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Re: [CQ-Contest] Spoofed Self spots

To: cq-contest@contesting.com
Subject: Re: [CQ-Contest] Spoofed Self spots
From: "Mike McCarthy, W1NR" <lists@w1nr.net>
Date: Tue, 2 Nov 2021 14:24:05 -0400
List-post: <mailto:cq-contest@contesting.com>
The logs and protocol already have all of this information propagated to all of the nodes. It just requires someone to analyze the local log files on a node, usually with software. Per K1AR, the contest committee has very sophisticated software to analyze the logs and spots for integrity.

Mike, W1NR

On 11/2/2021 9:55 AM, Michael Adams wrote:
As someone else mentioned, I'm skeptical that authentication would be as 
effective as some might hope, especially given the challenges of securely 
propagating authentication across the hive of the spotting network.

However, I do think it would be helpful if there were a shift towards a 2.0 format of 
spotting traffic, one where (perhaps among other data) "name of originating 
node" in addition to the spotter were propagated across the network, and where nodes 
reported where they received a particular from (both IP address and node name?) rather 
than just retaining that information in the logs.   The spotting network has been 
primarily internet-focused rather than packet-focused for years; we don't need to be 
quite so miserly when it comes to information relayed with individual spots (although the 
processing implications of the RBN firehose still must be considered).

Such a format wouldn't prevent spoofing, of course.  However, those two pieces 
of information would facilitate analysis of node logs for contest inquiries 
about self-spotting, as well as providing sysops another tool for blocking bad 
actors / crap spots.

(And if the project resulted in node software that works as well as AR Cluster, 
I'd be extremely happy.)

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