Web Spoofing 2001

The Web is currently the pre-eminent medium for electronic service delivery to remote users. As a consequence, authentication of servers is more important than ever. Even sophisticated users base their decision whether or not to trust a site on browser cues---such as location bar information, SSL icons, SSL warnings, certificate information, response time, etc. In their seminal work on web spoofing, Felten et al showed how a malicious server could forge some of these cues---but using approaches that are no longer reproducible. However, subsequent evolution of Web tools has not only patched security holes---it has also added new technology to make pages more interactive and vivid. In this paper, we explore the feasibility of web spoofing using this new technology---and we show how, in many cases, every one of the above cues can be forged. In particular, we show how a malicious server can forge all the SSL information a client sees---thus providing a cautionary tale about the security of one of the most common applications of PKI. We stress that these techniques have been implemented, and are available for public demonstration

W3Bcrypt: Encryption as a Stylesheet

While web-based communications (e.g., webmail or web chatrooms) are increasingly protected by transport-layer cryptographic mechanisms, such as the SSL/TLS protocol, there are many situations where even the web server (or its operator) cannot be trusted. The end-to-end (E2E) encryption of data becomes increasingly important in these trust models to protect the confidentiality and integrity of the data against snooping and modification. We introduce W3Bcrypt, an extension to the Mozilla Firefox platform that enables application-level cryptographic protection for web content. In effect, we view cryptographic operations as a type of style to be applied to web content, similar to and along with layout and coloring operations. Among the main benefits of using encryption as a stylesheet are (a) reduced workload on the web server, (b) targeted content publication, and (c) greatly increased privacy. This paper discusses our implementation for Firefox, although the core ideas are applicable to most current browsers

A Survey on Wireless Sensor Network Security

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) have recently attracted a lot of interest in the research community due their wide range of applications. Due to distributed nature of these networks and their deployment in remote areas, these networks are vulnerable to numerous security threats that can adversely affect their proper functioning. This problem is more critical if the network is deployed for some mission-critical applications such as in a tactical battlefield. Random failure of nodes is also very likely in real-life deployment scenarios. Due to resource constraints in the sensor nodes, traditional security mechanisms with large overhead of computation and communication are infeasible in WSNs. Security in sensor networks is, therefore, a particularly challenging task. This paper discusses the current state of the art in security mechanisms for WSNs. Various types of attacks are discussed and their countermeasures presented. A brief discussion on the future direction of research in WSN security is also included.Comment: 24 pages, 4 figures, 2 table

Web Spoofing Revisited: SSL and Beyond

Can users believe what their browsers tell them? Even sophisticated Web users decide whether or not to trust a server based on browser cues such as location bar information, SSL icons, SSL warnings, certificate information, and response time. In their seminal work on Web spoofing, Felten et al showed how, in 1996, a malicious server could forge some of these cues. However, this work used genuine SSL sessions, and Web technology has evolved much since 1996. The Web has since become the pre-eminent medium for electronic service delivery to remote users, and the security of many commerce, government, and academic network applications critically rests on the assumption that users can authenticate the servers with which they interact. This situation raises the question: is the browser-user communication model today secure enough to warrant this assumption? In this paper, we answer this question by systematically showing how a malicious server can forge every one of the above cues. Our work extends the prior results by examining contemporary browsers, and by forging all of the SSL information a client sees, including the very existence of an SSL session (thus providing a cautionary tale about the security of one of the most common applications of PKI). We have made these techniques available for public demonstration, because anything less than working code would not convincingly answer the question. We also discuss implications and potential countermeasures, both short-term and long-term

Efficiency and Security of Process Transparency in Production Networks - A View of Expectations, Obstacles and Potentials

Much of the resilience and flexibility of production networks lies in the transparency of processes that allows timely perception of actual process states and adequate decisions or intervention at the proper point of the production system. Such degree of observability and permeability do, however, bear risks of malevolent tapping or interference with the information stream which, in the case of production systems, can put both business and physical processes at risk, requiring careful exploration of security threats in horizontal and vertical integration, and individual end-to-end connections likewise. Also, different levels of networked production present specific needs—high throughput and low time lag on the shop-floor level, or tolerances for confidence, gambling and bounded-rational views in cross-company relations—that may conflict with security policies. The paper presents a systematic summary of such apparently contradicting preferences, and possible approaches of reconciliation currently perceived to be relevant on various abstraction levels of production networks.status: publishe

Evaluation of Anonymized ONS Queries

Electronic Product Code (EPC) is the basis of a pervasive infrastructure for the automatic identification of objects on supply chain applications (e.g., pharmaceutical or military applications). This infrastructure relies on the use of the (1) Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology to tag objects in motion and (2) distributed services providing information about objects via the Internet. A lookup service, called the Object Name Service (ONS) and based on the use of the Domain Name System (DNS), can be publicly accessed by EPC applications looking for information associated with tagged objects. Privacy issues may affect corporate infrastructures based on EPC technologies if their lookup service is not properly protected. A possible solution to mitigate these issues is the use of online anonymity. We present an evaluation experiment that compares the of use of Tor (The second generation Onion Router) on a global ONS/DNS setup, with respect to benefits, limitations, and latency.Comment: 14 page

WISP: a wireless information security portal

M.Sc.Wireless networking is a fairly new technology that is important in information technology (IT). Hotels, Airports, Coffee shops, and homes are all installing wireless networks at a record pace, making wireless networks the best choice for consumers. This popularity of wireless networks is because of the affordability of wireless networks devices, and the easy installation [11]. In spite of the popularity of the wireless networks, one factor that has prevented them from being even more widespread can be summed up in a single word: security. It comes as no surprise that these two – wireless and security – converge to create one of the most important topics in the IT industry today [11]. Wireless networks by nature bring about new challenges unique to its environment. One example of these new challenges is: “Signal overflow beyond physical walls”, and with these kinds of new challenges unique to wireless networks, we have new security risks. Hence wireless networks lend themselves to a host of attack possibilities and risks. That is because wireless networks provide a convenient network access point for an attacker, potentially beyond the physical security controls of the organization [7]. Therefore it is challenging for managers to introduce wireless networks and properly manage the security of wireless networks, Security problems of wireless networks are the main reason for wireless networks not being rolled out optimally [1]. In this dissertation, we aim to present to both specialist and non–specialists in the IT industry the information needed to protect a wireless network. We will first identify and discuss the different security requirements of wireless networks. After that we shall examine the technology that helps make wireless networks secure, and describe the type of attacks against wireless networks and defense techniques to secure wireless networks. The research will concentrate on wireless LANs (Local Area Networks), and leading wireless LAN protocols and standards. The result of the research will be used to create WISP (A Wireless Information Security Portal). WISP will be a tool to support the management of a secure wireless network, and help assure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the information systems in a wireless network environment