Backscatter from the Data Plane --- Threats to Stability and Security in Information-Centric Networking

Information-centric networking proposals attract much attention in the ongoing search for a future communication paradigm of the Internet. Replacing the host-to-host connectivity by a data-oriented publish/subscribe service eases content distribution and authentication by concept, while eliminating threats from unwanted traffic at an end host as are common in today's Internet. However, current approaches to content routing heavily rely on data-driven protocol events and thereby introduce a strong coupling of the control to the data plane in the underlying routing infrastructure. In this paper, threats to the stability and security of the content distribution system are analyzed in theory and practical experiments. We derive relations between state resources and the performance of routers and demonstrate how this coupling can be misused in practice. We discuss new attack vectors present in its current state of development, as well as possibilities and limitations to mitigate them.Comment: 15 page

Evidence for West Nile Virus and Usutu Virus Infections in Wild and Resident Birds in Germany, 2017 and 2018

Wild birds play an important role as reservoir hosts and vectors for zoonotic arboviruses and foster their spread. Usutu virus (USUV) has been circulating endemically in Germany since 2011, while West Nile virus (WNV) was first diagnosed in several bird species and horses in 2018. In 2017 and 2018, we screened 1709 live wild and zoo birds with real-time polymerase chain reaction and serological assays. Moreover, organ samples from bird carcasses submitted in 2017 were investigated. Overall, 57 blood samples of the live birds (2017 and 2018), and 100 organ samples of dead birds (2017) were positive for USUV-RNA, while no WNV-RNA-positive sample was found. Phylogenetic analysis revealed the first detection of USUV lineage Europe 2 in Germany and the spread of USUV lineages Europe 3 and Africa 3 towards Northern Germany. USUV antibody prevalence rates were high in Eastern Germany in both years. On the contrary, in Northern Germany, high seroprevalence rates were first detected in 2018, with the first emergence of USUV in this region. Interestingly, high WNV-specific neutralizing antibody titers were observed in resident and short-distance migratory birds in Eastern Germany in 2018, indicating the first signs of a local WNV circulation

Design and Implementation of a Software-Defined Approach to Information-Centric Networking

This work is concerned with the integration of the two networking paradigms of ICN and SDN in order to provide an enhanced evolutionary path from today’s IP networks towards ICN. We introduce a scheme that allows for the operation of SDN based infrastructure, which provides network-wide ICN awareness. Further, an advanced approach, which allows for the forking of ICN packets throughout the SDN domain is developed and evaluated. This approach introduces the ability of aggregating requests and a mechanism to populate off-path caches as well as the parallel requesting of multiple caches. The qualitative advances that the SDN supported deployment provides compared to a pure overlay deployment are investigated plus the quantitative results of our Implementation.Die vorliegende Arbeit beschäftigt sich mit der Integration der beiden Netzwerkparadigmen ICN und SDN. Dabei wird das Ziel verfolgt, einen evolutionäre Migrationspfad von heutigen IP Netzwerken hin zu ICN zu bieten. Wir zeigen ein Schema auf, dass die initiale Bereitstellung eine SDN gestützten Netzwerks mit erweiterter ICN Verarbeitung ermöglicht. Darüber hinaus wird ein erweiterten Ansatz entwickelt und evaluiert, der die SDN interne Duplizierung von ICN Paketen erlaubt. Hierdurch wird neben der Zusammenführung von Inhalteanfragen und Mechanismen zur Befüllung von nicht auf dem direkten Übertragungsweg befindlichen Caches auch die parallele Anfrage mehrerer Caches ermöglicht. Die qualitativen Vorteile eines SDN gestützten, gegenüber einem reinen Overlay-Betrieb werden ebenso beleuchtet, wie quantitativen Ergebnisse unserer Implementierung

Content Delivery Networks : Chancen und Konzepte für Internet Service Provider

Um die steigenden Volumen der täglich übertragenen digitalen Inhalte in Netzwerken auszuliefern, werden Content Delivery Network eingesetzt. Diese Arbeit soll klären, welche Möglichkeiten sich aus der Verwendung von CDNs für Internet Service Provider ergeben. Im Rahmen dieser Arbeit wird die Verwendung von CDNs zur Verkehrsoptimierung und zur Schaffung von Mehrwerten gegenüber dem Kunden des ISPs konzeptuell dargestellt und anhand eines CDN-Server Produkts untersucht.Content delivery network are used in order to deliver the increasing volume of daily transmitted digital content in networks. This work will clarify the opportunities arising from the use of CDNs for Internet Service Provider. In this study, the use of CDNs for traffic optimization and the creation of added value is represented conceptually and examined on the basis of a CDN server product

Backscatter from the Data Plane --- Threats to Stability and Security in Information-Centric Networking

Information-centric networking approaches attract much attention in the ongoing search for a future communication paradigm of the Internet. Replacing the host-to-host connectivity by a data-oriented publish/subscribe service eases content distribution and authentication by concept, while eliminating all threats from unwanted traffic. However, current proposals to content routing heavily rely on data-driven protocol events and thereby introduce a strong coupling of the control to the data plane in the underlying routing infrastructure. In this paper, we analyze in theory and practical experiments threats to the stability and performance of the content distribution system. We discuss new attack vectors present in its current state of development, as well as possibilities and limitations to mitigate them

Bulk of interest : performance measurement of content-centric routing

The paradigm of information-centric networking subsumes recent approaches to integrate content replication services into a future Internet layer. Current concepts foster either a dynamic mapping that directs content requests to a nearby copy, or an immediate routing on content identifiers. In this paper, we evaluate in practical experiments the performance of content routing, which we analyze with a focus on conceptual aspects. Our findings indicate that the performance of the content distribution system is threatened by a heavy management of states that arise from the strong coupling of the control to the data plane in the underlying routing infrastructure

Lessons from the past: why data-driven states harm future information-centric networking

Information-centric networking (ICN) raises data objects to first class routable entities in the network and changes the Internet paradigm from host-centric connectivity to data-oriented publish/subscribe. We revisit the data-centric paradigm from the perspective of security and resilience and question its applicability in an open, widely distributed routing and forwarding service. Current concepts of content routing are built on data-driven protocol events and thereby introduce a strong coupling of the control to the data plane in the underlying routing infrastructure. In this paper, we explore the vulnerability of the distribution backbone. Based on a straight-forward analytical model we show that local systems cannot be protected from the threats of data-driven state management on an Internet scale. By practical evaluations using the example of the CCNx implementation, we further analyze threats to stability and performance of a data-driven infrastructure that refrains from separating the control from the data plane. We identify intrinsic attack vectors, as well as possibilities and limitations to mitigate them. Our overall findings suggest that major architectural refinements are required prior to global ICN deployment in the real world.Unknow

Prevalence of pigeon rotavirus infections: animal exhibitions as a risk factor for pigeon flocks

A total of 289 cloacal swabs from pigeons from 29 different breeders in Germany were collected. In addition, samples from pigeons exhibited at shows were collected. The detailed health status of the pigeon flocks was recorded. Samples were analysed for the presence of the recently discovered pigeon rotavirus and pigeon circovirus. Pigeon rotavirus was found in 10.3% and pigeon circoviruses was found in 65.5% of sampled pigeon lofts. The study revealed a strong relationship between the attendance of shows and the occurrence of different clinical signs. The higher prevalence of pigeon rotavirus in exhibited animals indicates that exhibitions are a risk factor for the transmission of this pathogen

Spread of West Nile Virus and Usutu Virus in the German Bird Population, 2019–2020

West Nile virus (WNV) and Usutu virus (USUV) are important flaviviruses circulating in Germany. While USUV was first reported more than 10 years ago, WNV has only reached the country in 2018. Wild birds are important amplifying hosts for both viruses. Therefore, we have been monitoring the bird population in different regions of Germany by a previously established network for many years. This report summarizes the results of molecular and/or serological methods of 2345 blood samples from birds of 22 different orders and over 2900 bird carcasses from 2019 and 2020. USUV RNA circulation was found in different regions of Germany, with emphasis on USUV lineages Europe 3 and Africa 3. Increased evidence of USUV lineage Europe 2 was detected in eastern Germany. WNV RNA was found only in birds from the eastern part of the country. The seroprevalence for USUV was between 3.11% and 7.20% in all three regions investigated, whereas the WNV seroprevalence spanned from 14.77% to 16.15% in eastern Germany, with a noticeable tendency for a westward and southward expansion in both years. Thus, wild bird monitoring for WNV and USUV can serve as an early warning system for a human exposure risk