Comparison of Modern Network Attacks on TLS Protocol

Abstract

The Transport Layer Security (TLS) is cryptographic protocol that provides confidentiality and integrity of data in untrusted networks connections. The protocol is composed of two layers: the TLS Record Protocol for encapsulation of various higher-level protocols and the TLS Handshake Protocol for connection security. Nowadays TLS has become the secure standard of choice for Internet and mobile applications. There are many attacks on the TLS protocol that exploit its vulnerabilities: Cipher Block Chaining (CBC) mode encryption, data compression, using obsolete cypher suites and hash functions. Therefore, it is necessary to identify and examine existing threats of TLS. The paper explores the TLS protocol versions and main differences between them. In addition we consider the brand-new TLS version — TLS 1.3. Well-known network attacks (BEAST, CRIME, BREACH and DROWN), several additional attacks (SLOTH, ROBOT, Lucky 13) and their features are also considered. Finally, we compare reviewed attacks using own criteria that will help to understand the security of the TLS protocol at that moment.