CAREER: CIF: Anonymous Networking with Guaranteed Quality of Service: Towards a Theoretical Foundation

Lehigh University, Bethlehem PA

Investigators

Abstract

Anonymity in networked systems refers to protecting the identities of communicating parties and paths of data flow. Exposing such information not only is a violation of user privacy, but also empowers a malicious adversary to launch powerful attacks. While a great deal of attention has been paid to information security and methods of protecting network activity using contents of communication, far less is known about vulnerabilities and risks of a network to adversarial timing analysis and its implications on privacy and social interactions. In this research, a rigorous theoretical foundation is developed for delivering any desired level of anonymity to networked systems with provable guarantees on network quality of service. This research is built on an information theoretic framework to measure anonymity which yields the first quantitative model for anonymity that takes into account the complete information available to an adversary and the resource and topological constraints of a network. While conventional approaches circumvent the interdependence between network and adversary by modeling the adversary as omniscient, the investigators model anonymous networking as games between network nodes and the adversary and study Nash equilibrium behavior of the players, behavior from which none has the incentive to deviate. Using the mathematical framework, the fundamental trade-offs between anonymity and network performance is characterized. Consequently, insights are derived into likely behavior of network adversaries. In a broader context, this rigorous analytical foundation will have significant impact in delivering provable privacy to a range of networked systems including computer networks, healthcare, transportation and smart energy distribution systems. In addition, the programs for middle and high school students and distance learning opportunities broaden the awareness of privacy vulnerabilities of networks in society.