iGlobaLeaks is the iOS client part of a larger Whistleblowing project calledGlobaLeaks
This version tunnels the traffic through theTor network. The Tor implementation is forked from theOnionBrowserproject. Big thanks to them.
The code is still under development as it is part of my final disseration project due the 30th August 2013. By that date there will be a totally working Alpha version.
More information can be found at:
- iGlobaLeaks:0.2 (20130812.1)
- Tor:0.2.4.15-rc (Jul 01 2013)
- libevent:2.0.21-stable (Nov 18 2012)
- OpenSSL:1.0.1e (Feb 11 2013)
The app, when compiled, contains static library versions ofTorand it's dependencies,libeventandopenssl.
The build scripts for Tor and these dependencies are based on build-libssl.shfromx2on/OpenSSL-for-iPhone. The scripts are configured to compile universal binaries for armv7 and i386 (for the iOS Simulator).
The torbuild-tor.shscript patches one file in Tor (src/common/compat.c)
to remove references toptrace()and_NSGetEnviron().This first is only used
for theDisableDebuggerAttachmentfeature (default: True) implemented in Tor
0.2.3.9- Alpha. (Seechangelogandmanual.)
ptrace()and_NSGetEnviron()calls are not allowed in App Store apps; apps
submitted withptrace()symbols are rejected on upload by Apple's
auto-validation of the uploaded binary. (The_NSGetEnviron()code does not
even compile when using iPhoneSDK due to that function being undefined.)
See the patch files inbuild-patches/if you are interested in the changes.
0.2.3.17-beta introduced compiler and linker "hardening" (Tor ticket 5210),
which is incompatible with the iOS Device build chain. The app (when building
for iOS devices) is configured with--disable-gcc-hardening --disable-linker-hardening
to get around this issue. (Due to the isolation of executable code on iOS devices,
this should not cause a significant change in security.)
Because iOS applications cannot launch subprocesses or otherwise execute other
binaries, the tor client is run in-process in aNSThreadsubclass which
executes thetor_main()function (as an externaltorexecutable would)
and attempts to safely wrap Tor within the app. (libor.aand
libtor.a,intermediate binaries created when compiling Tor, are used to
provide Tor.) Side-effects of this method have not yet been fully evaluated.
Management of most tor functionality (status checks, reloading tor on connection
changes) is handled by accessing the Tor control port in an internal, telnet-like
session from theAppDelegate.
The app uses aNSURLProtocolsubclass (ProxyURLProtocol), registered to
handle HTTP/HTTPS requests. That protocol uses theCKHTTPConnectionclass
which nearly matches theNSURLConnectionclass, providing wrappers and access
to the underlyingCFHTTPCore Framework connection bits. This connection
class is where SOCKS5 connectivity is enabled. (Because we are using SOCKS5,
DNS requests are sent over the Tor network, as well.)
(I had WireShark packet logs to support the claim that this app protects all HTTP/HTTPS/DNS traffic in the browser, but seem to have misplaced them. You'll have to take my word for it or run your own tests.)
The app usesAutomatic Reference Counting (ARC)and was developed against iOS 5.X or greater. (Itmaywork when building against iOS 4.X, since most of the ARC behavior exists in that older SDK, with the notable exception of weakrefs.)
- Check Xcode version
- Build dependencies via command-line
- Build application in XCode
Double-check that the "currently selected" Xcode Tools correspond to the version of Xcode you have installed:
xcode-select -print-path
For the newer Xcode 4.3+ installed via the App Store, the directory should be
/Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer,and not the straight/Developer
(used by Xcode 4.2 and earlier). If you have both copies of Xcode installed
(or if you have updated to Xcode 4.3 but/Developerstill shows), do this:
sudo xcode-select -switch /Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer
cdto the root directory of this repository and then run these commands in
the following order to build the dependencies. (This can take anywhere between
five and thirty minutes depending on your system speed.)
bash build-libssl.sh
bash build-libevent.sh
bash build-tor.sh
This should create adependenciesdirectory in the root of the repository,
containing the statically-compiled library files.
OpenGlobaLeaks/GlobaLeaks.xcodeproj.You should be
able to compile and run the application at this point.
The app and all dependencies are compiled to run against armv7s (iPhone 5's "A6" processor), armv7, and i386 targets, meaning that all devices since the iPhone 4 (running at least iOS 6.0) and the iOS Simulators should be able to run the application.