Wireshark-dev: Re: [Wireshark-dev] What Wireshark base version to use for customization

From: Stephen Fisher <sfisher@xxxxxxx>
Date: Wed, 10 Dec 2014 11:08:25 -0700
On Wed, Dec 10, 2014 at 12:51:23PM -0500, John Dill wrote:

> So what restrictions are there when you have a Wireshark plugin that 
> contains proprietary information (which can be of the do not export 
> variety) from the govt or customer and they do *not* want that 
> information released to the public, since Wireshark can be used as a 
> tool to visualize and analyze these private kinds of protocols?  If 
> some of that implementation leaks into the Wireshark application (like 
> hiding all of the unnecessary protocol cruft to make it simpler for 
> user to use), what are the implications?

Is the proprietary information short, such as encryption keys?  A 
preference can be used for things like that and then only if the 
user's preferences file is shared will it get out.  If that's a 
high-risk, you could even have the dissector/plug-in do something 
non-stndard like reading a file for the information (but we probably 
wouldn't want that kind of dissector in the base source).