TWC: Medium: Detection and Prevention of Data Timing Channels

University Of California-San Diego, La Jolla CA

Investigators

Abstract

In the era of "big data" and "cloud computing", it is critically important that we are able to protect sensitive data, and prevent it from being leaked. The goal of this project is to explore a new kind of attack, called data timing attacks, which circumvents known defenses, and allows adversaries to exfiltrate private information from web browsers and privacy preserving databases. This project investigates not only how prevalent data timing attacks are, but also how to prevent them. By developing techniques for understanding and mitigating data timing attacks, this project will provide better guarantees about the security of widely used software like web browsers, web servers, and databases, yielding safer and more secure systems for end-users. Finally, the project will elucidate what best programming practices should be taught to the next generation of programmers, so they can develop safe and secure software.