Algorithmic attacks and timing leaks in distributed systems

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dc.contributor.advisorWallach, Dan S.
dc.creatorCrosby, Scott A.
dc.date.accessioned2009-06-04T06:43:39Z
dc.date.available2009-06-04T06:43:39Z
dc.date.issued2005
dc.description.abstractAn important class of remotely applicable security attacks concerns time. You can attack somebody by making their algorithms run in their worst-case behavior rather than common-case behavior. Likewise, the processing time can disclose a secret. If an attacker can observe the time it takes for somebody to process a request, an attacker may learn something about the internal state. The first part of this thesis defines a new class of attacks that perform a remote denial of service by deliberately choosing inputs to make common algorithms slow. These attacks are widespread. We show that vulnerable hash tables are used by Perl and Squid and we illustrate an attack on the Bro IDS. This second part of this thesis analyzes the opportunities for determining a remote party's secret by analyzing processing time remotely over the Internet. Our measurements show that an attacker can potentially time a remote host to 300 nanoseconds over a local area network and less than 20 microseconds over the Internet.
dc.format.extent64 p.en_US
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.identifier.callnoTHESIS COMP.SCI. 2005 CROSBY
dc.identifier.citationCrosby, Scott A.. "Algorithmic attacks and timing leaks in distributed systems." (2005) Master’s Thesis, Rice University. <a href="https://hdl.handle.net/1911/17765">https://hdl.handle.net/1911/17765</a>.
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1911/17765
dc.language.isoeng
dc.rightsCopyright is held by the author, unless otherwise indicated. Permission to reuse, publish, or reproduce the work beyond the bounds of fair use or other exemptions to copyright law must be obtained from the copyright holder.
dc.subjectComputer science
dc.titleAlgorithmic attacks and timing leaks in distributed systems
dc.typeThesis
dc.type.materialText
thesis.degree.departmentComputer Science
thesis.degree.disciplineEngineering
thesis.degree.grantorRice University
thesis.degree.levelMasters
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Science
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