Trusted Network Connect for ubiquitous computing
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Abstract
Pre-requisite: the course on Computer Security. Ideally, you will also make a link to some other course that you have studied as part of the taught part of the degree.In addition you should have good programming skills, and preferably some experience of web-based applications.
As mobile computing devices become prevalent in many different form factors, the number of devices per individual is increasing. This means that an average individual may have a large network of personal devices: a PC, laptop, smart TV, in-car system, mobile phone, tablet pc, games console and more. Some of these may have a number of different users: a family might share technology and guests are likely to be users of some devices and home networks. These cross-device, multi-user home systems begin to look more like corporate networks, with a growing need for administration and synchronisation of data. For example, making sure that a person's address book is available and updated on all devices where it may be useful. These facilities are often provided by cloud services, such as social networks, cloud storage and various Google websites. However, more devices means a higher likelihood of a security vulnerability being present and exploited, and greater synchronisation and inter-device communication increases the impact of a successful attack.
This project would look at how security tools, protocols and approaches usually found in business scenarios could apply to home networks. One area of interest is Trusted Network Connect - a standard developed by the Trusted Computing Group for sharing information about the security status of devices on a network. More information about this is available here - http://www.trustedcomputinggroup.org/developers/trusted_network_connect .
The novelty of applying Trusted Network Connect to a home network is in the fact that most people do not have the skill to administer systems, and must rely on automation and products with easy-to-use interfaces. Can existing systems like TNC be applied to a home network with these constraints? This becomes even more challenging when two home networks interact: for example, when Alice wants to share her media library with Bob. This brings in concepts of federation which are already supported to some extent, but again in a corporate rather than home environment.
Potential outputs of this project would be some simple demo applications and a worked example, as well as an analysis of the security properties that might be made available. The student would be free to pursue other validation approaches, including protocol analysis, user trials, experiments, and so on.