TC: Small: Scalable Censorship Resistant Overlay Networks

University Of Minnesota-Twin Cities, Minneapolis MN

Investigators

Abstract

Freedom of speech is a founding principle of democratic society, and the Internet has become one of the most effective and common means of conveying expression that is likely to be controversial or suppressed. One threat to the freedom of speech online is the now widespread practice of Internet censorship by both private and state interests. These censors use a variety of social and technological means to limit availability or expression of information, stifling the democratic process. This project is focused on developing overlay networks that promote freedom of speech by circumventing social and technological censorship measures. The project will develop new software and protocols for secure overlay networks that satisfy three distinct security goals: relationship privacy, membership hiding, and blocking resistance. A secondary focus of the project is on understanding these security goals and the relationships between them, and investigating the extent to which existing systems satisfy these properties. The project will train undergraduate and graduate students to perform and apply research from a variety of disciplines (including cryptography, networking, algorithms, and coding theory). The project also develops new intellectual infrastructure by introducing the new notion of membership hiding as a security problem. Finally, the results of the project are expected to include the broad dissemination of free software that promotes freedom of expression on the Internet, against regimes that strongly oppose such expression.