May 2024 Stakeholder Report

SUBJECT LINE: Digital Iran Reloaded: Iranian Gamer Mitigation Tactics of IRI Information Controls– Monthly Report – May 2024 

About the project

My research aims to show the types of censorship circumvention techniques Iranian gamers use and thereafter clarify the gaps between commonly used censorship circumvention tools in the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI). To do so, I will interview Iranian gamers to contextualize their circumvention strategies with VPNs commonly supported and created within the internet freedom community by testing these varied circumvention techniques. 

Additionally, I will cross-analyze my findings with the IRI’s internet tiering system that consequently segregates users based on status, ultimately determining the level of access for each individual citizen. Through this lens, I will study internet connectivity and how the so-called “protection bill” is enforcing tiering to mitigate user access and acts of protest in Iran.

The main goal is therefore to produce a solution for better assisting high-risk internet users in Iran, while also highlighting issues of internet access implemented by the IRI. Another broader impact includes providing valuable information to the circumvention tools developer community and internet policy makers, at a global level.

PUBLIC

Activities during May 2024

• Continued the research with previous participants from my dissertation research. Began looking into other participants based on recommendations.
• Continued semi-structured interviews on sensitive subject matter with direct regards to the IRI’s methods of suppression. Like the initial interview process, I have continued to gather insights regarding the use of VPNs and DNS use. 
• The last two months, I learned about gamers use of Psiphon, Ultrasurf, TorBrowser, Argo VPN, Lantern, github VPNs, NordVPN, and European DNS to play MMOs like ESO through Steam Engine, Dead by Daylight using Cloudflare WARP. In some cases, Electro DNS is used to evade censorship, even though there is no blocking on the servers, like with the game Valorant. Additionally, I learned about which region’s servers they typically use, ex: Armenian, and the impact that it has on ping.
• This month I learned that users are experiencing more challenges with access. Access went down on May 19^th, specifically, due to death of Ebrahim Raisi. Additionally, users constantly alter the VPN they are using due to IP blocking issues.
  • Users have talked about:
    • VPN changes can cost a few dollars in USD, even with a paid for VPS service.
    • V2ray helps with firewalls. 
    • VLESS + VMESS servers are bought, TLS is required. Suggestions like WebSocket/gRPC transport and use nginx to reverse proxy.
    • Popular VPNs easily get blocked because it’s predictable in network traffic: Wiregaurd, NordVPN, OpenVPN, Argo, etc, all have had to be swapped out over time.
  • Users have also mentioned
    • Shadowsockets like AFAICT, port 443 
    • OpenVPN using TCP on port 443 + stunnel
    • Socks5 proxy server on port 443
• I have submitted an extensive list of VPN/DNS methods, video games, etc. to Miaan for OONI testing purposes.
• I have been accepted to the Global Gathering and have had Safe Harbor book the flight to Lisbon, Portugal. I am looking forward to learning from fellow researchers, which can only inform my research praxis.
• I presented at the Keystone DH Conference on May 20^th in Erie, PA. I also chaired 3 panels. This provided insights into types of research, varied presentation styles, etc. Other participants offered suggestions on the Digital Iran project, particularly related to public engagement. 
• An edited version of the survey questions has been accepted by the Miaan Group. 
• I reached out to Miaan Group’s legal specialist to discuss the Internet Bill versus the Seventh Development Plan.
  • I spent time researching thoroughly and writing up aspects of this, albeit for the dissertation portion that is directly related to the Digital Iran project. This amounted to 20 pages, which helped me understand the nuances leading to further inquiry. This was spurred on by the Internet Bill’s revival to intensify internet restrictions 
• I am still waiting to hear about ICD.
• I applied for the Center for Digital Resilience Provider Incubator program. Josh Levy encouraged me to apply for it. This opportunity will provide a deeper understanding of cybersecurity and the relationship to VPNs securing data and control access.

Activities for next month

During June, I will continue to triangulate some data so that I can begin phase two of the research, which includes continued interviews. In the latter half, I will disseminate a survey.

• I have been invited to present at the UW’s Dissertation Writing Intensive to discuss Digital Iran as a multimodal aspect to the dissertation, which comes with a small honorarium. This will happen on June 11^th.
• I am meeting with Mardiya Siba Yahaya at Team Community to discuss how TCU can support my work on June 25^th.
• By the end of June, I will disseminate the final survey using Google surveys on social media and through professional networks.
  • In early-mid June, I will connect with participants and others in my network to get initial feedback about the survey questions. I currently have 18 questions, and I want to make sure that the survey is not too long.
  • Miaan is having someone translate the question to Persian as per their request.