Information Flow Security Research Articles

Hyperfuzzing: black-box security hypertesting with a grey-box fuzzer

Despite being a severe error where programs inadvertently reveal confidential information, insecure flows rarely receive explicit attention during software testing. LeakFuzzer uses an input-output non-interference property, specialised via a security flow policy for the program under test, to advance the state of the art. It detects insecure flows by using hypertesting for violations of the program’s non-interference property. LeakFuzzer extends the capabilities of the state of the art fuzzer, AFL++, and thus inherits its advantages such as scalability, automated input generation, high coverage and low developer intervention. It can thus detect the same set of errors as AFL++, as well as being able to detect violations of secure information flow policies at small additional performance costs. This offers a significant advance in scalability and automation for the state of the art. We evaluated LeakFuzzer on a diverse set of 12 C and C++ benchmarks containing known bugs that cause confidential information to be disclosed, ranging in size from just 80 to over 900k lines of code. Nine of these are taken from real-world CVEs including Heartbleed and a recent error in PostgreSQL. Given 20 24-hour runs, LeakFuzzer can find 100% of the insecure flows in the SUTs whereas existing techniques using the CBMC model checker and AFL++ augmented with different sanitizers can only find 40% at best.

CYBER SECURITY FOR CHEMICAL PLANT USING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

The adding number of cyber-attacks on diligence demands immediate attention for furnishing further secure mechanisms to guard diligence and minimize pitfalls. An administrative control and data accession (SCADA) system employing the distributed networks of detectors and selectors that interact with the physical terrain is vulnerable to attacks that target the interface between the cyber and physical subsystems. These cyber-attacks are generally vicious conduct that beget uninvited results in the cyber physical world, for illustration, the Stuxnet( 2010) attack that targeted Iran's nuclear centrifuges. An attack that hijacks the detectors in an attempt to give false readings to the regulator can be used to dissemble normal system operation for the control system, while the bushwhacker can commandeer the selectors to shoot the system beyond its safety range. AI result can identify shadow data, cover for abnormalities in data access and alert cybersecurity professional about implicit pitfalls by anyone penetrating the data or sensitive information. This proposes a process- apprehensive approach with the use of steady equations grounded on the physical and chemical parcels of the process and a Multiple Security sphere Nondeducibility (MSDND) frame to descry when a detector signal is being virulently manipulated. A system without any MSDND secure information flows between the AI and cyber observers has smaller sins that can be exploited.

A machine learning approach towards reviewing the role of ‘Internet of Things’ in the shipping industry

The technology of the Internet of Things (IoT) represents a cornerstone of the fourth industrial revolution. We adopt a machine learning approach to examine the effect of IoT technology on shipping business operations. Text mining and the probabilistic latent Dirichlet allocation are applied for an unsupervised topic modelling analysis of two hundred and twenty-eight academic papers. Our findings reveal the potential of IoT to provide more efficient approaches to business operations and improve the quality of services, highlighting the value of instant and secure information flow among all parties involved. Problematic areas of the new technology are also identified, in reference to issues of standardization and interoperability. Relatively few studies have used machine learning techniques to elicit insights into the holistic effect of emerging IoT technology in the shipping industry. The research findings highlight the potential of IoT technology to transform shipping operations, offering useful and practical implications to academics and professionals.

Analysis of information flow security using software implementing business logic based on stored database program blocks

Objectives. Verification of software security is typically performed using dynamic and static analysis tools. The corresponding types of analysis do not usually consider the business logic of the software and do not rely on data access control policies. A modern approach to resolving this problem is to implement language-based information flow control. Despite a large amount of research, mechanisms for information flow control in software are not widely used in practice. This is because they are complex and impose increased demands on developers. The aim of the work is to transfer information flow control from the language level to the level of formal verification. This will enable the functions of controlling data integrity and confidentiality in software to be isolated into a separate task, which can be resolved by information security analysts.Methods. The research is based on general formal security methods for computer systems and formal verification methods. The algorithm developed by the author for checking security specifications and resolving security violations uses temporal logic of actions.Results. The technology is presented as a step-by-step approach to resolving specific tasks, including the following: designing a database (DB) for storing and processing sensitive information; analyzing dependencies and identifying relevant sets of program blocks in the DB; generating TLA+ specifications for the identified program blocks; labeling specifications according to global security policy rules and additional constraints; applying the specification verification algorithm, and resolving security violations while providing recommendations for software developers. The procedure also involves analyzing labeled data, in order to control the spread of verified program block output values in external software modules.Conclusions. The technology presented herein does not require developers to include redundant annotations describing security policy rules. The function of analyzing information flows with reference to predefined access restrictions is moved to a separate stage of the software development life cycle.

An Information-Flow Perspective on Algorithmic Fairness

This work presents insights gained by investigating the relationship between algorithmic fairness and the concept of secure information flow. The problem of enforcing secure information flow is well-studied in the context of information security: If secret information may "flow" through an algorithm or program in such a way that it can influence the program’s output, then that is considered insecure information flow as attackers could potentially observe (parts of) the secret. There is a strong correspondence between secure information flow and algorithmic fairness: if protected attributes such as race, gender, or age are treated as secret program inputs, then secure information flow means that these "secret" attributes cannot influence the result of a program. While most research in algorithmic fairness evaluation concentrates on studying the impact of algorithms (often treating the algorithm as a black-box), the concepts derived from information flow can be used both for the analysis of disparate treatment as well as disparate impact w.r.t. a structural causal model. In this paper, we examine the relationship between quantitative as well as qualitative information-flow properties and fairness. Moreover, based on this duality, we derive a new quantitative notion of fairness called fairness spread, which can be easily analyzed using quantitative information flow and which strongly relates to counterfactual fairness. We demonstrate that off-the-shelf tools for information-flow properties can be used in order to formally analyze a program's algorithmic fairness properties, including the new notion of fairness spread as well as established notions such as demographic parity.

Ensuring the Security of Information Flows at University Departments

The relevance of the study is caused by possible threats to the information security of information flows at the university department revealed during the latest information security audit. The purpose of our research is to detect information flows of the department and a detailed analysis of methods for their protection. The object of the study is the process of ensuring security of information flows at the university department. The subject of the research is the creation of information flow schemes of the department and developing network interaction schemes of the university department based on the user access policy. Particular attention is paid to the description of the identified potential risks arising from unauthorized access, external or internal attacks. It is important to note that the suggested ideas to improve the security of information flows of the university department are an application of existing methods of protecting information necessary for practical use in the educational process. The possibility of implementing the security of applied software and network support of the department is shown.

Better Late than Never: On Epistemic Diagnosability of Discrete Event Systems

We investigate the diagnosability verification problem in the framework of discrete-event systems. Most of the existing works on this topic assume that faults are related to the internal behaviors of the system such as occurrences of particular events. In this work, motivated by information-flow security considerations, we model faults as some critical information leakages of the system to an intruder, which may have different observations from the system user. Specifically, we say that a fault occurs if the intruder knows that the system has passed by a secret state. We present a formal notion called epistemic diagnosability to capture whether or not the system user can always detect, based on its own observation, the critical information leakage to an intruder within a bounded delay. We show that this new notion subsumes the standard notion of event-based diagnosability. Furthermore, an effective algorithm is provided to verify this new notion.

Areas of blockchain technology application in modern city – part I

Purpose: The purpose of paper is to indicate the potential of using blockchain technology in smart cities. The author analyzes the state of development of blockchain-based solutions and relates it to areas of the functioning of cities. The aim is also to indicate blockchain applications importance in the context of city residents quality of life and the functioning of various industries operating within them. Design/methodology/approach: The objectives of the paper were achieved by analyzing literature, industry reports as well as selected blockchain projects’ websites. The theoretical scope of the article is the description of blockchain technology application areas within the modern cities, their main characteristics and the potential for its usage. Findings: The author indicated 6 areas of blockchain application, and then indicated a number of functioning solutions based on blockchain referring to them, and also indicated the potential of the impact of the described solutions on the development of the city. In the summary, areas for further research were indicated, referring to slightly differently perceived aspects of the city's development and improving the lives of its inhabitants. Practical implications: The successful implementation of blockchain solutions depends on a large amount of conceptual and technological work in organizations. The article suggests areas of blockchain use in the city and indicates examples of already implemented solutions that can constitute a reference point and inspiration for new solutions. Social implications: The blockchain technology shows the potential to improve the quality of life of city residents in the context of building solutions that eliminate the need for trust in service providers, weakened by frequently observed unethical behavior and negligence in the security and transparency of information flow. The widespread use of blockchain in the city is therefore undoubtedly in the interest of societies. Originality/value: The paper’s originality is expressed in a comprehensive look at the issue of using blockchain in the functioning of modern cities, together with an indication of both the potential of their implementation and already existing solutions in the subject area. Moreover, the author points out social benefits in the form of increased trust and an increase in the city residents quality of life. Keywords: from 3 to 5 keywords (phrases), justified text, spacing before 6 pt., TNR 12 pt. font, single line spacing. Category of the paper: Literature review, viewpoint

Impact of information on human health: Educational and professional aspects

Currently, the information space has a great influence on all types of human activity, allowing us to form a worldview, habits and skills necessary for life. However, global informatization and digitalization, affecting bodily, mental and social constructs, affects the duration and quality of life. The information a person receives affects his physical, mental and social well-being. The problem of security of information flows, especially in educational and professional activities, is relevant because it has a complex impact on the human body. The article examines the impact of information flows on human health and reveals the impact of the modern digital environment on a person’s physical, mental health and social wellbeing. The purpose of the work was to study the complex impact of modern information flows on individual and public health, as well as systematize measures aimed at reducing the negative effects of this process. There are general approaches to considering the problem of information flows and their impact on humans, which we are trying to present. A set of information hygiene and safety measures is proposed in the context of maintaining health, increasing the effectiveness of training and optimizing professional performance. The development of a culture of safe behavior in the information society involves a transformation of attitudes towards “information security” from the meaning of protecting information to ensuring the “security” of information for individuals and society.

Sliver: A Scalable Slicing-Based Verification for Information Flow Security

Sliver: A Scalable Slicing-Based Verification for Information Flow Security

EXERTv2: Exhaustive Integrity Analysis for Information Flow Security with FSM Integration

EXERTv2: Exhaustive Integrity Analysis for Information Flow Security with FSM Integration

A compact and efficient AES-32GF for encryption in small IoT devices

The phenomenal growth of resource constrained devices in IoT set ups has motivated the researchers to develop solutions for securing information flow. In this paper, we present a compact and efficient field programmable gate array (FPGA) implementation of AES with 32-bit data-path named, AES-32GF. The implementation is carried out on different Xilinx FPGAs. In FPGAs, utilization of slices and look up tables (LUTs) reflect on the compactness of the design. Numerical results show that lesser resources are required with smaller data path in comparison with the original standard. With the help of data path compression and Galois field implementation of the s-box resource consumption is minimized. S-box is the most resource consuming component in the AES structure. In our implementation, Artix-7 series FPGA for the same. It results in significant resource savings. In comparison to unrolled AES-128 architecture, it achieves 87 % resource savings. With 595 slices and 2.004 Gbps throughput, AES-32GF cipher achieves an efficiency of 3.37 Mbps/slice. It outperforms other designs in terms of efficiency.•A compact and efficient FPGA implementation of AES with 32-bit data-path has been proposed.•The proposed design utilizes data path compression and Galois field implementation of the s-box to minimize resource consumption.•With 595 slices and 2.004 Gbps throughput, AES-32GF cipher achieves an efficiency of 3.37 Mbps/slice.

Hardware/software security co-verification and vulnerability detection: An information flow perspective

Security vulnerabilities provide attackers unauthorized access to critical resources and effective attack surfaces to compromise a system. Security verification is an emerging technique for detecting and locating such threats. However, existing security verification methods are typically restricted within the hardware or software boundary and incapable of meeting cross-layer verification requirements due to the differences in design semantics and the lack of a security model that fits both hardware and software. We attempt to address such a limitation from the perspective of information flow analysis and propose a hardware/software security co-verification method, which can check information flow security properties on fine-grained hardware information flow models. The proposed method can pinpoint security vulnerabilities by capturing information flow security property violations under clues of malicious information flows. Our information flow security model and properties are described using standard hardware design and verification languages, which allows our method to be seamlessly integrated with electronics design automation flows. Experimental results using RISC-V hardware/software designs show that the proposed method detects software, hardware and system-level security vulnerabilities, effectively.

Secure Your Intention: On Notions of Pre-Opacity in Discrete-Event Systems

This paper investigates an important information-flow security property called opacity in partially-observed discrete-event systems. We consider the presence of a passive intruder (eavesdropper) that knows the dynamic model of the system and can use the generated information-flow to infer some “secret” of the system. A system is said to be opaque if it always holds the plausible deniability for its secret. Existing notions of opacity only consider secret either as currently visiting some secret states or as having visited some secret states in the past. In this paper, we investigate information-flow security from a new angle by considering the secret of the system as the <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">intention</i> to execute some particular behavior of importance in the future. To this end, we propose a new class of opacity called <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">pre-opacity</i> that characterizes whether or not the intruder can predict the visit of secret states a certain number of steps ahead before the system actually does so. Depending the prediction task of the intruder, we propose two specific kinds of pre-opacity called <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$K$</tex-math></inline-formula>-step instant pre-opacity</i> and <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$K$</tex-math></inline-formula>-step trajectory pre-opacity</i> to specify this concept. For each notion of pre-opacity, we provide a necessary and sufficient condition as well as an effective verification algorithm. The complexity for the verification of pre-opacity is exponential in the size of the system as we show that pre-opacity is inherently PSPACE-hard. Finally, we generalize our setting to the case where the secret intention of the system is modeled as executing a particular sequence of events rather than visiting a secret state.

Secure Partitioning of Cloud Applications, with Cost Look-Ahead

The security of Cloud applications is a major concern for application developers and operators. Protecting users’ data confidentiality requires methods to avoid leakage from vulnerable software and unreliable Cloud providers. Recently, trusted execution environments (TEEs) emerged in Cloud settings to isolate applications from the privileged access of Cloud providers. Such hardware-based technologies exploit separation kernels, which aim at safely isolating the software components of applications. In this article, we propose a methodology to determine safe partitionings of Cloud applications to be deployed on TEEs. Through a probabilistic cost model, we enable application operators to select the best trade-off partitioning in terms of future re-partitioning costs and the number of domains. To the best of our knowledge, no previous proposal exists addressing such a problem. We exploit information-flow security techniques to protect the data confidentiality of applications by relying on declarative methods to model applications and their data flow. The proposed solution is assessed by executing a proof-of-concept implementation that shows the relationship among the future partitioning costs, number of domains and execution times.

CommCSL: Proving Information Flow Security for Concurrent Programs using Abstract Commutativity

Information flow security ensures that the secret data manipulated by a program does not influence its observable output. Proving information flow security is especially challenging for concurrent programs, where operations on secret data may influence the execution time of a thread and, thereby, the interleaving between different threads. Such internal timing channels may affect the observable outcome of a program even if an attacker does not observe execution times. Existing verification techniques for information flow security in concurrent programs attempt to prove that secret data does not influence the relative timing of threads. However, these techniques are often restrictive (for instance because they disallow branching on secret data) and make strong assumptions about the execution platform (ignoring caching, processor instructions with data-dependent runtime, and other common features that affect execution time). In this paper, we present a novel verification technique for secure information flow in concurrent programs that lifts these restrictions and does not make any assumptions about timing behavior. The key idea is to prove that all mutating operations performed on shared data commute, such that different thread interleavings do not influence its final value. Crucially, commutativity is required only for an abstraction of the shared data that contains the information that will be leaked to a public output. Abstract commutativity is satisfied by many more operations than standard commutativity, which makes our technique widely applicable. We formalize our technique in CommCSL, a relational concurrent separation logic with support for commutativity-based reasoning, and prove its soundness in Isabelle/HOL. We implemented CommCSL in HyperViper, an automated verifier based on the Viper verification infrastructure, and demonstrate its ability to verify challenging examples.

An Algebra of Alignment for Relational Verification

Relational verification encompasses information flow security, regression verification, translation validation for compilers, and more. Effective alignment of the programs and computations to be related facilitates use of simpler relational invariants and relational procedure specs, which in turn enables automation and modular reasoning. Alignment has been explored in terms of trace pairs, deductive rules of relational Hoare logics (RHL), and several forms of product automata. This article shows how a simple extension of Kleene Algebra with Tests (KAT), called BiKAT, subsumes prior formulations, including alignment witnesses for forall-exists properties, which brings to light new RHL-style rules for such properties. Alignments can be discovered algorithmically or devised manually but, in either case, their adequacy with respect to the original programs must be proved; an explicit algebra enables constructive proof by equational reasoning. Furthermore our approach inherits algorithmic benefits from existing KAT-based techniques and tools, which are applicable to a range of semantic models.

ՏԵՂԵԿԱՏՎԱԿԱՆ ԱՆՎՏԱՆԳՈՒԹՅԱՆ ԻՐԱՎԱԿԱՆ ԱՊԱՀՈՎՄԱՆ ՀԻՄՆԱԽՆԴԻՐՆԵՐԸ ԱՐՏԱԿԱՐԳ ԻՐԱՎԻՃԱԿՆԵՐԻ ՊԱՅՄԱՆՆԵՐՈՒՄ / THE PROBLEMS OF LEGAL PROVISION OF INFORMATION SECURITY IN EMERGENCY SITUATIONS

Information sphere, performing an important function of coordination and regulation of public life, actively influences the political, economic, military and other components of the security of the Republic of Armenia (RA). The national security of the Republic of Armenia largely depends on the provision of information security, and this dependence is increasing along with scientific and technical progress. Today, information flows pose threats and challenges of a new nature for states, which requires action in the information field with such rules that ensure coordination, control and security of information flows, as well as prevention of distortion of public opinion by spreading false information and blocking reliable information and etc. In such realities information security acquires strategic importance in the security system of the state. This article is devoted to the study of issues of legal provision of information security in emergency situations. The study of the legislation regulating the sector allowed to reveal, that the normative legal provision of the information security in emergency situations in RA as an entire system for the protection of the national interests of RA is not sufficiently developed. The way of the settlement of the raised issues passes through the improvement of the legislation.

Основные приоритеты развития кибербезопасности Армении в контексте медиаобразования / Key Priorities for Armenia's Cybersecurity Development in the Context of Media Education

As a result of the information revolution, the role of information flows has significantly increased today. Along with positive trends, qualitatively new threats and challenges are emerging today, which require states to act in the international information field by rules crucial for the coordination, control and security of information flows. The sphere of information, having a powerful function of coordination and regulation of public life, actively influences the political, economic, military and other components of security of the Republic of Armenia. The national security of our country essentially depends on ensuring information security, and this dependence grows together with scientific and technical progress. This study actualizes the issue of improving the strategy of information policy of the state, modernization of the legal aspects, as well as a number of legislative and normative documents regulating the information space of Armenia.

ЦИФРОВА ТРАНСФОРМАЦІЯ ІНФРАСТРУКТУРИ МОРСЬКИХ ПОРТОВИХ КЛАСТЕРІВ

The article highlights the potential of digital transformation in optimizing maritime port clusters. A primary focus is given to the implementation of blockchain technologies to ensure transparency, security, and efficiency of information flows. Digital transformation is highly significant for seaport clusters, as it enhances the efficiency and competitiveness of these facilities. The authors examine the need for business process and management strategy adaptation to maximize the benefits of technological upgrades. Port clusters must learn to swiftly respond to changing market conditions, leveraging digital innovations to maintain competitiveness and steady growth. The integration of "green" technologies also appears promising for the sustainable development of the port industry. The article discusses the role of a specialized portal that facilitates coordination and integration of port activity participants, improving service quality and optimizing responses to market challenges. Based on research conducted, the authors have constructed a diagram outlining the functional capabilities of the portal for a seaport cluster. This diagram serves to identify the key functional components of the portal, and to improve comprehension and optimise processes taking place within the seaport cluster. The portal facilitates centralised control and management, enhancing seaport cluster productivity, safety and competitiveness. The authors analysed the platform's integrated capabilities to optimise seaport cluster activities. These functionalities aim to enhance resource management, streamline logistics processes and promote collaboration among different members of the port cluster. This, in turn, leads to better productivity and rational resource utilization. The study's results demonstrated that implementing digital transformation via blockchain technology in seaport clusters using a portal enhances operation management and security. Additionally, it encourages resource optimization and industry sustainability, thereby rendering it more competitive and viable amidst present-day demands and challenges.