The Internet and the Peeroskop
Computer Scientists from Freie Universität Berlin Present Research Results against Cyberhacking at CeBIT 2015
№ 075/2015 from Mar 18, 2015
At this year's CeBIT computer fair, computer scientists from Freie Universität Berlin are presenting tools that can be used to better understand and protect the Internet, which in recent years has evolved into one of the most important global infrastructures – and is still vulnerable. For data packets on the Internet to reach their destinations correctly, the paths must be correct, but the "direction signs" change frequently, making it easy to capture the data and misuse them for criminal attacks. Peeroskop is a system for analyzing and protecting data streams. It was developed by researchers at Freie Universität, the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, and TU Munich. The project is being funded by the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) with more than 1.5 million euros. Visitors can learn about the new security solutions from now until March 20 at the BMBF booth at the CeBIT fair in Hannover (Hall 9, Booth D40).
At the trade fair, the computer scientists are simulating an attack on the Internet and explaining how Internet operators can effectively protect themselves against it. "The main problem is that, until recently, the way that information traveled around the Internet was based solely on trust. Each network operator could claim to be the owner of a range of addresses, and there was no possibility to reliably check the accuracy of such claims," said Matthias Wählisch, a researcher at the Institute of Computer Science at Freie Universität.
Among other things, the researchers are demonstrating an interactive, forensic analysis of so-called prefix hijacks, i.e., the hijacking of Internet addresses. They will also demonstrate how to protect Internet paths using new standards such as the Resource Public Key Infra-structure (RPKI). The scientists will also discuss the challenges that arise with national solutions to the problems of Internet infrastructure.
Time and Location
- CeBIT 2015, BMBF Stand in Hall 9, Stand D40, Hannover Messe, 30521 Hannover
Further Information
Matthias Wählisch, Institute of Computer Science, Freie Universität Berlin, Tel.: +49 30 838-75209, Email: m.waehlisch@fu-berlin.de