CIF: Small: Collaborative Research:Security in Dynamic Environments: Harvesting Network Randomness and Diversity

该项目旨在量化一般网络的内部潜力，通过实现节点对或节点组之间的秘密共同随机性来支持各种形式的安全性。 统计和计算保密措施正在考虑对一般的被动对手。共同的随机性实现协议分为两组：文化建设和人群屏蔽。前者通过对特定（自然的或诱导的）网络现象的相关观察，实现了彼此紧邻的节点之间的共同随机性。后者将多个通信链路的安全性联系在一起，以至于对手无法在不攻击整个组的情况下隔离和攻击单个链路。广泛的研究协议涵盖了多个主题，从多路径多样性到网络断层扫描，从安全网络编码到协议编码，从匿名路由到流行病的传播。 这些协议从不同的来源收集网络随机性，例如来自不同终端的密文块，竞争协议（延迟随机性）或网络拓扑（在高度动态或ad-hoc网络中）。虽然前两个特征长期以来被认为是完整性，效率和机密性的宝贵资源，但网络的不可预测性通常被认为是一种商品。该项目展示了如何收获网络随机性，并与多样性一起利用来增强通信安全性。在这样做的过程中，它对网络的统计性质有了更深刻的理解，这可以应用于广泛的信息保证目标。 在这个项目中发展的技术方法和一般原理，通过会议和研讨会传播，有可能激发大量的相关研究。该项目将通过高级设计项目直接影响数十名学生，研究和开放项目的课程开发方法，以及三个包含相关主题的新研究生课程。PI积极参与旨在增加妇女、代表性不足的少数民族和残疾人参与工程和计算科学的方案。

The project aims at quantifying a general network's inner potential for supporting various forms of security by achieving secret common randomness between pairs or groups of its nodes. Statistical and computational secrecy measures are being considered against a general passive adversary. Common-randomness-achieving protocols are classified into two groups: culture-building and crowd-shielding. The former achieves common randomness between nodes situated in close proximity of each other, from correlated observations of specific (natural or induced) network phenomena. The latter ties together the security of multiple communication links, to the point where an adversary can no longer isolate and attack a single link without attacking the group as a whole. The broad range of investigated protocols cover multiple topics, from multipath diversity to network tomography, from secure network coding to protocol coding, and from anonymous routing to the spread of epidemics. The protocols harvest network randomness from diverse sources like ciphertext blocks originating at various terminals, contention protocols (delay randomness) or network topology (in highly-dynamic, or ad-hoc networks).Communication networks are naturally dynamic, inherently redundant, and largely unpredictable. While the former two features have long been recognized as a valuable resource for integrity, efficiency and confidentiality, network unpredictability is often regarded as an incommodity. This project shows how network randomness can be harvested, and, together with diversity, exploited to enhance communication security. In doing so, it develops a more profound understanding about the statistical nature of networks, which can be applied to a broad range of information-assurance objectives. The technical approaches and the general philosophy developed in this project, and disseminated through conferences and seminars, have the potential to inspire an abundance of related research. The project will directly impact dozens of students through Senior Design projects, a research-and-open-project approach to curriculum development, and three new graduate courses containing related topics. The PIs are actively involved in programs aimed at increasing the involvement of women, underrepresented minorities, and persons with disabilities in engineering and computing sciences.