Secure Incentives to Cooperate for Wireless Networks

The operating principle of certain wireless networks makes essential the cooperation between the mobile nodes. However, if each node is an autonomous selfish entity, cooperation is not guaranteed and therefore we need to use incentive techniques. In this thesis, we study cooperation in three different types of networks: WiFi networks, Wireless Mesh Networks (WMNs), and Hybrid Ad-hoc networks. Cooperation has a different goal for each of these networks, we thus propose incentive mechanisms adapted to each case. In the first chapter of this thesis, we consider WiFi networks whose wide-scale adoption is impeded by two major hurdles: the lack of a seamless roaming scheme and the variable QoS experienced by the users. We devise a reputation-based solution that (i) allows a mobile node to connect to a foreign Wireless ISP in a secure way while preserving his anonymity and (ii) encourages the WISPs to cooperate, i.e., to provide the mobile clients with a good QoS. Cooperation appears here twofold: First, the mobile clients have to collaborate in order to build and maintain the reputation system and second, the use of this reputation system encourages the WISPs to cooperate. We show, by means of simulations, that our reputation model indeed encourages the WISPs to behave correctly and we analyze the robustness of our solution against various attacks. In the second chapter of the thesis, we consider Wireless Mesh Networks (WMNs), a new and promising paradigm that uses multi-hop communications to extend WiFi networks. Indeed, by connecting only one hot spot to the Internet and by deploying several Transit Access Points (TAPs), a WISP can extend its coverage and serve a large number of clients at a very low cost. We analyze the characteristics of WMNs and deduce three fundamental network operations that need to be secured: (i) the routing protocol, (ii) the detection of corrupt TAPs and (iii) the enforcement of a proper fairness metric in WMNs. We focus on the fairness problem and propose FAME, an adaptive max-min fair resource allocation mechanism for WMNs. FAME provides a fair, collision-free capacity use of the WMN and automatically adjusts to the traffic demand fluctuations of the mobile clients. We develop the foundations of the mechanism and demonstrate its efficiency by means of simulations. We also experimentally assess the utility of our solution when TAPs are equipped with directional antennas and distinct sending and receiving interfaces in the Magnets testbed deployed in Berlin. In the third and last chapter of this thesis, we consider Hybrid Ad-hoc networks, i.e., infrastructured networks that are extended using multi-hop communications. We propose a secure set of protocols to encourage the most fundamental operation in these networks, namely packet forwarding. This solution is based on a charging and rewarding system. We use "MAC layering" to reduce the space overhead in the packets and a stream cipher encryption mechanism to provide "implicit authentication" of the nodes involved in the communication. We analyze the robustness of our protocols against rational and malicious attacks. We show that the use of our solution makes cooperation rational for selfish nodes. We also show that our protocols thwart rational attacks and detect malicious attacks

How to accelerate your internet : a practical guide to bandwidth management and optimisation using open source software

xiii, 298 p. : ill. ; 24 cm.Libro ElectrónicoAccess to sufficient Internet bandwidth enables worldwide electronic collaboration, access to informational resources, rapid and effective communication, and grants membership to a global community. Therefore, bandwidth is probably the single most critical resource at the disposal of a modern organisation. The goal of this book is to provide practical information on how to gain the largest possible benefit from your connection to the Internet. By applying the monitoring and optimisation techniques discussed here, the effectiveness of your network can be significantly improved

Architecture, Services and Protocols for CRUTIAL

This document describes the complete specification of the architecture, services and protocols of the project CRUTIAL. The CRUTIAL Architecture intends to reply to a grand challenge of computer science and control engineering: how to achieve resilience of critical information infrastructures (CII), in particular in the electrical sector. In general lines, the document starts by presenting the main architectural options and components of the architecture, with a special emphasis on a protection device called the CRUTIAL Information Switch (CIS). Given the various criticality levels of the equipments that have to be protected, and the cost of using a replicated device, we define a hierarchy of CIS designs incrementally more resilient. The different CIS designs offer various trade offs in terms of capabilities to prevent and tolerate intrusions, both in the device itself and in the information infrastructure. The Middleware Services, APIs and Protocols chapter describes our approach to intrusion tolerant middleware. The CRUTIAL middleware comprises several building blocks that are organized on a set of layers. The Multipoint Network layer is the lowest layer of the middleware, and features an abstraction of basic communication services, such as provided by standard protocols, like IP, IPsec, UDP, TCP and SSL/TLS. The Communication Support layer features three important building blocks: the Randomized Intrusion-Tolerant Services (RITAS), the CIS Communication service and the Fosel service for mitigating DoS attacks. The Activity Support layer comprises the CIS Protection service, and the Access Control and Authorization service. The Access Control and Authorization service is implemented through PolyOrBAC, which defines the rules for information exchange and collaboration between sub-modules of the architecture, corresponding in fact to different facilities of the CII’s organizations. The Monitoring and Failure Detection layer contains a definition of the services devoted to monitoring and failure detection activities. The Runtime Support Services, APIs, and Protocols chapter features as a main component the Proactive-Reactive Recovery service, whose aim is to guarantee perpetual correct execution of any components it protects.Project co-funded by the European Commission within the Sixth Frame-work Programme (2002-2006

Quality of Service (QoS) security in mobile ad hoc networks

With the rapid proliferation of wireless networks and mobile computing applications, Quality of Service (QoS) for mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs) has received increased attention. Security is a critical aspect of QoS provisioning in the MANET environment. Without protection from a security mechanism, attacks on QoS signaling system could result in QoS routing malfunction, interference of resource reservation, or even failure of QoS provision. Due to the characteristics of the MANETs, such as rapid topology change and limited communication and computation capacity, the conventional security measures cannot be applied and new security techniques are necessary. However, little research has been done on this topic. In this dissertation, the security issues will be addressed for MANET QoS systems. The major contributions of this research are: (a) design of an authentication mechanism for ad hoc networks; (b) design of a security mechanism to prevent and detect attacks on the QoS signaling system; (c) design of an intrusion detection mechanism for bandwidth reservation to detect QoS attacks and Denial of Service (DoS) attacks. These three mechanisms are evaluated through simulation

Blown to Bits: Your Life, Liberty, and Happiness After the Digital Explosion

382 p.Libro ElectrónicoEach of us has been in the computing field for more than 40 years. The book is the product of a lifetime of observing and participating in the changes it has brought. Each of us has been both a teacher and a learner in the field. This book emerged from a general education course we have taught at Harvard, but it is not a textbook. We wrote this book to share what wisdom we have with as many people as we can reach. We try to paint a big picture, with dozens of illuminating anecdotes as the brushstrokes. We aim to entertain you at the same time as we provoke your thinking.Preface Chapter 1 Digital Explosion Why Is It Happening, and What Is at Stake? The Explosion of Bits, and Everything Else The Koans of Bits Good and Ill, Promise and Peril Chapter 2 Naked in the Sunlight Privacy Lost, Privacy Abandoned 1984 Is Here, and We Like It Footprints and Fingerprints Why We Lost Our Privacy, or Gave It Away Little Brother Is Watching Big Brother, Abroad and in the U.S. Technology Change and Lifestyle Change Beyond Privacy Chapter 3 Ghosts in the Machine Secrets and Surprises of Electronic Documents What You See Is Not What the Computer Knows Representation, Reality, and Illusion Hiding Information in Images The Scary Secrets of Old Disks Chapter 4 Needles in the Haystack Google and Other Brokers in the Bits Bazaar Found After Seventy Years The Library and the Bazaar The Fall of Hierarchy It Matters How It Works Who Pays, and for What? Search Is Power You Searched for WHAT? Tracking Searches Regulating or Replacing the Brokers Chapter 5 Secret Bits How Codes Became Unbreakable Encryption in the Hands of Terrorists, and Everyone Else Historical Cryptography Lessons for the Internet Age Secrecy Changes Forever Cryptography for Everyone Cryptography Unsettled Chapter 6 Balance Toppled Who Owns the Bits? Automated Crimes—Automated Justice NET Act Makes Sharing a Crime The Peer-to-Peer Upheaval Sharing Goes Decentralized Authorized Use Only Forbidden Technology Copyright Koyaanisqatsi: Life Out of Balance The Limits of Property Chapter 7 You Can’t Say That on the Internet Guarding the Frontiers of Digital Expression Do You Know Where Your Child Is on the Web Tonight? Metaphors for Something Unlike Anything Else Publisher or Distributor? Neither Liberty nor Security The Nastiest Place on Earth The Most Participatory Form of Mass Speech Protecting Good Samaritans—and a Few Bad Ones Laws of Unintended Consequences Can the Internet Be Like a Magazine Store? Let Your Fingers Do the Stalking Like an Annoying Telephone Call? Digital Protection, Digital Censorship—and Self-Censorship Chapter 8 Bits in the Air Old Metaphors, New Technologies, and Free Speech Censoring the President How Broadcasting Became Regulated The Path to Spectrum Deregulation What Does the Future Hold for Radio? Conclusion After the Explosion Bits Lighting Up the World A Few Bits in Conclusion Appendix The Internet as System and Spirit The Internet as a Communication System The Internet Spirit Endnotes Inde

Cryptography and Its Applications in Information Security

Nowadays, mankind is living in a cyber world. Modern technologies involve fast communication links between potentially billions of devices through complex networks (satellite, mobile phone, Internet, Internet of Things (IoT), etc.). The main concern posed by these entangled complex networks is their protection against passive and active attacks that could compromise public security (sabotage, espionage, cyber-terrorism) and privacy. This Special Issue “Cryptography and Its Applications in Information Security” addresses the range of problems related to the security of information in networks and multimedia communications and to bring together researchers, practitioners, and industrials interested by such questions. It consists of eight peer-reviewed papers, however easily understandable, that cover a range of subjects and applications related security of information

Code: Version 2.0

Discusses the regulation of cyberspace via code, as well as possible trends to expect in this regulation. Additional topics discussed in this context include intellectual property, privacy, and free speech

Applied Metaheuristic Computing

For decades, Applied Metaheuristic Computing (AMC) has been a prevailing optimization technique for tackling perplexing engineering and business problems, such as scheduling, routing, ordering, bin packing, assignment, facility layout planning, among others. This is partly because the classic exact methods are constrained with prior assumptions, and partly due to the heuristics being problem-dependent and lacking generalization. AMC, on the contrary, guides the course of low-level heuristics to search beyond the local optimality, which impairs the capability of traditional computation methods. This topic series has collected quality papers proposing cutting-edge methodology and innovative applications which drive the advances of AMC