Reasoning about secrecy for active networks

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Kakkar, Pankaj^a | Gunter, Carl A.^a | Abadi, Martín^b

Affiliations: [a] Computer and Information Science Department, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. E-mail: pankaj@gradient.cis.upenn.edu, gunter@cis.upenn.edu | [b] Computer Science Department, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA. E-mail: abadi@soe.ucsc.edu

Abstract: In this paper we develop a language of mobile agents called uPLAN for describing the capabilities of active (programmable) networks. We use a formal semantics for uPLAN to demonstrate how capabilities provided for programming the network can affect the potential flows of information between users. In particular, we formalize a concept of security against attacks on secrecy by an ‘outsider’ and show how basic protections are preserved in the presence of programmable network functions.

DOI: 10.3233/JCS-2003-11205

Journal: Journal of Computer Security, vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 245-287, 2003