Protection of an intrusion detection engine with watermarking in ad hoc networks

Mobile ad hoc networks have received great attention in recent years, mainly due to the evolution of wireless networking and mobile computing hardware. Nevertheless, many inherent vulnerabilities exist in mobile ad hoc networks and their applications that affect the security of wireless transactions. As intrusion prevention mechanisms, such as encryption and authentication, are not sufficient we need a second line of defense, Intrusion Detection. In this pa-per we present an intrusion detection engine based on neural networks and a protection method based on watermarking techniques. In particular, we exploit information visualization and machine learning techniques in order to achieve intrusion detection and we authenticate the maps produced by the application of the intelligent techniques using a novel combined watermarking embedding method. The performance of the proposed model is evaluated under different traffic conditions, mobility patterns and visualization metrics

Framework for privacy-aware content distribution in peer-to- peer networks with copyright protection

The use of peer-to-peer (P2P) networks for multimedia distribution has spread out globally in recent years. This mass popularity is primarily driven by the efficient distribution of content, also giving rise to piracy and copyright infringement as well as privacy concerns. An end user (buyer) of a P2P content distribution system does not want to reveal his/her identity during a transaction with a content owner (merchant), whereas the merchant does not want the buyer to further redistribute the content illegally. Therefore, there is a strong need for content distribution mechanisms over P2P networks that do not pose security and privacy threats to copyright holders and end users, respectively. However, the current systems being developed to provide copyright and privacy protection to merchants and end users employ cryptographic mechanisms, which incur high computational and communication costs, making these systems impractical for the distribution of big files, such as music albums or movies.El uso de soluciones de igual a igual (peer-to-peer, P2P) para la distribución multimedia se ha extendido mundialmente en los últimos años. La amplia popularidad de este paradigma se debe, principalmente, a la distribución eficiente de los contenidos, pero también da lugar a la piratería, a la violación del copyright y a problemas de privacidad. Un usuario final (comprador) de un sistema de distribución de contenidos P2P no quiere revelar su identidad durante una transacción con un propietario de contenidos (comerciante), mientras que el comerciante no quiere que el comprador pueda redistribuir ilegalmente el contenido más adelante. Por lo tanto, existe una fuerte necesidad de mecanismos de distribución de contenidos por medio de redes P2P que no supongan un riesgo de seguridad y privacidad a los titulares de derechos y los usuarios finales, respectivamente. Sin embargo, los sistemas actuales que se desarrollan con el propósito de proteger el copyright y la privacidad de los comerciantes y los usuarios finales emplean mecanismos de cifrado que implican unas cargas computacionales y de comunicaciones muy elevadas que convierten a estos sistemas en poco prácticos para distribuir archivos de gran tamaño, tales como álbumes de música o películas.L'ús de solucions d'igual a igual (peer-to-peer, P2P) per a la distribució multimèdia s'ha estès mundialment els darrers anys. L'àmplia popularitat d'aquest paradigma es deu, principalment, a la distribució eficient dels continguts, però també dóna lloc a la pirateria, a la violació del copyright i a problemes de privadesa. Un usuari final (comprador) d'un sistema de distribució de continguts P2P no vol revelar la seva identitat durant una transacció amb un propietari de continguts (comerciant), mentre que el comerciant no vol que el comprador pugui redistribuir il·legalment el contingut més endavant. Per tant, hi ha una gran necessitat de mecanismes de distribució de continguts per mitjà de xarxes P2P que no comportin un risc de seguretat i privadesa als titulars de drets i els usuaris finals, respectivament. Tanmateix, els sistemes actuals que es desenvolupen amb el propòsit de protegir el copyright i la privadesa dels comerciants i els usuaris finals fan servir mecanismes d'encriptació que impliquen unes càrregues computacionals i de comunicacions molt elevades que fan aquests sistemes poc pràctics per a distribuir arxius de grans dimensions, com ara àlbums de música o pel·lícules

Contribution to the construction of fingerprinting and watermarking schemes to protect mobile agents and multimedia content

The main characteristic of fingerprinting codes is the need of high error-correction capacity due to the fact that they are designed to avoid collusion attacks which will damage many symbols from the codewords. Moreover, the use of fingerprinting schemes depends on the watermarking system that is used to embed the codeword into the content and how it honors the marking assumption. In this sense, even though fingerprinting codes were mainly used to protect multimedia content, using them on software protection systems seems an option to be considered. This thesis, studies how to use codes which have iterative-decoding algorithms, mainly turbo-codes, to solve the fingerprinting problem. Initially, it studies the effectiveness of current approaches based on concatenating tradicioanal fingerprinting schemes with convolutional codes and turbo-codes. It is shown that these kind of constructions ends up generating a high number of false positives. Even though this thesis contains some proposals to improve these schemes, the direct use of turbo-codes without using any concatenation with a fingerprinting code as inner code has also been considered. It is shown that the performance of turbo-codes using the appropiate constituent codes is a valid alternative for environments with hundreds of users and 2 or 3 traitors. As constituent codes, we have chosen low-rate convolutional codes with maximum free distance. As for how to use fingerprinting codes with watermarking schemes, we have studied the option of using watermarking systems based on informed coding and informed embedding. It has been discovered that, due to different encodings available for the same symbol, its applicability to embed fingerprints is very limited. On this sense, some modifications to these systems have been proposed in order to properly adapt them to fingerprinting applications. Moreover the behavior and impact over a video produced as a collusion of 2 users by the YouTube’s s ervice has been s tudied. We have also studied the optimal parameters for viable tracking of users who have used YouTube and conspired to redistribute copies generated by a collusion attack. Finally, we have studied how to implement fingerprinting schemes and software watermarking to fix the problem of malicious hosts on mobile agents platforms. In this regard, four different alternatives have been proposed to protect the agent depending on whether you want only detect the attack or avoid it in real time. Two of these proposals are focused on the protection of intrusion detection systems based on mobile agents. Moreover, each of these solutions has several implications in terms of infrastructure and complexity.Els codis fingerprinting es caracteritzen per proveir una alta capacitat correctora ja que han de fer front a atacs de confabulació que malmetran una part important dels símbols de la paraula codi. D'atra banda, la utilització de codis de fingerprinting en entorns reals està subjecta a que l'esquema de watermarking que gestiona la incrustació sigui respectuosa amb la marking assumption. De la mateixa manera, tot i que el fingerprinting neix de la protecció de contingut multimèdia, utilitzar-lo en la protecció de software comença a ser una aplicació a avaluar. En aquesta tesi s'ha estudiat com aplicar codis amb des codificació iterativa, concretament turbo-codis, al problema del rastreig de traïdors en el context del fingerprinting digital. Inicialment s'ha qüestionat l'eficàcia dels enfocaments actuals en la utilització de codis convolucionals i turbo-codis que plantegen concatenacions amb esquemes habituals de fingerprinting. S'ha demostrat que aquest tipus de concatenacions portaven, de forma implícita, a una elevada probabilitat d'inculpar un usuari innocent. Tot i que s'han proposat algunes millores sobre aquests esquemes , finalment s'ha plantejat l'ús de turbocodis directament, evitant així la concatenació amb altres esquemes de fingerprinting. S'ha demostrat que, si s'utilitzen els codis constituents apropiats, el rendiment del turbo-descodificador és suficient per a ser una alternativa aplicable en entorns amb varis centenars d'usuaris i 2 o 3 confabuladors . Com a codis constituents s'ha optat pels codis convolucionals de baix ràtio amb distància lliure màxima. Pel que fa a com utilitzar els codis de fingerprinting amb esquemes de watermarking, s'ha estudiat l'opció d'utilitzar sistemes de watermarking basats en la codificació i la incrustació informada. S'ha comprovat que, degut a la múltiple codificació del mateix símbol, la seva aplicabilitat per incrustar fingerprints és molt limitada. En aquest sentit s'ha plantejat algunes modificacions d'aquests sistemes per tal d'adaptar-los correctament a aplicacions de fingerprinting. D'altra banda s'ha avaluat el comportament i l'impacte que el servei de YouTube produeix sobre un vídeo amb un fingerprint incrustat. A més , s'ha estudiat els paràmetres òptims per a fer viable el rastreig d'usuaris que han confabulat i han utilitzat YouTube per a redistribuir la copia fruït de la seva confabulació. Finalment, s'ha estudiat com aplicar els esquemes de fingerprinting i watermarking de software per solucionar el problema de l'amfitrió maliciós en agents mòbils . En aquest sentit s'han proposat quatre alternatives diferents per a protegir l'agent en funció de si és vol només detectar l'atac o evitar-lo en temps real. Dues d'aquestes propostes es centren en la protecció de sistemes de detecció d'intrusions basats en agents mòbils. Cadascuna de les solucions té diverses implicacions a nivell d'infrastructura i de complexitat.Postprint (published version

Scholars Forum: A New Model For Scholarly Communication

Scholarly journals have flourished for over 300 years because they successfully address a broad range of authors' needs: to communicate findings to colleagues, to establish precedence of their work, to gain validation through peer review, to establish their reputation, to know the final version of their work is secure, and to know their work will be accessible by future scholars. Eventually, the development of comprehensive paper and then electronic indexes allowed past work to be readily identified and cited. Just as postal service made it possible to share scholarly work regularly and among a broad readership, the Internet now provides a distribution channel with the power to reduce publication time and to expand traditional print formats by supporting multi-media options and threaded discourse. Despite widespread acceptance of the web by the academic and research community, the incorporation of advanced network technology into a new paradigm for scholarly communication by the publishers of print journals has not materialized. Nor have journal publishers used the lower cost of distribution on the web to make online versions of journals available at lower prices than print versions. It is becoming increasingly clear to the scholarly community that we must envision and develop for ourselves a new, affordable model for disseminating and preserving results, that synthesizes digital technology and the ongoing needs of scholars. In March 1997, with support from the Engineering Information Foundation, Caltech sponsored a Conference on Scholarly Communication to open a dialogue around key issues and to consider the feasibility of alternative undertakings. A general consensus emerged recognizing that the certification of scholarly articles through peer review could be "decoupled" from the rest of the publishing process, and that the peer review process is already supported by the universities whose faculty serve as editors, members of editorial boards, and referees. In the meantime, pressure to enact regressive copyright legislation has added another important element. The ease with which electronic files may be copied and forwarded has encouraged publishers and other owners of copyrighted material to seek means for denying access to anything they own in digital form to all but active subscribers or licensees. Furthermore, should publishers retain the only version of a publication in a digital form, there is a significant risk that this material may eventually be lost through culling little-used or unprofitable back-files, through not investing in conversion expense as technology evolves, through changes in ownership, or through catastrophic physical events. Such a scenario presents an intolerable threat to the future of scholarship

Deep Convolutional Neural Network to Detect J-UNIWARD

This paper presents an empirical study on applying convolutional neural networks (CNNs) to detecting J-UNIWARD, one of the most secure JPEG steganographic method. Experiments guiding the architectural design of the CNNs have been conducted on the JPEG compressed BOSSBase containing 10,000 covers of size 512x512. Results have verified that both the pooling method and the depth of the CNNs are critical for performance. Results have also proved that a 20-layer CNN, in general, outperforms the most sophisticated feature-based methods, but its advantage gradually diminishes on hard-to-detect cases. To show that the performance generalizes to large-scale databases and to different cover sizes, one experiment has been conducted on the CLS-LOC dataset of ImageNet containing more than one million covers cropped to unified size of 256x256. The proposed 20-layer CNN has cut the error achieved by a CNN recently proposed for large-scale JPEG steganalysis by 35%. Source code is available via GitHub: https://github.com/GuanshuoXu/deep_cnn_jpeg_steganalysisComment: Accepted by IH&MMSec 2017. This is a personal cop