Extended Abstract: Using TURN Servers for Censorship Evasion
Authors: Afonso Vilalonga (Universidade NOVA de Lisboa & NOVA LINCS), Kevin Gallagher (Universidade NOVA de Lisboa & NOVA LINCS), Osman Yaǧan (Carnegie Mellon University), João S. Resende (Universidade do Porto), Henrique Domingos (Universidade NOVA de Lisboa & NOVA LINCS)
Year: 2025
Issue: 1
Pages: 13–15
Abstract: As global online censorship intensifies, developing new evasion systems is essential for improving access to uncensored content in highly censored regions. In addition to creating effective censorship evasion systems, the Bridge Distribution Problem also requires the development of systems that allow users to access the necessary information to connect to censorship evasion proxies, such as IP addresses, without censors blocking the communication channels. This extended abstract introduces a novel system that addresses both challenges by using TURN servers as relays to transmit user traffic to censorship evasion proxies or by allowing users to acquire the necessary information to connect to a censorship evasion proxy from brokers where proxy information is available. It also includes a hypothesis on how using TURN servers might help address these challenges.
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