In ad hoc networks every device is responsible for its own basic computer services, including packet routing, data forwarding, security, and privacy. Most of the protocols used in wired networks are not suitable for ad hoc networks, since they were designed for static environments with defined borders and highly specialized devices, such as routers, authentication servers, and firewalls. This dissertation concentrates on the achievement of privacy-friendly identifiersand anonymous communication in ad hoc networks. In particular, the objective is to offer means for better anonymous communication in such networks. Two research questions were formulated to address the objective: I. How to design proper and trusted privacy-friendly digital identifiers to beused in ad hoc network environments? II. How to provide anonymous communication in ad hoc networks and whatis the performance cost in relation to the obtained degree of anonymity? To address the first research question we studied and classified the security and privacy threats, enhancements, and requirements in ad hoc networks and analyzed the need for privacy and identification. The analysis led us to the relationship between security, identification, and anonymous communication that we refer to as the “identity-anonymity paradox”. We further identifiedthe requirements for privacy-friendly identifiers and proposed the self-certified Sybil-free pseudonyms to address such requirements. The second research question was addressed with the design and implementation of the Chameleon protocol, an anonymous communication mechanism for ad hoc networks. The performance of Chameleon was evaluated using a network simulator. The results were used to find out the trade-off between anonymity and performance in terms of the expected end-to-end delay. The solutions proposed in this dissertation are important steps towards the achievement of better anonymous communications in ad hoc networks andcomplement other mechanisms required to prevent leaks of personal data.

Although Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) have found a niche in numerous applications, they are constrained by numerous factors. One of these important factors is security in WSNs. There are various types of security attacks that WSNs are susceptible to. The focus of this study is centred on Sybil attacks, a denial of service attack. In this type of attack, rogue nodes impersonate valid nodes by falsely claiming to possess authentic identities, thereby rendering numerous core WSN operations ineffective. The diverse nature of existing solutions poses a difficult problem for system engineers wanting to employ a best fit countermeasure. This problem is the largely unanswered question posed to all system engineers and developers alike whose goal is to design/develop a secure WSN. Resolving this dilemma proves to be quite a fascinating task, since there are numerous factors to consider and more especially one cannot assume that every application is affected by all identified factors. A framework methodology presented in this study addresses the abovementioned challenges by evaluating countermeasure effectiveness based on theoretical and practical security factors. Furthermore, a process is outlined to determine the application’s engineering requirements and the framework also suggests what security components the system engineer ought to incorporate into the application, depending on the application’s risk profile. The framework then numerically aligns these considerations, ensuring an accurate and fairly unbiased best fit countermeasure selection. Although the framework concentrates on Sybil countermeasures, the methodology can be applied to other classes of countermeasures since it answers the question of how to objectively study and compare security mechanisms that are both diverse and intended for different application environments. The report documents the design and development of a comparative framework that can be used to evaluate countermeasures against Sybil attacks in wireless sensor networks based on various criteria that will be discussed in detail. This report looks briefly at the aims and description of the research. Following this, a literature survey on the body of knowledge concerning WSN security and a discussion on the proposed methodology of a specific design approach are given. Assumptions and a short list of factors that were considered are then described. Metrics, the taxonomy for WSN countermeasures, the framework and a formal model are developed. Risk analysis and the best fit methodology are also discussed. Finally, the results and recommendations are shown for the research, after which the document is concluded. / Dissertation (MEng)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering / unrestricted

No description available.

Using low energy devices to communicate over the air presents many challenges to reach security as resources in the world of Internet Of Things (IoT) are limited. Any extra overhead of computing or radio transmissions that extra security might add affects cost of both increased computing time and energy consumption which are all scarce resources in IoT. This thesis details the current state of security mechanisms built into the commercially available protocol stacks Zigbee, Z-wave, and Bluetooth Low Energy, and collects implemented and proposed solutions to common ways of attacking systems built on these protocol stacks. Attacks evaluated are denial of service/sleep, man-in-the-middle, replay, eavesdropping, and in mesh networks, sinkhole, black hole, selective forwarding, sybil, wormhole, and hello flood. An intrusion detection system is proposed to detect sinkhole, selective forwarding, and sybil attacks in the routing protocol present in the communication stack Rime implemented in the operating system Contiki. The Sinkhole and Selective forwarding mitigation works close to perfection in larger lossless networks but suffers an increase in false positives in lossy environments. The Sybil Detection is based on Received Signal Strength and strengthens the blacklist used in the sinkhole and selective forwarding detection, as a node changing its ID to avoid the blacklist will be detected as in the same geographical position as the blacklisted node.

No description available.

L'objectif de cette thèse est de concevoir et d'appliquer de nouvelles méthodes de supervision capables d'appréhender les problèmes de sécurité affectant les données au sein des réseaux P2P structurés (DHT). Ceux-ci sont de deux types. D'une part les réseaux P2P sont utilisés pour diffuser des contenus illégaux dont l'activité est difficile à superviser. D'autre part, l'indexation des contenus légitimes peut être corrompue (attaque Sybil).Nous proposons tout d'abord une méthode de supervision des contenus basée sur l'insertion de sondes et le contrôle du mécanisme d'indexation du réseau. Celle-ci permet d'attirer l'ensemble des requêtes des pairs pour un contenu donné, puis de vérifier leur intention en générant des appâts très attractifs. Nous décrivons ainsi les faiblesses du réseau permettant la mise en oeuvre de notre méthode en dépit des protections existantes. Nous présentons les fonctionnalités de notre architecture et en évaluons l'efficacité sur le réseau P2P KAD avant de présenter un déploiement réel ayant pour but l'étude des contenus pédophiles.Nous considérons ensuite la sécurité des données indexées dans une DHT. Nous supervisons le réseau KAD et montrons que celui-ci est victime d'une pollution particulièrement néfaste affectant 2/3 des fichiers mais aussi de nombreuses attaques ciblées affectant la sécurité des contenus stockés. Nous proposons un moyen de détecter efficacement cette dernière attaque en analysant la distribution des identifiants des pairs autour d'une référence ainsi qu'une contre-mesure permettant de protéger les pairs à un coût négligeable. Nous terminons par l'évaluation de la protection au sein de réseaux P2P réels. / The purpose of this thesis is to design and implement new monitoring solutions which are able to deal with the security issues affecting data stored in large structured P2P networks (DHT). There are two major types of issues. First, P2P networks are used to spread illegal contents whose activity is difficult to monitor accurately. Second, the indexation of regular contents can be corrupted (Sybil attack).We first designed a new approach to monitor contents based on the insertion of distributed probes in the network to take control of the indexation mechanism. The probes can attract all the related requests for a given content and assess the peers intent to access it by generating very attractive honeypots. We describe the weaknesses of the network allowing our solution to be effective despite recent protection mechanisms. We then present the services offered by our monitoring architecture and we evaluate its efficiency on KAD. We also present a real deployment whose purpose is to study pedophile contents on this network.Then, we focus on data integrity in distributed hash tables. We performed large scale monitoring campaigns on the KAD network. Our observations show that it suffers from a very harmful pollution of its indexation mechanism affecting 2/3 of the shared files and from a large number of localized attacks targeting contents. To mitigate these threats, we propose a new efficient way to detect attacks by analysing the distribution of the peers' ID found around an entry after a DHT lookup and a counter-measure which can protect the peers at a negligible cost. Finally, we evaluate our solution in real P2P networks.

This thesis examines the story of a thirteenth-century woman from the diocese of Metz, named Sibylla of Marsal, as the contemporary monk and chronicler Richer of Senones recounts it in his Gesta Senoniensis Ecclesiae. According to Richer, Sibylla feigned sanctity using various props--including a demon costume that she wore to terrify villagers--and was locally venerated as a holy woman before authorities discovered her fraudulence. This thesis offers the first full-length study of Sibylla and is the first study of this fascinating case to focus on Richer's perspective. After establishing the single extant thirteenth-century manuscript of the Gesta Senoniensis Ecclesiae--Paris, BnF ms. lat. 10016--as the most reliable witness to Richer's original text, this study analyzes Richer's agenda to situate Sibylla within his apocalyptic worldview and his desire to denigrate the emerging mendicant orders. Finally, Sibylla's story is placed within the broader context of thirteenth-century women's religion; because Sibylla exhibited accepted behaviors associated with female sanctity and yet was not ultimately considered a saint by her contemporaries, her story provides insight into the social construction of sainthood in the High Middle Ages. Several appendices edit and translate the crucial medieval sources for the thesis.

Sistemas online como Facebook, Twitter, Digg, e comunidades BitTorrent (entre vários outros) oferecem um processo leve para a obtenção de identidades (por exemplo, confirmar um endereço de e-mail válido; os requisitos podem variar dependendo do sistema), de modo que os usuários possam cadastrar-se facilmente nos mesmos. Tal conveniência vem com um preço, no entanto: com um pequeno esforço, um atacante pode obter uma grande quantidade de contas falsas (ataque Sybil), e utilizá-las para executar atividades maliciosas (que possam prejudicar os usuários legítimos) ou obter vantagens indevidas. É extremamente desafiador (senão impossível) desenvolver uma única solução de gerenciamento de identidades que seja ao mesmo tempo capaz de oferecer suporte a uma variedade de usuários usando dispositivos heterogêneos e adequada para uma diversidade de ambientes (por exemplo, sistemas distribuídos de larga escala, Internet das Coisas, e Internet do Futuro). Como consequência, a comunidade de pesquisa tem focado no projeto de soluções de gerenciamento de identidades customizadas, em cenários com um conjunto bem definido de propósitos, requisitos e limitações. Nesta tese, abordamos o problema de contas falsas em sistemas distribuídos de larga escala. Mais especificamente, nos concentramos em sistemas baseados no paradigma para- par e que podem acomodar esquemas de gerenciamento de identidades leves e de longo prazo (ex., sistemas de compartilhamento de arquivos e de live streaming, sistemas de detecção de intrusão colaborativos, entre outros); leves porque os usuários devem obter identidades sem precisar fornecer “provas de identidade” (ex., passaporte) e/ou pagar taxas; e longo prazo porque os usuários devem ser capazes de manter suas identidades (ex., através de renovação) por um período indefinido. Nosso principal objetivo é propor um arcabouço para precificar adaptativamente as solicitações de identidades como uma abordagem para conter ataques Sybil. A ideia chave é estimar um grau de confiança para as solicitações de identidades, calculada como função do número de identidades já concedidas em um dado período, considerando a origem dessas solicitações. Nossa abordagem baseia-se em prova de trabalho e usa desafios criptográficos como um recurso para conter atacantes. Nesta tese, nós também concentramos esforços na reformulação dos desafios tradicionais, de modo a torná-los “verdes” e “´uteis”. Os resultados obtidos via simulação e experimentação mostraram a viabilidade técnica de usar desafios verdes e ´uteis para o gerenciamento de identidades. Mais importante, eles mostraram que caracterizar as solicitações de identidades com base na origem das mesmas constitui uma abordagem promissora para lidar com a redução substancial da disseminação de contas falsas. / Online systems such as Facebook, Twitter, Digg, and BitTorrent communities (among various others) offer a lightweight process for obtaining identities (e.g., confirming a valid e-mail address; the actual requirements may vary depending on the system), so that users can easily join them. Such convenience comes with a price, however: with minimum effort, an attacker can obtain a horde of fake accounts (Sybil attack), and use them to either perform malicious activities (that might harm legitimate users) or obtain unfair benefits. It is extremely challenging (if not impossible) to devise a single identity management solution at the same time able to support a variety of end-users using heterogeneous devices, and suitable for a multitude of environments (e.g., large-scale distributed systems, Internet-of-Things, and Future Internet). As a consequence, the research community has focused on the design of system-specific identity management solutions, in scenarios having a well-defined set of purposes, requirements, and constraints. In this thesis, we approach the issue of fake accounts in large-scale, distributed systems. More specifically, we target systems based on the peer-to-peer paradigm and that can accommodate lightweight, long-term identity management schemes (e.g., file sharing and live streaming networks, collaborative intrusion detection systems, among others); lightweight because users should obtain identities without being required to provide “proof of identity” (e.g., passport) and/or pay taxes; and long-term because users should be able to maintain their identities (e.g., through renewal) for an indefinite period. Our main objective is to propose a framework for adaptively pricing identity requests as an approach to limit Sybil attacks. The key idea is to estimate a trust score for identity requests, calculated as a as function of the number of identities already granted in a given period, and considering their source of origin. Our approach relies on proof of work, and uses cryptographic puzzles as a resource to restrain attackers. In this thesis, we also concentrate on reshaping traditional puzzles, in order to make them “green” and “useful”. The results obtained through simulation and experimentation have shown the feasibility of using green and useful puzzles for identity management. More importantly, they have shown that profiling identity requests based on their source of origin constitutes a promising approach to tackle the dissemination of fake accounts.

Sistemas online como Facebook, Twitter, Digg, e comunidades BitTorrent (entre vários outros) oferecem um processo leve para a obtenção de identidades (por exemplo, confirmar um endereço de e-mail válido; os requisitos podem variar dependendo do sistema), de modo que os usuários possam cadastrar-se facilmente nos mesmos. Tal conveniência vem com um preço, no entanto: com um pequeno esforço, um atacante pode obter uma grande quantidade de contas falsas (ataque Sybil), e utilizá-las para executar atividades maliciosas (que possam prejudicar os usuários legítimos) ou obter vantagens indevidas. É extremamente desafiador (senão impossível) desenvolver uma única solução de gerenciamento de identidades que seja ao mesmo tempo capaz de oferecer suporte a uma variedade de usuários usando dispositivos heterogêneos e adequada para uma diversidade de ambientes (por exemplo, sistemas distribuídos de larga escala, Internet das Coisas, e Internet do Futuro). Como consequência, a comunidade de pesquisa tem focado no projeto de soluções de gerenciamento de identidades customizadas, em cenários com um conjunto bem definido de propósitos, requisitos e limitações. Nesta tese, abordamos o problema de contas falsas em sistemas distribuídos de larga escala. Mais especificamente, nos concentramos em sistemas baseados no paradigma para- par e que podem acomodar esquemas de gerenciamento de identidades leves e de longo prazo (ex., sistemas de compartilhamento de arquivos e de live streaming, sistemas de detecção de intrusão colaborativos, entre outros); leves porque os usuários devem obter identidades sem precisar fornecer “provas de identidade” (ex., passaporte) e/ou pagar taxas; e longo prazo porque os usuários devem ser capazes de manter suas identidades (ex., através de renovação) por um período indefinido. Nosso principal objetivo é propor um arcabouço para precificar adaptativamente as solicitações de identidades como uma abordagem para conter ataques Sybil. A ideia chave é estimar um grau de confiança para as solicitações de identidades, calculada como função do número de identidades já concedidas em um dado período, considerando a origem dessas solicitações. Nossa abordagem baseia-se em prova de trabalho e usa desafios criptográficos como um recurso para conter atacantes. Nesta tese, nós também concentramos esforços na reformulação dos desafios tradicionais, de modo a torná-los “verdes” e “´uteis”. Os resultados obtidos via simulação e experimentação mostraram a viabilidade técnica de usar desafios verdes e ´uteis para o gerenciamento de identidades. Mais importante, eles mostraram que caracterizar as solicitações de identidades com base na origem das mesmas constitui uma abordagem promissora para lidar com a redução substancial da disseminação de contas falsas. / Online systems such as Facebook, Twitter, Digg, and BitTorrent communities (among various others) offer a lightweight process for obtaining identities (e.g., confirming a valid e-mail address; the actual requirements may vary depending on the system), so that users can easily join them. Such convenience comes with a price, however: with minimum effort, an attacker can obtain a horde of fake accounts (Sybil attack), and use them to either perform malicious activities (that might harm legitimate users) or obtain unfair benefits. It is extremely challenging (if not impossible) to devise a single identity management solution at the same time able to support a variety of end-users using heterogeneous devices, and suitable for a multitude of environments (e.g., large-scale distributed systems, Internet-of-Things, and Future Internet). As a consequence, the research community has focused on the design of system-specific identity management solutions, in scenarios having a well-defined set of purposes, requirements, and constraints. In this thesis, we approach the issue of fake accounts in large-scale, distributed systems. More specifically, we target systems based on the peer-to-peer paradigm and that can accommodate lightweight, long-term identity management schemes (e.g., file sharing and live streaming networks, collaborative intrusion detection systems, among others); lightweight because users should obtain identities without being required to provide “proof of identity” (e.g., passport) and/or pay taxes; and long-term because users should be able to maintain their identities (e.g., through renewal) for an indefinite period. Our main objective is to propose a framework for adaptively pricing identity requests as an approach to limit Sybil attacks. The key idea is to estimate a trust score for identity requests, calculated as a as function of the number of identities already granted in a given period, and considering their source of origin. Our approach relies on proof of work, and uses cryptographic puzzles as a resource to restrain attackers. In this thesis, we also concentrate on reshaping traditional puzzles, in order to make them “green” and “useful”. The results obtained through simulation and experimentation have shown the feasibility of using green and useful puzzles for identity management. More importantly, they have shown that profiling identity requests based on their source of origin constitutes a promising approach to tackle the dissemination of fake accounts.

Sistemas online como Facebook, Twitter, Digg, e comunidades BitTorrent (entre vários outros) oferecem um processo leve para a obtenção de identidades (por exemplo, confirmar um endereço de e-mail válido; os requisitos podem variar dependendo do sistema), de modo que os usuários possam cadastrar-se facilmente nos mesmos. Tal conveniência vem com um preço, no entanto: com um pequeno esforço, um atacante pode obter uma grande quantidade de contas falsas (ataque Sybil), e utilizá-las para executar atividades maliciosas (que possam prejudicar os usuários legítimos) ou obter vantagens indevidas. É extremamente desafiador (senão impossível) desenvolver uma única solução de gerenciamento de identidades que seja ao mesmo tempo capaz de oferecer suporte a uma variedade de usuários usando dispositivos heterogêneos e adequada para uma diversidade de ambientes (por exemplo, sistemas distribuídos de larga escala, Internet das Coisas, e Internet do Futuro). Como consequência, a comunidade de pesquisa tem focado no projeto de soluções de gerenciamento de identidades customizadas, em cenários com um conjunto bem definido de propósitos, requisitos e limitações. Nesta tese, abordamos o problema de contas falsas em sistemas distribuídos de larga escala. Mais especificamente, nos concentramos em sistemas baseados no paradigma para- par e que podem acomodar esquemas de gerenciamento de identidades leves e de longo prazo (ex., sistemas de compartilhamento de arquivos e de live streaming, sistemas de detecção de intrusão colaborativos, entre outros); leves porque os usuários devem obter identidades sem precisar fornecer “provas de identidade” (ex., passaporte) e/ou pagar taxas; e longo prazo porque os usuários devem ser capazes de manter suas identidades (ex., através de renovação) por um período indefinido. Nosso principal objetivo é propor um arcabouço para precificar adaptativamente as solicitações de identidades como uma abordagem para conter ataques Sybil. A ideia chave é estimar um grau de confiança para as solicitações de identidades, calculada como função do número de identidades já concedidas em um dado período, considerando a origem dessas solicitações. Nossa abordagem baseia-se em prova de trabalho e usa desafios criptográficos como um recurso para conter atacantes. Nesta tese, nós também concentramos esforços na reformulação dos desafios tradicionais, de modo a torná-los “verdes” e “´uteis”. Os resultados obtidos via simulação e experimentação mostraram a viabilidade técnica de usar desafios verdes e ´uteis para o gerenciamento de identidades. Mais importante, eles mostraram que caracterizar as solicitações de identidades com base na origem das mesmas constitui uma abordagem promissora para lidar com a redução substancial da disseminação de contas falsas. / Online systems such as Facebook, Twitter, Digg, and BitTorrent communities (among various others) offer a lightweight process for obtaining identities (e.g., confirming a valid e-mail address; the actual requirements may vary depending on the system), so that users can easily join them. Such convenience comes with a price, however: with minimum effort, an attacker can obtain a horde of fake accounts (Sybil attack), and use them to either perform malicious activities (that might harm legitimate users) or obtain unfair benefits. It is extremely challenging (if not impossible) to devise a single identity management solution at the same time able to support a variety of end-users using heterogeneous devices, and suitable for a multitude of environments (e.g., large-scale distributed systems, Internet-of-Things, and Future Internet). As a consequence, the research community has focused on the design of system-specific identity management solutions, in scenarios having a well-defined set of purposes, requirements, and constraints. In this thesis, we approach the issue of fake accounts in large-scale, distributed systems. More specifically, we target systems based on the peer-to-peer paradigm and that can accommodate lightweight, long-term identity management schemes (e.g., file sharing and live streaming networks, collaborative intrusion detection systems, among others); lightweight because users should obtain identities without being required to provide “proof of identity” (e.g., passport) and/or pay taxes; and long-term because users should be able to maintain their identities (e.g., through renewal) for an indefinite period. Our main objective is to propose a framework for adaptively pricing identity requests as an approach to limit Sybil attacks. The key idea is to estimate a trust score for identity requests, calculated as a as function of the number of identities already granted in a given period, and considering their source of origin. Our approach relies on proof of work, and uses cryptographic puzzles as a resource to restrain attackers. In this thesis, we also concentrate on reshaping traditional puzzles, in order to make them “green” and “useful”. The results obtained through simulation and experimentation have shown the feasibility of using green and useful puzzles for identity management. More importantly, they have shown that profiling identity requests based on their source of origin constitutes a promising approach to tackle the dissemination of fake accounts.