Plog
Mar. 11, 2006: Coded ability to toggle on or off the bounce program through the remote system's console screen.
Mar. 5, 2006: Pretty much figured out how the console interface works and am pretty sure how I will modify the code to include running and killing the bounce program inorder to change the node from passive to active bouncing.
Feb. 27, 2006: Finished code that checks when user is creating a bounced connection and distinguishes between end points and harvested systems.
Feb. 26, 2006: Design research and coding begun.
Design and Development Progress
Connection Bouncing- Add bounce software to software bb Development (99%)
Add permenant Global Traffic Routers computers and locations Design (10%) Made a cursery look.
Allow connection bouncing only through machines that are turned on Development (99%)
Allow connection bouncing only through machines that have been harvested Development (99%)
Add active bounce vs passive bounce distinction Development (99%)
Outlining of nodes for active vs passive bounce status (and remove outlining based on agent's security access) Development (99%)
Add "run bounce" and "kill bounce" console screen commands Development (99%)
Adjust active trace speed for each node's bounce status (and not agent's security access) Design (10%) Breifly looked at existing code.
Examine passive traces and determine necessary changes. Design (10%) Breifly looked at existing code.
Examine routine security breach checks and determine necessary changes. Design (10%)
Research need to adjust any mission generation such as "trace hacker" Design (0%)
Indicate on connections list bounce status Concept (0%)
Traffic Routing- Discuss Global Traffic Routers Traffic Routing Tables Concept (0%) Discuss desirability and feasability of routing tables in global traffic routers
Formalize IP class lists (geographical regions associated with ip ranges) Concept (0%)
Design routing list data structure (based on log structure) Concept (0%)
Design routing modifier or tweek log modifier program to edit routing lists Concept (0%)
Update routine security breach checks to detect routing changes and add ability to restore proper routing Concept (0%)
Create DoS mission (change global routing to/from specific company) Concept (0%)
Related Projects and Tasks- Fix flickering of labels on world map Design (0%)
Project Flow:
Concept: Discussion of the idea and its core elements. Discourse on possible affects such as game play, coding complexity, and need for the concept.
Design: Detailed discussion and documentation of approved concepts.
Development: Work in creating program code, media, and game content as per specified design.
Play Testing: Effort directed toward finding bugs and refining gameplay on developed components.
Release: Component has passed all tests and is fully approved.
Cancelled/Hold: Component development is on temporary hold or component has been disapproved and will no longer be developed.
Global Traffic Routers and Connection Bouncing
One hollywood aspect of the game that has always bothered me a bit is the simplicity in boucing your connections with out the need to have compramised the machines you are bouncing through. Example: Why would someone's voice mail system be routing traffic at your request? Here I propose a two part solution to this problem that both maintaines the simplicity needed to introduce new players to the game, and increase the complexity of the game to allow skilled players to gain a better sense of skill utilization and pride in the quality of their attacks.
The first step is to remove the ability for all normal computers to bounce a connection. These machines can only function as
end points of a connection. The global map will display these machines as simple points (square with no outlining of any type).
The player may hack these machines to attempt to "harvest" them for use as connection bouncers. This requires the player to gain root access to the pc and plant an executable file (it could be called "IPProxy 1.0", "ConnBouce 1.0" or any reasonable name). At this point the machine is considered harvested and is a
passive bounce point. The global map will display this pc as a point with a dashed outline. At any point in time after the player has left the machine and the Bounce file laying in wait the machines local admin may discover the file and remove it, returning the machine to simple
end point status. So long as the harvested machine remaines inactive the local admin is not very likely to discover the bounce file. Higher security machines have higher probabilities of discoverig a bounce file.
When the player is ready to make a serious hack and needs to utilize connection bouncing, each passive bounce point may be clicked on in the normal fashion, relaying the players connection to the final end point. Passive bounce connections provide some dalay against active scans, but not very much. Essentially a passive bounce point acts as a direct connection between the incoming connection and the out going connection. An active trace will quickly see the direction traffic is flowing and follow it. This limitation of passive bounce points can be greatly enhanced by activating the bounce point.
By accessing the console of a machine and posting the commandline to execute the bounce program, the bounce program will begin to run as a process in the computer, transforming the machine into an
active bounce poit. Active bounce points are displayed one the global map as points with a solid outline. Active bounce points are significatly more likely to be discovered by a local admin and removed (chaging the machine to simple end point status). Active bounces, however, provide much more secure connections by sending out many fake packets to obscure the real packets being relayed. Active traces will take much longer to move past a active bounce point.
By utilizing passive and active bounce points judiciously, a player can obtain a good "crop" that can be reliably used over and over again.
Understandably the process of harvesting requires some player skill, making it beyond the abilities of new players. This is where the
Global Traffic Routers come in.
Each major geo-polotical region will have a cetral traffic router that acts as a major hub of communication activity. All global traffic routers will be in the players address book for ease of use. The nature of global traffic routers causes them to act just as an active bounce point. Any connections may be bounced through these points without having previously hacked the machines, and the shere volume of traffic that goes through them delays the speed of active traces. Passive traces are also delayed and even possibly halted if the cost/benifit ratio of finding the hacker that just copied a file is not worth the time of wading through the massive log files of these routers.
Global traffic routers provide new players a launching pad where they can learn the mechanics of the game and begin to grow in skill. Together with harvested active and passive bounce points a player can have a real sense of immersion in the game.