Secure spectrum-efficient frequency hopping for return link of protected tactical satellite communications

Li, Lun; Tian, Xin; Chen, Genshe; Pham, Khanh; Blasch, Erik

doi:10.1109/milcom.2016.7795335

Cited by 10 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…1) Physical and Link-Layer Approaches: Many techniques for over-the-air encryption focus on the lower layers of the networking stack -before TCP/IP becomes relevant. For example, physical-layer techniques such as frequency hopping patterns derived from cryptographic keys or direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) have been suggested as a mechanism for securing the entire satellite link [23]. Likewise the injection of artificial noise as an alternative to key-based encryption has been proposed [24].…”

Section: Existing Security Approachesmentioning

confidence: 99%

QPEP: An Actionable Approach to Secure and Performant Broadband From Geostationary Orbit

Pavur

Strohmeier²,

Lenders³

et al. 2021

Proceedings 2021 Network and Distributed System Security Symposium

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Satellite broadband services are critical infrastructures, bringing connectivity to the most remote regions of the globe. However, due to performance concerns, many geostationary satellite broadband services are unencrypted and vulnerable to long-range eavesdropping attacks. This paper delves into the underlying cause of these issues, presenting the case that the widespread use of Performance Enhancing Proxies (PEPs) for TCP optimization has created a security/performance trade-off. A review of previous mitigation proposals finds limited real-world adoption due to a variety of factors ranging from misaligned commercial incentives to the prevalence of unverified "black-box" encryption products. To address these shortcomings, we design and implement a fully open-source and encrypted-by-default PEP/VPN hybrid, called QPEP. Built around the QUIC standard, QPEP enables individuals to encrypt satellite traffic without ISP involvement. Additionally, we present an open and replicable Docker-based testbed for benchmarking QPEP, and other PEP applications, through simulation. These experiments show that QPEP enables satellite customers to encrypt their TCP traffic with up to 72% faster page load times (PLTs) compared to traditional VPN encryption. Even relative to other unencrypted PEPs, QPEP offers up to 54% faster PLTs while also protecting communications in transit. We briefly discuss how QPEP might leverage bespoke modifications to the QUIC protocol for further optimization. Ultimately, our experiments suggest that QPEP's hybrid architecture represents a promising new technique for bringing both security and performance to satellite broadband while avoiding costly alterations to status-quo networks.

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Section: Existing Security Approachesmentioning

confidence: 99%

QPEP: An Actionable Approach to Secure and Performant Broadband From Geostationary Orbit

Pavur

Strohmeier²,

Lenders³

et al. 2021

Proceedings 2021 Network and Distributed System Security Symposium

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…An underrepresented discussion is test and evaluation (T&E) of AI systems. Many developments and AI principles have been developed from which research seeks to answer the questions posed, such a security [66]. There are many open discussions on how to best conduct AI T&E, especially for autonomy [67].…”

Section: Ai Test and Evaluationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Human-machine cooperative AI decision-making with heterogeneous data

Blasch,

Bastian,

Aved

et al. 2023

Signal Processing, Sensor/Information Fusion, and Target Recognition XXXII

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Many techniques have been developed for sensor and information fusion, machine and deep learning, as well as data and machine analytics. Currently, many groups are exploring methods for human-machine teaming using saliency and heat maps, explainable and interpretable artificial intelligence, as well as user-defined interfaces. However, there is still a need for standard metrics for test and evaluation of systems utilizing artificial intelligence (AI), such as deep learning (DL), to support the AI principles. In this paper, we explore the elements associated with the opportunities and challenges emerging from designing, testing, and evaluating such future systems. The paper highlights the MAST (multi-attribute scorecard table), and more specifically the MAST criteria ―analysis of alternatives‖ by measuring the risk associated with an evidential DL-based decision. The concept of risk includes the probability of a decision as well as the severity of the choice, from which there is also a need for an uncertainty bound on the decision choice which the paper postulates a risk bound. Notional analysis for a cyber networked system is presented to guide to interactive process for test and evaluation to support the certification of AI systems as to the decision risk for a human-machine system that includes analysis from both the DL method and a user.

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“…Many techniques for over-the-air encryption focus on the lower layers of the networking stack -before TCP/IP becomes relevant. For example, physical-layer techniques such as frequency hopping with channel patterns derived from cryptographic keys or direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) have been suggested as a mechanism for securing the entire satellite link from eavesdropping attacks [22]. Likewise the injection of artificial noise into satellite signals as an alternative to key-based encryption has also been proposed [40].…”

Section: Physical and Link-layer Approachesmentioning

confidence: 99%

QPEP: A QUIC-Based Approach to Encrypted Performance Enhancing Proxies for High-Latency Satellite Broadband

Pavur,

Strohmeier,

Lenders

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Satellite broadband services are critical infrastructures enabling advanced technologies to function in the most remote regions of the globe. However, status-quo services are often unencrypted by default and vulnerable to eavesdropping attacks. In this paper, we challenge the historical perception that over-the-air security must trade off with TCP performance in high-latency satellite networks due to the deep-packet inspection requirements of Performance Enhancing Proxies (PEPs).After considering why prior work in this area has failed to find wide adoption, we present an open-source encryptedby-default PEP -QPEP -which seeks to address these issues. QPEP is built around the open QUIC standard and designed so individual customers may adopt it without ISP involvement. QPEP's performance is assessed through simulations in a replicable docker-based testbed. Across many benchmarks and network conditions, QPEP is found to avoid the perceived security-encryption trade-off in PEP design. Compared to unencrypted PEP implementations, QPEP reduces average page load times by more than 30% while also offering over-the-air privacy. Compared to the traditional VPN encryption available to customers today, QPEP more than halves average page load times. Together, these experiments lead to the conclusion that QPEP represents a promising new approach to protecting modern satellite broadband connections.

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Secure spectrum-efficient frequency hopping for return link of protected tactical satellite communications

Cited by 10 publications

References 23 publications

QPEP: An Actionable Approach to Secure and Performant Broadband From Geostationary Orbit

QPEP: An Actionable Approach to Secure and Performant Broadband From Geostationary Orbit

Human-machine cooperative AI decision-making with heterogeneous data

QPEP: A QUIC-Based Approach to Encrypted Performance Enhancing Proxies for High-Latency Satellite Broadband

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