Securing the Router Infrastructure of the Internet

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ABSTRACT

The Internet represents essential communication infrastructure that needs to be protected from malicious attacks. Many existing attacks (and corresponding defenses) focus on end-­‐systems connected to the Internet. Our work shows that a new type of “in-­‐network” attack may emerge by exploiting vulnerabilities in the packet processing systems of routers inside the network. This project proposes a novel approach to providing fundamental security capabilities in these packet-­‐ processing systems that can defend against such attacks. Our main idea is to expand packet-­‐processing systems to include monitoring subsystems that can verify correct operation. Since computer networks operate using well-­‐defined protocols, it is possible to define the “correct operation” of a system a priori. Using this information, a monitor can determine when a packet processor deviates from a sequence of operation that is considered to be correct or when a router deviates from its expected input/output behavior. The results from our work will provide a novel approach to addressing security vulnerabilities within the networking infrastructure itself. The proposed system may be deployed in next-­‐generation networks (e.g., in the NSF GENI project) to assess the practical impact of defending network infrastructure.

Award ID: 1115999

  • attack
  • computer network
  • embedded system security
  • University of Massachusetts Amherst
  • 1115999
  • SaTC PI Meeting 2012
  • Poster
  • Academia
  • SaTC Posters
Submitted by Katie Dey on Wed, 10/31/2012 - 11:02