650435 - Reduce timestamp granularity

Status: RESOLVED DUPLICATE of bug 546715

(Cloud Services Graveyard :: Server: Sync, defect)

Description

[Richard Newman [:rnewman]]

I recall discussions that we'd like to drop the granularity of timestamps from 1/100sec to 1sec. I believe the motivation for this is to reduce the possibility of a timing attack. I couldn't find an existing bug, so here goes.

This should have minimal effect on the client, so long as timestamps match up everywhere. A gradual deployment -- that is, truncating/rounding only new timestamps, not old ones -- would be least troublesome.

More details from those who know, plz!

Comment 1

[Philipp von Weitershausen [:philikon]]

The reason isn't so much timing attacks but reducing the size of the timestamp column in MySQL.

Comment 2

[Richard Newman [:rnewman]]

#services.log:14:22 <@mconnor> there's also a "resist timing attacks" rfe to reduce timestamps to be 10ths of a second, or whole seconds

Comment 3

[Toby Elliott [:telliott]]

It's both, though the desire to reduce db footprint predates the (admittedly small) security concern.