Network security risk analysis has received great attention within the scientific community, due to the current proliferation of network attacks and threats. Although, considerable effort has been placed on improving security best practices, insufficient effort has been expanded on seeking to understand the relationship between risk-related variables and objectives related to cost-effective network security decisions. This thesis seeks to improve the body of knowledge focusing on the trade-offs between financial costs and risk while analysing the impact an identified vulnerability may have on confidentiality, integrity and availability (CIA). Both security best practices and risk assessment methodologies have been extensively investigated to give a clear picture of the main limitations in the area of risk analysis. The work begins by analysing information visualisation techniques, which are used to build attack scenarios and identify additional threats and vulnerabilities. Special attention is paid to attack graphs, which have been used as a base to design a novel visualisation technique, referred to as an Onion Skin Layered Technique (OSLT), used to improve system knowledge as well as for threat identification. By analysing a list of threats and vulnerabilities during the first risk assessment stages, the work focuses on the development of a novel Risk Assessment and Optimisation Model (RAOM), which expands the knowledge of risk analysis by formulating a multi-objective optimisation problem, where objectives such as cost and risk are to be minimised. The optimisation routine is developed so as to accommodate conflicting objectives and to provide the human decision maker with an optimum solution set. The aim is to minimise the cost of security countermeasures without increasing the risk of a vulnerability being exploited by a threat and resulting in some impact on CIA. Due to the multi-objective nature of the problem a performance comparison between multi-objective Tabu Search (MOTS) Methods, Exhaustive Search and a multi-objective Genetic Algorithm (MOGA) has been also carried out. Finally, extensive experimentation has been carried out with both artificial and real world problem data (taken from the case study) to show that the method is capable of delivering solutions for real world problem data sets.

During recent years, attacks on Internet of Things (IoT) devices have grown significantly. Cyber criminals have been using compromised IoT machines to attack others, which include critical internet infrastructure systems. Latest attacks increase the urgency for the information security research community to develop new strategies and tools to safeguard vulnerable devices at any level. Millions of intelligent things are now part of home-based networks that are usually disregarded by solutions platforms, but not by malicious entities.<br>Therefore, the following document presents a comprehensive framework that aims to secure home-based networks, but also corporate and service provider ones. The proposed solution utilizes first-hand information from different actors from different levels to create a decentralized privacy-aware Cyber Threat Information (CTI) sharing network, capable of automate network responses by relying on the secure properties of the blockchain powered by the Ethereum algorithms.

<p dir="ltr">The Internet is a large network of globally interconnected devices p used to facilitate the exchange of information across different parties. As usage of the Internet is expected to grow in the future, the underlying infrastructure must be secure to ensure traffic reaches its intended destination without any disruptions. However, the primary routing protocol used on the Internet, the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP), while scalable and can properly route traffic between large networks, does not inherently have any security mechanisms built within the protocol. This leads to devices that use BGP over the internet to be susceptible to BGP Hijacking attacks, which involve maliciously injected routes into BGP’s Routing Information Base (RIB) to intentionally redirect traffic to another destination. Attempts to solve these issues in the past have been challenging due to the prevalence of devices that use BGP on the existing Internet infrastructure and the lack of backward compatibility for proposed solutions. The goal of this research is to categorize the different types of BGP Hijacking attacks that are possible on a network, identify indicators that an ongoing BGP Hijacking attack based on received routes from the Internet locally without access to machines from other locations or networks, and subsequently leverage these indicators to protect local networks from external BGP Hijacking attacks.</p>

ITC/USA 2009 Conference Proceedings / The Forty-Fifth Annual International Telemetering Conference and Technical Exhibition / October 26-29, 2009 / Riviera Hotel & Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada / The integrated Network Enhanced Telemetry (iNET) project was launched to foster network enhanced instrumentation and telemetry. The program is currently implementing an operational demonstration. That will involve installing and using a network enhanced instrumentation system on a helicopter. This demonstration will be used as a learning exercise for the implementation of network technologies. This paper will give a brief description of the operational demonstration. Then it will explore the need for an Authority to Operate (ATO) and describe how one was obtained.

Botnets are a pervasive threat to the Internet and its inhabitants. A botnet is a collection of infected machines that receive commands from the botmaster, a person, group or nation- state, to perform malicious actions. Instead of “cleaning” individual infections, one can sever the method of communication between a botmaster and her zombies by attempting a botnet takedown, which contains the botnet and its malicious actions. Unfortunately, takedowns are currently performed without technical rigor nor are there automated and independent means to measure success or assist in performing them. This dissertation focuses on understanding the criminal infrastructure that enables communication between a botmaster and her zombies in order to measure attempts at, and to perform, successful takedowns. We show that by interrogating malware and performing large-scale analysis of passively collected network data, we can measure if a past botnet takedown was successful and use the same techniques to perform more comprehensive takedowns in the future.

Next Generation networks (3G and beyond) are evolving towards all IP based systems with the aim to provide global coverage. For Mobility in IP based networks, Mobile IPv6 is considered as a standard by both industry and research community, but this mobility protocol has some reliability issues. There are a number of elements that can interrupt the communication between Mobile Node (MN) and Corresponding Node (CN), however the scope of this research is limited to the following issues only: • Reliability of Mobility Protocol • Home Agent Management • Handovers • Path failures between MN and CN First entity that can disrupt Mobile IPv6 based communication is the Mobility Anchor point itself, i.e. Home Agent. Reliability of Home Agent is addressed first because if this mobility agent is not reliable there would be no reliability of mobile communication. Next scenario where mobile communication can get disrupted is created by MN itself and it is due to its mobility. When a MN moves around, at some point it will be out of range of its active base station and at the same time it may enter the coverage area of another base station. In such a situation, the MN should perform a handover, which is a very slow process. This handover delay is reduced by introducing a “make before break” style handover in IP network. Another situation in which the Mobile IPv6 based communication can fail is when there is a path failure between MN and CN. This situation can be addressed by utilizing multiple interfaces of MN at the same time. One such protocol which can utilize multiple interfaces is SHIM6 but it was not designed to work on mobile node. It was designed for core networks but after some modification in the protocol , it can be deployed on mobile nodes. In this thesis, these issues related to reliability of IPv6 based mobile communication have been addressed.

To ensure that services can be delivered reliably and continuously over theInternet, it is important that both Internet routes and edge networks aresecured. However, the sophistication and distributed nature of many at-tacks that target wide-area routing and edge networks make it difficult foran individual network, user, or router to detect these attacks. Thereforecollaboration is important. Although the benefits of collaboration betweendifferent network entities have been demonstrated, many open questionsstill remain, including how to best design distributed scalable mechanismsto mitigate attacks on the network infrastructure. This thesis makes severalcontributions that aim to secure the network infrastructure against attackstargeting wide-area routing and edge networks. First, we present a characterization of a controversial large-scale routinganomaly, in which a large Telecom operator hijacked a very large numberof Internet routes belonging to other networks. We use publicly availabledata from the time of the incident to understand what can be learned aboutlarge-scale routing anomalies and what type of data should be collected inthe future to diagnose and detect such anomalies. Second, we present multiple distributed mechanisms that enable col-laboration and information sharing between different network entities thatare affected by such attacks. The proposed mechanisms are applied in thecontexts of collaborating Autonomous Systems (ASes), users, and servers,and are shown to help raise alerts for various attacks. Using a combina-tion of data-driven analysis and simulations, based on publicly availablereal network data (including traceroutes, BGP announcements, and net-work relationship data), we show that our solutions are scalable, incur lowcommunication and processing overhead, and provide attractive tradeoffsbetween attack detection and false alert rates. Finally, for a set of previously proposed routing security mechanisms,we consider the impact of regional deployment restrictions, the scale of thecollaboration, and the size of the participants deploying the solutions. Al-though regional deployment can be seen as a restriction and the participationof large networks is often desirable, we find interesting cases where regionaldeployment can yield better results compared to random global deployment,and where smaller networks can play an important role in achieving bettersecurity gains. This study offers new insights towards incremental deploy-ment of different classes of routing security mechanisms.

A criptografia é uma ciência que tem especial destaque no mundo moderno, evidenciando a necessidade em pesquisar algoritmos e técnicas para seu aperfeiçoamento. Apesar das soluções atualmente empregadas serem baseadas em problemas suficientemente seguros, se comparados ao poderio computacional necessário para resolvê-los, seu emprego futuro é questionado. Pesquisas demonstram potencial vulnerabilidade destes sistemas, caso tenhamos à disposição computadores quânticos sendo utilizados para fraudá-los. Alternativas têm sido estudadas e o criptossistema proposto por Robert J. McElice se mostra como uma das mais interessantes, visto sua versão convencional, baseada em códigos de Goppa, ter a segurança até o momento inafetada, inclusive se levado em conta a disponibilidade de tecnologia quântica. Entretanto, tal solução sofria com o tamanho de suas grandes chaves criptográficas, representando um entrave para sua aplicação na prática. Objetivando minimizar esta deficiência, neste trabalho, propomos a classe de códigos de Goppa quase-diádicos, que admitem uma matriz de paridade ou matriz geradora com representação muito compacta, produzindo chaves do tipo McEliece que são até um fator t = O(n) menores que as chaves genéricas, em notação que omite fatores logarítmicos, produzidas a partir de códigos de Goppa de comprimento n, para a correção de t erros em característica 2. No caso binário, essa família também mantém a capacidade de corrigir o número total projetado de erros em vez de apenas a metade; esta propriedade falta a todas as tentativas anteriores de construção de códigos compactos para fins de criptografia, incluindo (BERGER et al., 2009). Além disso, a complexidade de todas as operações criptográficas típicas torna-se O(n). Esta proposta foi submetida e selecionada para publicação e apresentação no XVI Workshop Selected Areas in Cryptography (SAC2009), ocorrido entre 13 e 14 de Agosto de 2009, em Calgary, Alberta, Canadá, de referência bibliográfica (MISOCZKI; BARRETO, 2009). Este evento foi realizado em cooperação com a International Association for Cryptologic Research (IACR) e teve seus artigos publicados pela Springer em Lecture Notes in Computer Science, volume 5867. / Cryptography is a science that is especially prominent in the modern world, highlighting the need to find algorithms and techniques for its improvement. Despite the fact that solutions currently used are based on problems that are sufficiently secure, if compared to the computing power needed to solve them, their future use is questioned. Researches demonstrated the potential vulnerability of these systems, if quantum computers are used to defraud them. Alternatives have been studied and the cryptosystem proposed by Robert J. McElice has been considered as one of the most interesting, since its conventional version, based on Goppa codes, has the security so far unaffected, even if taken into account the availability of quantum technology. However, this solution suffered with the large size of their cryptographic keys, an obstacle to its implementation in practice. Aiming to minimize this shortcoming, in this paper, we propose the class of quasidyadic Goppa codes, which admits a generator or parity-check matrix with very compact representation, producing McEliece keys that are up to a factor t = O(n) lower than the generic keys, in notation which omits logarithmic factors, produced from Goppa codes of length n, to correct t errors in characteristic 2. In the binary case, this family also retains the ability to correct the projected total number of errors, rather than just half; this property lacks in all previous attempts to build compact code for encryption, including (BERGER et al., 2009). Moreover, the complexity of all typical cryptographic operations becomes O(n). This proposal was submitted and selected for publication and presentation in the XVI Workshop Selected Areas in Cryptography (SAC2009), occurred in August, 13th and 14th, 2009, in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, with bibliographic reference (MISOCZKI; BARRETO, 2009). This event was held in cooperation with the International Association for Cryptologic Research (IACR) and had his papers published by Springer in Lecture Notes in Computer Science, volume 5867.

A criptografia é uma ciência que tem especial destaque no mundo moderno, evidenciando a necessidade em pesquisar algoritmos e técnicas para seu aperfeiçoamento. Apesar das soluções atualmente empregadas serem baseadas em problemas suficientemente seguros, se comparados ao poderio computacional necessário para resolvê-los, seu emprego futuro é questionado. Pesquisas demonstram potencial vulnerabilidade destes sistemas, caso tenhamos à disposição computadores quânticos sendo utilizados para fraudá-los. Alternativas têm sido estudadas e o criptossistema proposto por Robert J. McElice se mostra como uma das mais interessantes, visto sua versão convencional, baseada em códigos de Goppa, ter a segurança até o momento inafetada, inclusive se levado em conta a disponibilidade de tecnologia quântica. Entretanto, tal solução sofria com o tamanho de suas grandes chaves criptográficas, representando um entrave para sua aplicação na prática. Objetivando minimizar esta deficiência, neste trabalho, propomos a classe de códigos de Goppa quase-diádicos, que admitem uma matriz de paridade ou matriz geradora com representação muito compacta, produzindo chaves do tipo McEliece que são até um fator t = O(n) menores que as chaves genéricas, em notação que omite fatores logarítmicos, produzidas a partir de códigos de Goppa de comprimento n, para a correção de t erros em característica 2. No caso binário, essa família também mantém a capacidade de corrigir o número total projetado de erros em vez de apenas a metade; esta propriedade falta a todas as tentativas anteriores de construção de códigos compactos para fins de criptografia, incluindo (BERGER et al., 2009). Além disso, a complexidade de todas as operações criptográficas típicas torna-se O(n). Esta proposta foi submetida e selecionada para publicação e apresentação no XVI Workshop Selected Areas in Cryptography (SAC2009), ocorrido entre 13 e 14 de Agosto de 2009, em Calgary, Alberta, Canadá, de referência bibliográfica (MISOCZKI; BARRETO, 2009). Este evento foi realizado em cooperação com a International Association for Cryptologic Research (IACR) e teve seus artigos publicados pela Springer em Lecture Notes in Computer Science, volume 5867. / Cryptography is a science that is especially prominent in the modern world, highlighting the need to find algorithms and techniques for its improvement. Despite the fact that solutions currently used are based on problems that are sufficiently secure, if compared to the computing power needed to solve them, their future use is questioned. Researches demonstrated the potential vulnerability of these systems, if quantum computers are used to defraud them. Alternatives have been studied and the cryptosystem proposed by Robert J. McElice has been considered as one of the most interesting, since its conventional version, based on Goppa codes, has the security so far unaffected, even if taken into account the availability of quantum technology. However, this solution suffered with the large size of their cryptographic keys, an obstacle to its implementation in practice. Aiming to minimize this shortcoming, in this paper, we propose the class of quasidyadic Goppa codes, which admits a generator or parity-check matrix with very compact representation, producing McEliece keys that are up to a factor t = O(n) lower than the generic keys, in notation which omits logarithmic factors, produced from Goppa codes of length n, to correct t errors in characteristic 2. In the binary case, this family also retains the ability to correct the projected total number of errors, rather than just half; this property lacks in all previous attempts to build compact code for encryption, including (BERGER et al., 2009). Moreover, the complexity of all typical cryptographic operations becomes O(n). This proposal was submitted and selected for publication and presentation in the XVI Workshop Selected Areas in Cryptography (SAC2009), occurred in August, 13th and 14th, 2009, in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, with bibliographic reference (MISOCZKI; BARRETO, 2009). This event was held in cooperation with the International Association for Cryptologic Research (IACR) and had his papers published by Springer in Lecture Notes in Computer Science, volume 5867.

In enterprise networks, all aspects of the network, such as placement of security devices and performance, must be carefully considered. Even with forethought, networks operators are ultimately unaware of intra-subnet traffic. The inability to monitor intra-subnet traffic leads to blind spots in the network where compromised hosts have unfettered access to the network for spreading and reconnaissance. While network security middleboxes help to address compromises, they are limited in only seeing a subset of all network traffic that traverses routed infrastructure, which is where middleboxes are frequently deployed. Furthermore, traditional middleboxes are inherently limited to network-level information when making security decisions. Software-defined networking (SDN) is a networking paradigm that allows logically centralized control of network switches and routers. SDN can help address visibility concerns while providing the benefits of a centralized network control platform, but traditional switch-based SDN leads to concerns of scalability and is ultimately limited in that only network-level information is available to the controller. This dissertation addresses these SDN limitations in the enterprise by pushing the SDN functionality to the end-hosts. In doing so, we address scalability concerns and provide network operators with better situational awareness by incorporating system-level and graphical user interface (GUI) context into network information handled by the controller. By incorporating host-context, our approach shows a modest 16% reduction in flows that can be processed each second compared to switch-based SDN. In comparison to enterprise networks, residential networks are much more constrained. Residential networks are limited in that the operators typically lack the experience necessary to properly secure the network. As a result, devices on home networks are sometimes compromised and, unbeknownst to the home user, perform nefarious acts such as distributed denial of services (DDoS) attacks on the Internet. Even with operator expertise in residential networks, the network infrastructure is limited to a resource-constrained router that is not extensible. Fortunately, SDN has the potential to increase security and network control in residential networks by outsourcing functionality to the cloud where third-party experts can provide proper support. In residential networks, this dissertation uses SDN along with cloud-based resources to introduce enterprise-grade network security solutions where previously infeasible. As part of our residential efforts, we build and evaluate device-agnostic security solutions that are able to better protect the increasing number of Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Our work also shows that the performance of outsourcing residential network control to the cloud is feasible for up to 90% of home networks in the United States.