CAREER: Internet Audit: A Theory, Toolset, and Applications for a World without Net Neutrality

Northwestern University, Evanston IL

Investigators

Abstract

A fundamental question in the net neutrality debate is the extent to which network operators should be allowed to discriminate among Internet packet streams. Unfortunately, the state of affairs in reality has dramatically surpassed academic debating at various levels. Rough competition among Internet service and content providers, as well as huge monopoly potentials, are radically increasing the scale of discriminatory acts in the Internet. The principal investigator (PI) will build Internet Audit: a system capable of monitoring network or content delivery network (CDN) services and elements, revealing their behavior and policies, and accurately detecting and exposing biased or discriminatory network practices. The research efforts will be focused on devising novel distributed end-host-based auditing methodologies and tools. The PI will systematically study a number of threat models, ranging from open DoS attacks to more sophisticated methods in which ISPs are adding jitter or using differentiated services in destructive ways. Intellectual Merit: This research will address fundamental questions that are key to developing and deploying the Internet Audit services. The researcher will apply elements of the info-gap decision theory to devise and evaluate novel monitoring algorithms and enable the Internet Audit effectively operate in uncertain Internet environments. Broader Impact: By enabling clients to know how ISPs and CDNs behave, the auditing system will enable fair competition, preclude monopolies, oligopolies, or collusions, eventually helping clients get better services at fair prices. By exposing discriminatory network behavior, the system will help reduce the alarming scale of discriminating acts happening in today's Internet, ultimately facilitating the development of free and open society.