Using virtualisation to create a more secure online banking infrastructure

M.Sc. (Computer Science)Sim swop, Phishing, Zeus and SpyEye are all terms that may be found in articles concerning online banking fraud. Home users are unsure of how the configuration of their computers affects the risk profile for conducting online banking. Software installed by a home user on their computer may be malware designed to steal banking details. Customers expect banks to provide a safe online banking system. The challenge that banks have is that they cannot control the configuration that exists on a client operating system. The V-Bank system was designed to determine whether virtualisation can be used as a means to increase the security for online banking. The V-Bank system uses a virtual machine that is run from a guest that is single purpose, read-only and fulfils the configuration requirements that the bank has for a client system. The V-Bank system also utilises public and private key encryption for identification, authentication and authorisation mechanisms in the online banking system. The architecture of the V-Bank system defines online banking as an end-to-end system. It approaches online banking as a system that consists of three major components. The three major components is a client-side component, network and server-side environment. The V-Bank system gives banks the ability to provide customers with a system that is controlled from the client, through the network to the server. The V-Bank system demonstrates that virtualisation can be used to increase the security of online banking

Counteracting phishing through HCI

Computer security is a very technical topic that is in many cases hard to grasp for the average user. Especially when using the Internet, the biggest network connecting computers globally together, security and safety are important. In many cases they can be achieved without the user's active participation: securely storing user and customer data on Internet servers is the task of the respective company or service provider, but there are also a lot of cases where the user is involved in the security process, especially when he or she is intentionally attacked. Socially engineered phishing attacks are such a security issue were users are directly attacked to reveal private data and credentials to an unauthorized attacker. These types of attacks are the main focus of the research presented within my thesis. I have a look at how these attacks can be counteracted by detecting them in the first place but also by mediating these detection results to the user. In prior research and development these two areas have most often been regarded separately, and new security measures were developed without taking the final step of interacting with the user into account. This interaction mainly means presenting the detection results and receiving final decisions from the user. As an overarching goal within this thesis I look at these two aspects united, stating the overall protection as the sum of detection and "user intervention". Within nine different research projects about phishing protection this thesis gives answers to ten different research questions in the areas of creating new phishing detectors (phishing detection) and providing usable user feedback for such systems (user intervention): The ten research questions cover five different topics in both areas from the definition of the respective topic over ways how to measure and enhance the areas to finally reasoning about what is making sense. The research questions have been chosen to cover the range of both areas and the interplay between them. They are mostly answered by developing and evaluating different prototypes built within the projects that cover a range of human-centered detection properties and evaluate how well these are suited for phishing detection. I also take a look at different possibilities for user intervention (e.g. how should a warning look like? should it be blocking or non-blocking or perhaps even something else?). As a major contribution I finally present a model that combines phishing detection and user intervention and propose development and evaluation recommendations for similar systems. The research results show that when developing security detectors that yield results being relevant for end users such a detector can only be successful in case the final user feedback already has been taken into account during the development process.Sicherheit rund um den Computer ist ein, für den durchschnittlichen Benutzer schwer zu verstehendes Thema. Besonders, wenn sich die Benutzer im Internet - dem größten Netzwerk unserer Zeit - bewegen, ist die technische und persönliche Sicherheit der Benutzer extrem wichtig. In vielen Fällen kann diese ohne das Zutun des Benutzers erreicht werden. Datensicherheit auf Servern zu garantieren obliegt den Dienstanbietern, ohne dass eine aktive Mithilfe des Benutzers notwendig ist. Es gibt allerdings auch viele Fälle, bei denen der Benutzer Teil des Sicherheitsprozesses ist, besonders dann, wenn er selbst ein Opfer von Attacken wird. Phishing Attacken sind dabei ein besonders wichtiges Beispiel, bei dem Angreifer versuchen durch soziale Manipulation an private Daten des Nutzers zu gelangen. Diese Art der Angriffe stehen im Fokus meiner vorliegenden Arbeit. Dabei werfe ich einen Blick darauf, wie solchen Attacken entgegen gewirkt werden kann, indem man sie nicht nur aufspürt, sondern auch das Ergebnis des Erkennungsprozesses dem Benutzer vermittelt. Die bisherige Forschung und Entwicklung betrachtete diese beiden Bereiche meistens getrennt. Dabei wurden Sicherheitsmechanismen entwickelt, ohne den finalen Schritt der Präsentation zum Benutzer hin einzubeziehen. Dies bezieht sich hauptsächlich auf die Präsentation der Ergebnisse um dann den Benutzer eine ordnungsgemäße Entscheidung treffen zu lassen. Als übergreifendes Ziel dieser Arbeit betrachte ich diese beiden Aspekte zusammen und postuliere, dass Benutzerschutz die Summe aus Problemdetektion und Benutzerintervention' ("user intervention") ist. Mit Hilfe von neun verschiedenen Forschungsprojekten über Phishingschutz beantworte ich in dieser Arbeit zehn Forschungsfragen über die Erstellung von Detektoren ("phishing detection") und das Bereitstellen benutzbaren Feedbacks für solche Systeme ("user intervention"). Die zehn verschiedenen Forschungsfragen decken dabei jeweils fünf verschiedene Bereiche ab. Diese Bereiche erstrecken sich von der Definition des entsprechenden Themas über Messmethoden und Verbesserungsmöglichkeiten bis hin zu Überlegungen über das Kosten-Nutzen-Verhältnis. Dabei wurden die Forschungsfragen so gewählt, dass sie die beiden Bereiche breit abdecken und auf die Abhängigkeiten zwischen beiden Bereichen eingegangen werden kann. Die Forschungsfragen werden hauptsächlich durch das Schaffen verschiedener Prototypen innerhalb der verschiedenen Projekte beantwortet um so einen großen Bereich benutzerzentrierter Erkennungsparameter abzudecken und auszuwerten wie gut diese für die Phishingerkennung geeignet sind. Außerdem habe ich mich mit den verschiedenen Möglichkeiten der Benutzerintervention befasst (z.B. Wie sollte eine Warnung aussehen? Sollte sie Benutzerinteraktion blockieren oder nicht?). Ein weiterer Hauptbeitrag ist schlussendlich die Präsentation eines Modells, dass die Entwicklung von Phishingerkennung und Benutzerinteraktionsmaßnahmen zusammenführt und anhand dessen dann Entwicklungs- und Analyseempfehlungen für ähnliche Systeme gegeben werden. Die Forschungsergebnisse zeigen, dass Detektoren im Rahmen von Computersicherheitsproblemen die eine Rolle für den Endnutzer spielen nur dann erfolgreich entwickelt werden können, wenn das endgültige Benutzerfeedback bereits in den Entwicklungsprozesses des Detektors einfließt

Identifying and combating cyber-threats in the field of online banking

This thesis has been carried out in the industrial environment external to the University, as an industrial PhD. The results of this PhD have been tested, validated, and implemented in the production environment of Caixabank and have been used as models for others who have followed the same ideas. The most burning threats against banks throughout the Internet environment are based on software tools developed by criminal groups, applications running on web environment either on the computer of the victim (Malware) or on their mobile device itself through downloading rogue applications (fake app's with Malware APP). Method of the thesis has been used is an approximation of qualitative exploratory research on the problem, the answer to this problem and the use of preventive methods to this problem like used authentication systems. This method is based on samples, events, surveys, laboratory tests, experiments, proof of concept; ultimately actual data that has been able to deduce the thesis proposal, using both laboratory research and grounded theory methods of data pilot experiments conducted in real environments. I've been researching the various aspects related to e-crime following a line of research focusing on intrinsically related topics: - The methods, means and systems of attack: Malware, Malware families of banker Trojans, Malware cases of use, Zeus as case of use. - The fixed platforms, mobile applications and as a means for malware attacks. - forensic methods to analyze the malware and infrastructure attacks. - Continuous improvement of methods of authentication of customers and users as a first line of defense anti- malware. - Using biometrics as innovative factor authentication.The line investigating Malware and attack systems intrinsically is closed related to authentication methods and systems to infect customer (executables, APP's, etc.), because the main purpose of malware is precisely steal data entered in the "logon "authentication system, to operate and thus, fraudulently, steal money from online banking customers. Experiments in the Malware allowed establishing a new method of decryption establishing guidelines to combat its effects describing his fraudulent scheme and operation infection. I propose a general methodology to break the encryption communications malware (keystream), extracting the system used to encrypt such communications and a general approach of the Keystream technique. We show that this methodology can be used to respond to the threat of Zeus and finally provide lessons learned highlighting some general principles of Malware (in general) and in particular proposing Zeus Cronus, an IDS that specifically seeks the Zeus malware, testing it experimentally in a network production and providing an effective skills to combat the Malware are discussed. The thesis is a research interrelated progressive evolution between malware infection systems and authentication methods, reflected in the research work cumulatively, showing an evolution of research output and looking for a progressive improvement of methods authentication and recommendations for prevention and preventing infections, a review of the main app stores for mobile financial services and a proposal to these stores. The most common methods eIDAMS (authentication methods and electronic identification) implemented in Europe and its robustness are analyzed. An analysis of adequacy is presented in terms of efficiency, usability, costs, types of operations and segments including possibilities of use as authentication method with biometrics as innovation.Este trabajo de tesis se ha realizado en el entorno industrial externo a la Universidad como un PhD industrial Los resultados de este PhD han sido testeados, validados, e implementados en el entorno de producción de Caixabank y han sido utilizados como modelos por otras que han seguido las mismas ideas. Las amenazas más candentes contra los bancos en todo el entorno Internet, se basan en herramientas software desarrolladas por los grupos delincuentes, aplicaciones que se ejecutan tanto en entornos web ya sea en el propio ordenador de la víctima (Malware) o en sus dispositivos móviles mediante la descarga de falsas aplicaciones (APP falsa con Malware). Como método se ha utilizado una aproximación de investigación exploratoria cualitativa sobre el problema, la respuesta a este problema y el uso de métodos preventivos a este problema a través de la autenticación. Este método se ha basado en muestras, hechos, encuestas, pruebas de laboratorio, experimentos, pruebas de concepto; en definitiva datos reales de los que se ha podido deducir la tesis propuesta, utilizando tanto investigación de laboratorio como métodos de teoría fundamentada en datos de experimentos pilotos realizados en entornos reales. He estado investigando los diversos aspectos relacionados con e-crime siguiendo una línea de investigación focalizada en temas intrínsecamente relacionadas: - Los métodos, medios y sistemas de ataque: Malware, familias de Malware de troyanos bancarios, casos de usos de Malware, Zeus como caso de uso. - Las plataformas fijas, los móviles y sus aplicaciones como medio para realizar los ataques de Malware. - Métodos forenses para analizar el Malware y su infraestructura de ataque. - Mejora continuada de los métodos de autenticación de los clientes y usuarios como primera barrera de defensa anti- malware. - Uso de la biometría como factor de autenticación innovador. La línea investiga el Malware y sus sistemas de ataque intrínsecamente relacionada con los métodos de autenticación y los sistemas para infectar al cliente (ejecutables, APP's, etc.) porque el objetivo principal del malware es robar precisamente los datos que se introducen en el "logon" del sistema de autenticación para operar de forma fraudulenta y sustraer así el dinero de los clientes de banca electrónica. Los experimentos realizados en el Malware permitieron establecer un método novedoso de descifrado que estableció pautas para combatir sus efectos fraudulentos describiendo su esquema de infección y funcionamiento Propongo una metodología general para romper el cifrado de comunicaciones del malware (keystream) extrayendo el sistema utilizado para cifrar dichas comunicaciones y una generalización de la técnica de Keystream. Se demuestra que esta metodología puede usarse para responder a la amenaza de Zeus y finalmente proveemos lecciones aprendidas resaltando algunos principios generales del Malware (en general) y Zeus en particular proponiendo Cronus, un IDS que persigue específicamente el Malware Zeus, probándolo experimentalmente en una red de producción y se discuten sus habilidades y efectividad. En la tesis hay una evolución investigativa progresiva interrelacionada entre el Malware, sistemas de infección y los métodos de autenticación, que se refleja en los trabajos de investigación de manera acumulativa, mostrando una evolución del output de investigación y buscando una mejora progresiva de los métodos de autenticación y de la prevención y recomendaciones para evitar las infecciones, una revisión de las principales tiendas de Apps para servicios financieros para móviles y una propuesta para estas tiendas. Se analizan los métodos más comunes eIDAMS (Métodos de Autenticación e Identificación electrónica) implementados en Europa y su robustez y presentamos un análisis de adecuación en función de eficiencia, usabilidad, costes, tipos de operación y segmentos incluyendo un análisis de posibilidades con métodos biométricos como innovación.Postprint (published version

Analysis of digital evidence in identity theft investigations

Identity Theft could be currently considered as a significant problem in the modern internet driven era. This type of computer crime can be achieved in a number of different ways; various statistical figures suggest it is on the increase. It intimidates individual privacy and self assurance, while efforts for increased security and protection measures appear inadequate to prevent it. A forensic analysis of the digital evidence should be able to provide precise findings after the investigation of Identity Theft incidents. At present, the investigation of Internet based Identity Theft is performed on an ad hoc and unstructured basis, in relation to the digital evidence. This research work aims to construct a formalised and structured approach to digital Identity Theft investigations that would improve the current computer forensic investigative practice. The research hypothesis is to create an analytical framework to facilitate the investigation of Internet Identity Theft cases and the processing of the related digital evidence. This research work makes two key contributions to the subject: a) proposing the approach of examining different computer crimes using a process specifically based on their nature and b) to differentiate the examination procedure between the victim’s and the fraudster’s side, depending on the ownership of the digital media. The background research on the existing investigation methods supports the need of moving towards an individual framework that supports Identity Theft investigations. The presented investigation framework is designed based on the structure of the existing computer forensic frameworks. It is a flexible, conceptual tool that will assist the investigator’s work and analyse incidents related to this type of crime. The research outcome has been presented in detail, with supporting relevant material for the investigator. The intention is to offer a coherent tool that could be used by computer forensics investigators. Therefore, the research outcome will not only be evaluated from a laboratory experiment, but also strengthened and improved based on an evaluation feedback by experts from law enforcement. While personal identities are increasingly being stored and shared on digital media, the threat of personal and private information that is used fraudulently cannot be eliminated. However, when such incidents are precisely examined, then the nature of the problem can be more clearly understood

Web-based Secure Application Control

The world wide web today serves as a distributed application platform. Its origins, however, go back to a simple delivery network for static hypertexts. The legacy from these days can still be observed in the communication protocol used by increasingly sophisticated clients and applications. This thesis identifies the actual security requirements of modern web applications and shows that HTTP does not fit them: user and application authentication, message integrity and confidentiality, control-flow integrity, and application-to-application authorization. We explore the other protocols in the web stack and work out why they can not fill the gap. Our analysis shows that the underlying problem is the connectionless property of HTTP. However, history shows that a fresh start with web communication is far from realistic. As a consequence, we come up with approaches that contribute to meet the identified requirements. We first present impersonation attack vectors that begin before the actual user authentication, i.e. when secure web interaction and authentication seem to be unnecessary. Session fixation attacks exploit a responsibility mismatch between the web developer and the used web application framework. We describe and compare three countermeasures on different implementation levels: on the source code level, on the framework level, and on the network level as a reverse proxy. Then, we explain how the authentication credentials that are transmitted for the user login, i.e. the password, and for session tracking, i.e. the session cookie, can be complemented by browser-stored and user-based secrets respectively. This way, an attacker can not hijack user accounts only by phishing the user's password because an additional browser-based secret is required for login. Also, the class of well-known session hijacking attacks is mitigated because a secret only known by the user must be provided in order to perform critical actions. In the next step, we explore alternative approaches to static authentication credentials. Our approach implements a trusted UI and a mutually authenticated session using signatures as a means to authenticate requests. This way, it establishes a trusted path between the user and the web application without exchanging reusable authentication credentials. As a downside, this approach requires support on the client side and on the server side in order to provide maximum protection. Another approach avoids client-side support but can not implement a trusted UI and is thus susceptible to phishing and clickjacking attacks. Our approaches described so far increase the security level of all web communication at all time. This is why we investigate adaptive security policies that fit the actual risk instead of permanently restricting all kinds of communication including non-critical requests. We develop a smart browser extension that detects when the user is authenticated on a website meaning that she can be impersonated because all requests carry her identity proof. Uncritical communication, however, is released from restrictions to enable all intended web features. Finally, we focus on attacks targeting a web application's control-flow integrity. We explain them thoroughly, check whether current web application frameworks provide means for protection, and implement two approaches to protect web applications: The first approach is an extension for a web application framework and provides protection based on its configuration by checking all requests for policy conformity. The second approach generates its own policies ad hoc based on the observed web traffic and assuming that regular users only click on links and buttons and fill forms but do not craft requests to protected resources.Das heutige World Wide Web ist eine verteilte Plattform für Anwendungen aller Art: von einfachen Webseiten über Online Banking, E-Mail, multimediale Unterhaltung bis hin zu intelligenten vernetzten Häusern und Städten. Seine Ursprünge liegen allerdings in einem einfachen Netzwerk zur Übermittlung statischer Inhalte auf der Basis von Hypertexten. Diese Ursprünge lassen sich noch immer im verwendeten Kommunikationsprotokoll HTTP identifizieren. In dieser Arbeit untersuchen wir die Sicherheitsanforderungen moderner Web-Anwendungen und zeigen, dass HTTP diese Anforderungen nicht erfüllen kann. Zu diesen Anforderungen gehören die Authentifikation von Benutzern und Anwendungen, die Integrität und Vertraulichkeit von Nachrichten, Kontrollflussintegrität und die gegenseitige Autorisierung von Anwendungen. Wir untersuchen die Web-Protokolle auf den unteren Netzwerk-Schichten und zeigen, dass auch sie nicht die Sicherheitsanforderungen erfüllen können. Unsere Analyse zeigt, dass das grundlegende Problem in der Verbindungslosigkeit von HTTP zu finden ist. Allerdings hat die Geschichte gezeigt, dass ein Neustart mit einem verbesserten Protokoll keine Option für ein gewachsenes System wie das World Wide Web ist. Aus diesem Grund beschäftigt sich diese Arbeit mit unseren Beiträgen zu sicherer Web-Kommunikation auf der Basis des existierenden verbindungslosen HTTP. Wir beginnen mit der Beschreibung von Session Fixation-Angriffen, die bereits vor der eigentlichen Anmeldung des Benutzers an der Web-Anwendung beginnen und im Erfolgsfall die temporäre Übernahme des Benutzerkontos erlauben. Wir präsentieren drei Gegenmaßnahmen, die je nach Eingriffsmöglichkeiten in die Web-Anwendung umgesetzt werden können. Als nächstes gehen wir auf das Problem ein, dass Zugangsdaten im WWW sowohl zwischen den Teilnehmern zu Authentifikationszwecken kommuniziert werden als auch für jeden, der Kenntnis dieser Daten erlangt, wiederverwendbar sind. Unsere Ansätze binden das Benutzerpasswort an ein im Browser gespeichertes Authentifikationsmerkmal und das sog. Session-Cookie an ein Geheimnis, das nur dem Benutzer und der Web-Anwendung bekannt ist. Auf diese Weise kann ein Angreifer weder ein gestohlenes Passwort noch ein Session-Cookie allein zum Zugriff auf das Benutzerkonto verwenden. Darauffolgend beschreiben wir ein Authentifikationsprotokoll, das vollständig auf die Übermittlung geheimer Zugangsdaten verzichtet. Unser Ansatz implementiert eine vertrauenswürdige Benutzeroberfläche und wirkt so gegen die Manipulation derselben in herkömmlichen Browsern. Während die bisherigen Ansätze die Sicherheit jeglicher Web-Kommunikation erhöhen, widmen wir uns der Frage, inwiefern ein intelligenter Browser den Benutzer - wenn nötig - vor Angriffen bewahren kann und - wenn möglich - eine ungehinderte Kommunikation ermöglichen kann. Damit trägt unser Ansatz zur Akzeptanz von Sicherheitslösungen bei, die ansonsten regelmäßig als lästige Einschränkungen empfunden werden. Schließlich legen wir den Fokus auf die Kontrollflussintegrität von Web-Anwendungen. Bösartige Benutzer können den Zustand von Anwendungen durch speziell präparierte Folgen von Anfragen in ihrem Sinne manipulieren. Unsere Ansätze filtern Benutzeranfragen, die von der Anwendung nicht erwartet wurden, und lassen nur solche Anfragen passieren, die von der Anwendung ordnungsgemäß verarbeitet werden können

AN ENHANCEMENT ON TARGETED PHISHING ATTACKS IN THE STATE OF QATAR

The latest report by Kaspersky on Spam and Phishing, listed Qatar as one of the top 10 countries by percentage of email phishing and targeted phishing attacks. Since the Qatari economy has grown exponentially and become increasingly global in nature, email phishing and targeted phishing attacks have the capacity to be devastating to the Qatari economy, yet there are no adequate measures put in place such as awareness training programmes to minimise these threats to the state of Qatar. Therefore, this research aims to explore targeted attacks in specific organisations in the state of Qatar by presenting a new technique to prevent targeted attacks. This novel enterprise-wide email phishing detection system has been used by organisations and individuals not only in the state of Qatar but also in organisations in the UK. This detection system is based on domain names by which attackers carefully register domain names which victims trust. The results show that this detection system has proven its ability to reduce email phishing attacks. Moreover, it aims to develop email phishing awareness training techniques specifically designed for the state of Qatar to complement the presented technique in order to increase email phishing awareness, focused on targeted attacks and the content, and reduce the impact of phishing email attacks. This research was carried out by developing an interactive email phishing awareness training website that has been tested by organisations in the state of Qatar. The results of this training programme proved to get effective results by training users on how to spot email phishing and targeted attacks

A framework for high speed lexical classification of malicious URLs

Phishing attacks employ social engineering to target end-users, with the goal of stealing identifying or sensitive information. This information is used in activities such as identity theft or financial fraud. During a phishing campaign, attackers distribute URLs which; along with false information, point to fraudulent resources in an attempt to deceive users into requesting the resource. These URLs are made obscure through the use of several techniques which make automated detection difficult. Current methods used to detect malicious URLs face multiple problems which attackers use to their advantage. These problems include: the time required to react to new attacks; shifts in trends in URL obfuscation and usability problems caused by the latency incurred by the lookups required by these approaches. A new method of identifying malicious URLs using Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) has been shown to be effective by several authors. The simple method of classification performed by ANNs result in very high classification speeds with little impact on usability. Samples used for the training, validation and testing of these ANNs are gathered from Phishtank and Open Directory. Words selected from the different sections of the samples are used to create a `Bag-of-Words (BOW)' which is used as a binary input vector indicating the presence of a word for a given sample. Twenty additional features which measure lexical attributes of the sample are used to increase classification accuracy. A framework that is capable of generating these classifiers in an automated fashion is implemented. These classifiers are automatically stored on a remote update distribution service which has been built to supply updates to classifier implementations. An example browser plugin is created and uses ANNs provided by this service. It is both capable of classifying URLs requested by a user in real time and is able to block these requests. The framework is tested in terms of training time and classification accuracy. Classification speed and the effectiveness of compression algorithms on the data required to distribute updates is tested. It is concluded that it is possible to generate these ANNs in a frequent fashion, and in a method that is small enough to distribute easily. It is also shown that classifications are made at high-speed with high-accuracy, resulting in little impact on usability

Provisión de servicio de comercio electrónico con soporte a pasarela de pago para verificación del pago a través de terminal lMS

En los últimos años el uso de Internet y la realización de transacciones económicas a través de dicha red han crecido considerablemente. La utilización del comercio electrónico permite al usuario realizar las transacciones desde cualquier lugar, sin necesidad de desplazarse a la tienda en la que desea realizar la compra y ahorrar el dinero y el tiempo que requeriría dicho desplazamiento. Sin embargo, la utilización del comercio electrónico para la realización de compras por Internet no goza de un respaldo mayoritario debido a la desconfianza de los usuarios a proporcionar sus datos bancarios o la información de sus tarjetas de crédito a través de la red. En este proyecto, se han estudiado los diferentes métodos de pago electrónico existentes en la actualidad, y su posible mejora para la provisión de un servicio de pago electrónico fiable y seguro para los clientes. La futura convergencia entre redes de comunicación ha originado el planteamiento de un sistema de pago que permita al usuario realizar la compra a través de la Web pero validarla a través de un terminal IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem). Más concretamente, este proyecto ha tenido como objetivo el diseño de una aplicación convergente que permita interconectar la Web con las redes de próxima generación para proporcionar servicios de pago electrónico seguros con soporte para la verificación de las transacciones económicas a través de un terminal IMS. Para ello se hace uso de dos canales de comunicación diferentes (Internet y telefonía móvil), lo que dota de una gran robustez al sistema, ya que es complicado comprometer las dos redes simultáneamente. La necesidad de proteger la información privada de los usuarios hace que el sistema diseñado soporte gestión de identidad. Como consecuencia de ello, los usuarios del sistema pueden controlar la información de su perfil que deseen proporcionar a un determinado proveedor de servicio. Por otro lado, se ha tratado el problema de la gestión de credenciales por parte de los usuarios. Para ello, se ha proporcionado al sistema desarrollado de un mecanismo de identificación SSO (Single Sign-On), que evita al usuario tener que identificarse repetidamente en los diversos sitios Web a los que acceda. La solución planteada podría tener una gran proyección, ya que la telefonía móvil goza de una gran aceptación y su uso se encuentra mundialmente extendido. Debido a ello, es lógico pensar que los usuarios podrían encontrarse más confiados a enviar su información privada a través de su teléfono móvil que a través de Internet. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Financial transactions have increased in number in the last years. The use of electronic commerce allows users to make transactions from anywhere, without having to go to the store where they want to make the purchase thus, saving money and time. The lack of a comprehensive security infrastructure has delight in tormenting ecommerce. The use of electronic transactions in a daily basis is far from being a reality. Due to several security problems, customers are reluctant to hand out their private information, especially their financial information as credit cards. In this thesis, we have studied the different electronic payment methods currently available and feasible improvements towards a safer and reliable service for customers. The future convergence of communication networks has led to the approach of an authorized payment system by mobile phone that allows the user to purchase online but validate it through his IMS terminal. The system developed will use two different communication channels (Internet and mobile), making hard to compromise both networks simultaneously. The purpose of such development is to find a solution for making safe purchases over the Internet increasing so user confidence in electronic commerce. On the other hand, the need to protect private information from users, makes necessary the use of identity management in service providers, preventing users from handing out their credentials in different Web sites (implementing Single Sign-On) and giving them the opportunity to increase the control over their user profile managing the information provided to the service provider. The aim of this project is the provision of an electronic commerce service that utilizes a next-generation network for authorization purposes. Taking advantage of development opportunities they offer, and developing a module for authentication and verification of financial transactions through the network by using a mobile phone.Ingeniería de Telecomunicació

ATTACKS AND COUNTERMEASURES FOR WEBVIEW ON MOBILE SYSTEMS

ABSTRACT All the mainstream mobile operating systems provide a web container, called ``WebView\u27\u27. This Web-based interface can be included as part of the mobile application to retrieve and display web contents from remote servers. WebView not only provides the same functionalities as web browser, more importantly, it enables rich interactions between mobile apps and webpages loaded inside WebView. Through its APIs, WebView enables the two-way interaction. However, the design of WebView changes the landscape of the Web, especially from the security perspective. This dissertation conducts a comprehensive and systematic study of WebView\u27s impact on web security, with a particular focus on identifying its fundamental causes. This dissertation discovers multiple attacks on WebView, and proposes new protection models to enhance the security of WebView. The design principles of these models are also described as well as the prototype implementation in Android platform. Evaluations are used to demonstrate the effectiveness and performance of these protection models

Does the online card payment system unwittingly facilitate fraud?

PhD ThesisThe research work in this PhD thesis presents an extensive investigation into the security settings of Card Not Present (CNP) financial transactions. These are the transactions which include payments performed with a card over the Internet on the websites, and over the phone. Our detailed analysis on hundreds of websites and on multiple CNP payment protocols justifies that the current security architecture of CNP payment system is not adequate enough to protect itself from fraud. Unintentionally, the payment system itself will allow an adversary to learn and exploit almost all of the security features put in place to protect the CNP payment system from fraud. With insecure modes of accepting payments, the online payment system paves the way for cybercriminals to abuse even the latest designed payment protocols like 3D Secure 2.0. We follow a structured analysis methodology which identifies vulnerabilities in the CNP payment protocols and demonstrates the impact of these vulnerabilities on the overall payment system. The analysis methodology comprises of UML diagrams and reference tables which describe the CNP payment protocol sequences, software tools which implements the protocol and practical demonstrations of the research results. Detailed referencing of the online payment specifications provides a documented link between the exploitable vulnerabilities observed in real implementations and the source of the vulnerability in the payment specifications. We use practical demonstrations to show that these vulnerabilities can be exploited in the real-world with ease. This presents a stronger impact message when presenting our research results to a nontechnical audience. This has helped to raise awareness of security issues relating to payment cards, with our work appearing in the media, radio and T