Towards Efficient and Effective IOMMU-based Protection from DMA Attacks

Simple item page
dc.contributor.advisorCox, Alan L
dc.creatorGutstein, Brett Ferdosi
dc.date.accessioned2019-05-17T14:41:31Z
dc.date.available2019-05-17T14:41:31Z
dc.date.created2018-05
dc.date.issued2018-04-20
dc.date.submittedMay 2018
dc.date.updated2019-05-17T14:41:31Z
dc.description.abstractMalicious actors can carry out direct memory access (DMA) attacks to compromise computer systems. In such attacks, peripheral devices abuse their ability to read and write physical memory independently of the CPU to violate the confidentiality or integrity of a system’s data. Relatively recently, commodity architectures have incorporated the I/O memory management unit (IOMMU), which allows the CPU to govern peripheral device memory access. This thesis demonstrates that IOMMU usage in existing operating systems does not protect against DMA attacks effectively and comes with a prohibitively high performance cost. It introduces Thunderclap, a novel DMA attack platform used to carry out new attacks that completely compromise FreeBSD, macOS, Linux, and Windows, even with their current IOMMU-based protections enabled. It then presents and evaluates strategies for IOMMU usage that make strides towards efficient and effective protection from DMA attacks.
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.identifier.citationGutstein, Brett Ferdosi. "Towards Efficient and Effective IOMMU-based Protection from DMA Attacks." (2018) Master’s Thesis, Rice University. <a href="https://hdl.handle.net/1911/105702">https://hdl.handle.net/1911/105702</a>.
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1911/105702
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.subjectIOMMU
dc.subjectDMA
dc.subjectattack
dc.subjectperipheral
dc.subjectdevice
dc.subjectThunderclap
dc.subjectarchitecture
dc.subjectoperating system
dc.subjectcomputer systems
dc.subjectcomputer security
dc.subjecthardware
dc.subjectmacOS
dc.subjectLinux
dc.subjectWindows
dc.subjectFreeBSD
dc.titleTowards Efficient and Effective IOMMU-based Protection from DMA Attacks
dc.typeThesis
dc.type.materialText
thesis.degree.departmentComputer Science
thesis.degree.disciplineEngineering
thesis.degree.grantorRice University
thesis.degree.levelMasters
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Science
Files
Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
GUTSTEIN-DOCUMENT-2018.pdf
Size:
1.16 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Download
License bundle
Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
PROQUEST_LICENSE.txt
Size:
5.84 KB
Format:
Plain Text
Description:
Download
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
LICENSE.txt
Size:
2.61 KB
Format:
Plain Text
Description:
Download
Collections
Rice University Electronic Theses and Dissertations