypted form and does not allow tracking who posted, searched and downloaded files using the GAP protocol.
  • VPN system to create hidden services in the ".gnu" domain and forward IPv4 and IPv6 tunnels over a P2P network.
  • GNUnet chat service for making voice calls over GNUnet.
  • A platform for building decentralized social networks Secushare using the PSYC protocol and supporting distribution of notifications in multicast mode using end-to-end encryption to only authorized users.
  • A fairly easy privacy encrypted email system that uses GNUnet to protect metadata and supports various cryptographic protocols for key verification;
  • The GNU Taler payment system, which provides anonymity to buyers, but tracks seller transactions for transparency and tax reporting.

Main new features of GNUnet 0.16

In this new version of GNUnet 0.16 that is presented it is noted that the specification for the GNS domain name system has been updated (GNU Name System) decentralized. A new REDIRECT record type has been proposed to replace CNAME records.

On the other hand, it is highlighted that added a new log flag, CRITICAL, which can be used to mark particularly important records, the impossibility of processing which should lead to the return of a name determination error. VPN tunnel configuration operations are moved from the resolver to applications such as the DNS2GNS service.

It is also mentioned that distributed hash table (DHT) implements the ability to certify routes with a digital signature. The path length metrics have been converted to use the traditional XOR operation, and the specification for DHT data structures, cryptographic functions, and resource records has been updated.

On the other hand, we can find that support for decentralized identifiers has been added (DID, Decentralized Identifier) ​​​​and verified credentials (VC, Verifiable Credentials) to the decentralized identity attribute exchange service (RECLAIM).

In addition to this, we can find that the payment system GNU Taler now supports Klaus Schnorr digital signatures (content cannot be accessed by the signer) and that the build system provides generation of updated GANA (GNUnet Assigned Numbers Authority) header files. When building from git, recutils is now required.

Finally, if you are interested in knowing more about this new version released, you can check the details In the following link.


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