Trustworthy Overlay Peer-to-Peer Streaming Systems

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Overview

With the proliferation of peer-to-peer systems, it is critical to consider how these systems can be deployed in a safe, secure and robust manner and understand their impact on an Internet environment already suffering from several security problems. Peer-to-peer systems provide increased scalability and enable rapid deployment by moving functionality from core routers to end-systems. However, as end-nodes are more likely to be compromised than core routers, peer-to-peer systems are vulnerable to malicious outsider attacks, as well as to insider attacks coming from (potentially colluding) attackers that infiltrate the overlay or compromise member nodes.

The main research focus of this project is to create novel, trustworthy overlay systems by identifying and addressing critical security aspects that are lacking in state-of-the-art peer-to-peer overlay systems. Our research will lead to fundamental advances in the design of Internet-scale, overlay networks for performance-demanding applications in adversarial environments.

Publications

    Theses

    Security and Economic Implications of Localizing Traffic in Overlay Networks. Jeff Seibert. Ph.D. Thesis, May 2012. [Full paper] [Abstract] [Bibtex].
    A Platform for Creating Efficient, Robust, and Resilient Peer-to-peer Systems. David Zage. Ph.D. Thesis, May 2010. [Full paper] [Abstract] [Bibtex].
    Mitigating Attacks Against Adaptation Mechanisms in Overlay Networks, Master Thesis, Department of Computer Science, Purdue University, May 2006. AAron Walters. [Full paper] [Abstract] [Bibtex].

    Journals

    The Internet-wide Impact of P2P Traffic Localization on ISP Profitability. J. Seibert, R. Torres, M. Mellia, M. Munafo, C. Nita-Rotaru, and S. Rao. To appear in IEEE/ACM Transactions on Networking. [Full paper] [Abstract] [Bibtex].
    A Design for Securing Data Delivery in Peer-to-Peer Streaming. J. Seibert, X. Sun, C. Nita-Rotaru, and S. Rao. In the Journal of Computer Networks, vol. 55, issue 12, August 2011. [Full paper] [Abstract] [Bibtex].
    On the Accuracy of Virtual Coordinate Systems in Adversarial Networks. D. Zage and C. Nita-Rotaru. In ACM Transactions on Systems and Information Security, vol. 13, issue 4, December 2010. [Full paper]
    A Survey of Attack and Defense Techniques for Reputation Systems K. Hoffman, D. Zage, and C. Nita-Rotaru. In ACM Computing Surveys, vol. 14, no.4 Dec. 2009. [Full paper] [Abstract] [Bibtex].
    A Framework for Mitigating Attacks Against Measurement-Based Adaptation Mechanisms in Unstructured Multicast Overlay Networks. A. Walters, D. Zage and C. Nita-Rotaru. In IEEE/ACM Transactions on Networking, vol. 16, no. 6, December 2008. [Full paper] [Abstract] [Bibtex].
    Enabling Confidentiality of Data Delivery in an Overlay Broadcasting System. R. Torres X. Sun, A. Walters, C. Nita-Rotaru and S. Rao. In Special Issue of IEEE JSAC on Advances in Peer-to-Peer Streaming Systems, vol. 25, no. 9, December 2007. [Full paper] [Abstract] [Bibtex].

    Conferences

    Securing Virtual Coordinates by Enforcing Physical Laws. J. Seibert, S. Becker, C. Nita-Rotaru, and R. State. In International Conference on Distributed Computing Systems (ICDCS) 2012. [Full paper] [Abstract] [Bibtex].
    Removing the Blinders: Using Information to Mitigate Adversaries in Adaptive Overlays. D. Zage, C. Killian, and C. Nita-Rotaru. In International Conference on Network and System Security (NSS) 2011. [Full paper] [Abstract] [Bibtex].
    Securing Application-Level Topology Estimation Networks: Facing the Frog-Boiling Attack. S. Becker, J. Seibert, C. Nita-Rotaru, and R. State. In International Symposium on Recent Advances in Intrusion Detection (RAID) 2011. [Full paper] [Abstract] [Bibtex].
    Exploiting Overlays for Practical and Profitable Traffic Attraction. J. Seibert. In International Conference on Dependable Systems and Networks (DSN) 2011 (Student Forum). [Full paper] [Abstract] [Bibtex].
    Applying Game Theory to Analyze Attacks and Defenses in Virtual Coordinate Systems. S. Becker, J. Seibert, D. Zage, C. Nita-Rotaru, and R. State. In International Conference on Dependable Systems and Networks (DSN) 2011. [Full paper] [Abstract] [Bibtex].
    Omnify: Investigating the Visibility and Effectiveness of Copyright Monitors. R. Potharaju, J. Seibert, S. Fahmy, and C. Nita-Rotaru. In Passive and Active Measurement Conference (PAM), 2011. [Full paper] [Abstract] [Bibtex].
    Towards Securing Data Delivery in Peer-to-Peer Streaming. J. Seibert, X. Sun, C. Nita-Rotaru, and S. Rao. IEEE Conference on Communication Systems and Networks (COMSNETS), 2010. [Full paper] [Abstract] [Bibtex].
    Experimental Comparison of Peer-to-Peer Streaming Overlays: An Application perspective. J. Seibert, D. Zage, S. Fahmy and C. Nita-Rotaru. The 33rd IEEE Conference on Local Computer Networks (LCN), Montreal, Quebec, Canada, October 14 - 17, 2008. [Full paper] [Abstract] [Bibtex].
    On the Accuracy of Decentralized Network Coordinate Systems in Adversarial Networks. D. Zage and C. Nita-Rotaru. In the 14th ACM CCS, Alexandria, VA, USA, October 29 - November 2, 2007. [Full paper] [Abstract] [Bibtex].
    Enabling Confidentiality of Data Delivery in an Overlay Broadcasting System. R. Torres X. Sun, A. Walters, C. Nita-Rotaru and S. Rao. In INFOCOM 2007, Anchorage, Alaska. [Full paper] [Abstract] [Bibtex].
    Mitigating Attacks Against Measurement-Based Adaptation Mechanisms in Unstructured Multicast Overlay Networks. AAron Walters, David Zage and Cristina Nita-Rotaru, The 14th IEEE International Conference on Network Protocols November (ICNP) 12-15, 2006 Santa Barbara, California. [Full paper] [Abstract] [Bibtex].

Students

    Current Members

    Previous Members

    • David Zage, Graduate Student

Collaborators

Related Courses

Funding

This project is funded by the NSF CyberTrust Program, Principal Investigators: Cristina Nita-Rotaru (Computer Science, Purdue University) and Sanjay Rao (Electrical and Computer Engineering, Purdue University).