EAGER-GENI Experiments on Network Security and Traffic Analysis

Clemson University, Clemson SC

Investigators

Abstract

Botnets are typically used to stage denial of service (DDoS) attacks against commercial sites. DDoS attacks can disable critical infrastructure across the globe. Few effective countermeasures exist. A proposed set of experiments will quantify factors responsible for DDoS vulnerability and will verify solutions for neutralizing those attacks. In addition, repressive nations use network monitoring to identify and prosecute their opponents. Timing vulnerabilities in anonymity systems put dissidents in repressive regimes in potential danger. Flaws in anonymity systems will be quantified and a new approach to safeguarding privacy will be confirmed. The GENI network infrastructure enables security research that has not been possible before due to potential disruption to production networks. This project will carry out a number of security and privacy experiments that include: -WiMAX DDoS analysis with analysis of variance finding vulnerable control parameter settings; -Privacy/Anonymity side-channel Hidden Markov Models (HMMs) will be inferred to break anonymity systems; -DDoS traffic measurement to map attack severity vs. network topology; -Side-channel vulnerability removal protocol tested at scale; and -DDoS countermeasure testing to neutralize DDoS attacks. This research has the ability to change the landscape in regards to network security and privacy. Graduate students will have abundant opportunities to carry out experiments on a network infrastructure that allows them to fully explore these research challenges at scale.