National Intelligence Community Information Assurance Research Program

1. The Overall Classification of this Briefing is UNCLASSIFIED National Intelligence Community Information Assurance Research Program NICIAR: Pursuing Disruptive Technologies for Information Assurance Carl E. Landwehr Program Manager, NICIAR Carl Landwehr NICIAR Program Manager 301-226-9108 265-5188(s) email: CLandwehr@casl.umd.edu

2. The Nation’s Intelligence Community • New DNI, Mike McConnell: • Intelligence Community Integration • Acquisition emphasis • Information sharing: • Need to know vs. responsibility to provide • Analyst at the center: • Know the customer needs • Know the sensors and source

3. What is “disruptive technology? Performance demanded at high end of market Progress in sustaining technologies Most demanding use Disruptive Technology Progress in sustaining technologies Performance Performance demanded at low end of market Disruptive Technological innovation Time Technology that precipitates change • Examples: • Digital vs. chemical photography • Packet vs. circuit communications • Wireless vs. wired telephony

4. Research Areas Quantum Information Science and Technology Exploratory Investigations National Intelligence Community Information Assurance Research Information Exploitation Research Development and Experimental Collaboration (RDEC)

5. National Intelligence Community Information Assurance Research Program Offense Defense Flawed software Spoofable network protocols Complex security management Vision: Level the cybersecurity playing field • Dramatically improve the fundamental trustworthiness of the NIC cyber infrastructure • Defend existing NIC cyber infrastructure from external and internal threats; enable operation despite attacks Goals: • Use accountability as a lever to reduce vulnerabilities and foster information sharing • Increase the attacker’s cost to penetrate NIC systems • Provide usable and flexible security mechanisms Defense has an uphill battle!

6. NICIAR Research Topics Large Scale System Defense Accountable Information Flow Vulnerable monoculture Robust polyculture Intended configuration • Goals: • Incorporate accountable information flow mechanisms at all system layers • Develop and demonstrate network designs in which today’s attacks are engineered out Actual configuration • Goals: • Increase attacker’s cost • Enable system operation during attack • Improve system configuration assurance • Technologies: • Dynamic, diverse programs and systems • Configuration specification and verification • Technologies: • Physical unclonable functions, secure coprocessors, static/dynamic analysis

7. NICECAP Planned Timeline 2006 2007 2008 Topic areas: • Accountable Information flow • Large scale system defense BAA release 4/24/06 White papers due 5/23 Proposals invited 8/1 Proposal evaluation begins 9/5 Contract negotiations begin 11/1 Packages ready for award 1/15 Phase I Work begins 5/1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1

8. Potential Goals to Motivate Metrics • Doubleattacker’s time/resource cost to compromise NIC systems through remote exploits • Unmodified system as baseline • Applications: reduce vulnerability windows in time (patch generation/installation, reconfiguration) and space (flaw/fault detection and removal) • Decrease by half the time and effort required to attribute a specific computational event/information flow to a (human/software/hardware) initiator • Unmodified system as baseline • Applications: sanitization, information sharing (credit), leakage (blame) • Stretch goal: Reduce by a factor of 10 the time/effort required to certify/accredit a new, conforming software component for use in a general purpose environment based on accountable information flow technologies • Existing system and certification/accreditation process as baseline

9. Large Scale System DefenseS. Bellovin, A. Keromytis, S. Stolfo, Columbia U. LSSD PROBLEM: Scalable Automated Collaborative Defenses Solution: Artificially diversified detectors/software Leverage monocultures into distributed sensor net Automated learning-based anomaly detectors Automated patch generation: faster response Better Patch Management: safe deployment PROGRESS Source code patching tool - DYBOC • Stack and heap-based buffer overflow and underflow attacks Emulator-based ISR - STEM New content-based anomaly detector - Anagram • Experimental evaluation with R2 Data sanitization • Model normal “attack-free” traffic DNAD-2: (formerly called Worminator/Whirlpool) • Content-centric Distribution System (sensor independent) • Source IP’s of detected attacks e.g. Snort IDS alerts • Aggregation of IDS alerts & reports • Patches

10. ConfigAssure: Dynamic System Configuration Assurance for NIC Cyber Infrastructure, S. Narain et. al., Telcordia / S. Malik, Princeton / D. Jackson, MIT LSSD ConfigAssure System Architecture • APPROACH • Specify security architecture via first-order logic constraints on component configurations. • Use constraint solver to compute (a) component configurations implementing security architecture, and (b) plan to safely evolve to new configuration • Adapt infrastructure to preserve security architecture in response to contingencies Adaptation Policy Engine Components Security Architecture Contingencies Requirement Solver New Configurations & Reconfiguration Plan Infrastructure components • PLAN • Design ConfigAssure Architecture. (Nov 2007) • Develop prototype and integrate Zchaff and Kodkod technologies developed by Princeton and MIT (May 2007) • Conduct evaluations and trials (August 2008) ConfigAssure automates configuration of large systems Boolean constraints Solution Security Architecture in FOL New Configurations & Reconfiguration Plan Decom- piler Com- piler Components To Be Configured SAT Solver

11. Software Diversity via Context-Free Grammar Transformations – Gerald Thompson, Lucent Technologies LSSD • Create functionally equivalent copies of an executable that are diverse with respect to: • number of functions • function parameters • stack and heap variables • Generate a context-free grammar from a program, perform random transformation on the grammar, then construct a new program from the transformed grammar • Variant code will be robust against attacks that depend on knowledge of program structure

12. Software Exploit Prevention and Remediation via Software Memory Protection, Coleman, Davidson, Evans,Knight,Nguyen-Tuong, U. Virginia LSSD • APPROACH • Develop a unique single security mechanism that can defend against memory corruption exploits • Provide mechanisms for remediation, including diagonostics, recovery and repair. • Make generalized defense practical by keeping run time performance penalities small and making protections easily portable and scaleable. • PLAN • Demonstrate ability to identify critical data and untrusted operations in binaries (Nov 2007) • Demonstrate integrated policies using output of analysis phase (Jan 2008) • Demonstrate additional policies (May 2008) • Final prototype and supporting documentation (August 2008)

13. IFERRET: Improving Program Security through Traceable Dynamic Information Flow T. Leek, G. Baker, R. Lippmann MIT-Lincoln Lab LSSD Ok Bad Attack Tool Browser Kernel Passwords • IFERRET: Traceable Dynamic Information Flow System • System-wide • Traceback: Permits tracing any byte in memory back to parts of inputs from which it derives • Unlimited sources • Memory efficient: much less than one bit per byte • Implicit Information Flow (IIF) • Developers / security experts given ability to • Monitor progress of sensitive and malicious information through and between programs • Monitor many sources, allowing for more comprehensive security policies • Ask, when a buffer overflow is about to happen, “Which parts of which inputs are responsible?” • Ask, of a debugger, “What input bytes control this variable?” • PLAN (through 8/08) • Build IFERRET prototype, leveraging existing Taint Graph implementation • Evaluate • Track passwords from multiple sources • Track multiple local IP addresses • Trace back malicious input to one source among many • Measure miss and false alarm rates, overhead

14. Orchestra: Leveraging Parallel Hardware to Detect, Quarantine, and Repair Malicious Code Injection, M. Franz, UC-Irvine LSSD Multi-core processor Checkpoints • APPROACH • Develop a multi-variant code execution technique that will detect injected malware in real time and automatically repair affected code. • Execute several slightly different instances of the same program in lockstep on multiple disjoint h/w processing elements • Uses system call randomization for code diversity • A monitoring layer compares the computation states of the different instances and flags differences as suspect. • Raises the cost of attacking a system by forcing an intruder to devise a different attack vector for each specific instance of a program. Core 1 (e.g.,stack grows up) Core 2 (e.g.,stack grows down) • PLAN • Initial Prototype, Aug 07 • Add variable addressing diversity, Dec 07 • Expand the scope of diversity to system libraries, Nov 07 • Refined prototype, Feb 08 • Add application binary interface diversity, May 08 • Expand scope to the operating system, May 08 • Results from hardware support study, Jul 08 • Final prototype, Jul 08

15. Process Coloring For Malware Investigation, D. Yu, E. Spafford, Purdue / X. Jiang, GMU LSSD Virtual Machine Attacker … Log Monitor MySQL Sendmail Apache DNS Logger Guest OS Log Virtual Machine Monitor (VMM) • APPROACH • Track OS-level information flow provenance by assigning a unique identifier (color) to each potential malware entry point • Color individual processes/data based on their interaction with potential entry points or other previously colored processes/data • Color-based identification of malware contaminations • Color-based reduction of log data to be analyzed • Highlight event anomalies via abnormal color interactions present in logs • Leverage virtual machine technology for tamper resistance of log coloring • PLAN • Formal model of process (color) provenance for OS level flows, Jul 07 • Demonstrate a process coloring prototype in a malware scenario, Jul 08 • Includes both server and client side solutions • Evaluate the effects of color diffusion and mixing on malware warning and detection, including: • Profiling and visualization, Dec 08 • Reducing false positives caused by legitimate color mixing, Mar 08 • Tracking cross-border color mixing, Jul 08 • Deploy in a real-world environment, Feb 08 – Jul 08

16. 100 Mb/sec for 100 Million Households: A Clean Slate Design for the Internet, S. Fraser, Fraser Research AIF Seattle Chicago New York Denver San Francisco 1 2 Atlanta 3 Dallas 4 5 6 7 8 9 Q4’06 Q1’07 Q2’07 Q3’07 Q4’07 Q1’08 Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Current Approach FILES NETWORK Security an ad-hoc overlay Mobility a late addition Dumb network, smart host New Approach NIU host agent Security from the ground up Mobility an initial consideration Smart network, independent host logical layer root trunk physical layer LAN access regional backbone center Privacy Access control for all conversations Authenticated endpoints Robust secure Rapid and automatic service restoration service Infrastructure with multiple layers of defense Universal Unification of wired, wireless and satellite mobility Every service, host and network can be mobile Independent A new host/network interface with signaling evolution Extensible range of network styles and services Incremental Consistent with existing premises hardware deployment Small initial change to host software P2. Main forwarding path P3. Host interface and signaling P4. Architecture testbed

17. Designing Secure Networks from the Ground Up (SANE)N. McKeown, et.al. Stanford, S. Akella UW-Madison AIF • Ask the question: Starting with a clean-slate, how can we design Public and Private networks to be inherently secure from the ground up? • Force the origin and intent of traffic to be explicit • Private Networks: • SANE: All network connectivity governed by global policy; Implement secure namespace • Ethane: Ethernet-compatible prototype; Domain Controller and custom Ethernet switch. • Public Networks: Work yet to start • Technology Transition • Deploying at Stanford, UW-Madison and other research groups • Expect to work with commercial partners to transfer technology Public Internet Domain Controller 3. Install path 4. Data 2. First data packet 1. Authenticate user Nick Martin We make no commitment to keep to this schedule and will change it as the research dictates Q4 06 Q1 07 Q2 07 Q3 07 Q4 07 Ethane: v1.0 • Technical Results • Ethane prototype deployed in research group at Stanford • Software switch & Domain Controller implemented • Hardware switch defined Ethane: v2.0 Ethane: Local Deployment Ethane: Remote Deployment inSANE: Invention inSANE: v1.0

18. Data Flow Analysis for Information Accountability and Security Enforcement, Jeremy Price, SWRI and Calvin Lin, UT Austin AIF • APPROACH • Combine static analysis and runtime monitoring techniques to enhance the trustworthiness of applications • Detect vulnerabilities and automatically repair the affected application • Employ an annotation language to define security properties independent of any programming language • Statically identify potential violations in code • Insert runtime monitoring code into untrusted software • New Start • PLAN • Mid-term demonstration prototype kit, 9 months ARO • Mid-Term Research Claims Evaluation Report, 9 months ARO • Preliminary DDFA Design Document, 12 months ARO • Final demonstration prototype kit, 18 months ARO • Final DDFA Design Document, 18 months ARO • Final report, 18 months ARO Broadway Compiler C Program Static Analysis Instrumentation Engine Security Enhanced C Program Security Policy Specification DDFA Runtime Library

19. Physical Unclonable Functions and Secure Processors, Srinivas Devadas, PUFCO Inc. AIF Local I/O Processing Core Secure Execution Modes Network Security Code ROM On-Chip SRAM Init / bootstrap Memory and I/O Interfaces PUF key generation PUF Circuit Secure start-up App. Software Data (Syndrome) Attestation Secure storage PUF-Enabled Secure Processor Flash Memory • APPROACH • Build a secure processor based on inherent and unique chip delays to generate physically unclonable and tamper resistant secrets as a foundation for accountable information flow. • PLAN • PUF enabled secure processor design and specification document (month 4) • ASIC Implementation (month 12) • Application Demonstration and Evaluation results (month 18)

20. Nexus Operating System for Trustworthy Computing Fred Schneider, E Gün Sirer, Cornell University AIF • PLAN • Complete stand alone infrastructure (3 months) • Prototype active attestation of certification without assumptions. (6 months) • Implement introspection service (9 months) • Build applications using active attestation (12 months) • Implement an example network reference monitor (15 months) • APPROACH • Develop a next generation operating system infrastructure based on the concept of active attestation. • Demonstrate that creation and use of a new generalized form of attribution certificates can reliably associate execution guarantees with specified software components.

21. Accountability for Information Flow via Explicit Formal Proof, F. Pfenning et. al., CMU / B. Witten, Symantec AIF Access policy: root says read/write /delete/… fopen (“memo.txt”) Prove: root says read memo.txt pubkey_root: { delegate (root, Alice, read(“memo.txt”) } Proof:… root says …… delegate (root, Alice, read(“memo.txt”)) ... • PLAN • Specification of access control policies modeled after an Intelligence Community organization, Feb 08 • Formal logic, associated logic properties, and proof checker, Feb 08 • Demonstrate a proof-carrying authorization (PCA) prototype for creating and verifying proofs of access control in a selected file system, Jul 08 • APPROACH • Develop novel logical techniques that capture both authorization and information flow in systems • Show that these techniques can be integrated into systems to enforce these requirements for real applications • Develop: relevant policies • Foundations for logics of affirmation and knowledge • File system prototype

22. Trust Management Intrusion-tolerance, Accountability, and Reconstitution Architecture, (TIARA) H. Shrobe et. al., MIT / A. DeHon, Penn AIF Operand 1 Register File A L U Data Result Data Operand 2 Tag 1 Trap Signal Tag 2 Tags Unit Instruction Tag PC Trap Dispatch Address Process Identifier Result Tag • APPROACH • Provide for fine-grained tracking of data security context, non-bypassable enforcement of security policies, and application data provenance tracking. • Use hardware based tag processing unit to support a broad range of access control and information flow models. • Develop TIARA FPGA based hardware to ensure integrity of the memory structuring conventions and implement secure information flow. (Month 12) • Develop TIARA software layers that enforce structuring constraints, access controls and data accountability (Month 12) • Conduct active briefing book based demonstration. (Month 15)

23. System Wide Information Flow Enforcement T. Jaeger & Patrick McDaniel, Penn State AIF VM A VM B App App OS Jif OS VMM Provide Information flow guarantees via VMMs (e.g.,Xen/sHype) and applications (e.g., security typed languages) • PLAN • Extend SELinux Labeled IPSEC mechanism to convey requisite security information (Month 8) • Build Xen virtual infrastructure to enable verification of loaded software. (Month 14) • Build a JIF based web browser that ensures secrecy and integrity of information flows (Month 15) • Conduct functional tests and vulnerability analysis (Month 17) • APPROACH • Develop practical information flow enforcement semantics • Build application level enforcement of system information flow requirements • Enforce and convey system information flow requirements • Leverage virtual machine technology to simplify information flow integrity

24. End-to-End Semantic Accountability, D. Weitzner et.al.,MIT / J. Feigenbaum, Yale / J. Hendler RPI AIF GOAL: Provide robust social and technical basis for trusting that Web-scale information systems are being used in accordance with the rules set out for them, where rules are expressed with reference to the semantics of the information under control. • APPROACH • Access control through proof carrying authentication with access policies expressed over data semantics • Transparent data usage logging for real-time compliance hints and a posterioriaccountability • Engineered as Web architecture components • PLAN • Scenario descriptions, May 07 • Data purpose algebra specification, Jun 07 • Appliance design and initial prototype, Sep 07 • Prototype appliances: • Apache module, Nov 07 • Client-side proxy, Dec 07 • Accountability browser, Feb 08 • Final accountability prototype, Feb 08 • Final evaluation, Jun 08

25. Thank You!Questions? Carl Landwehr NICIAR Program Manager 301-226-9108 265-5188(s) email: CLandwehr@casl.umd.edu

26. Backup Slides • BACKUP Slides • covering past and transitioning research areas

27. Additional NICIAR Research • Past research and ongoing transition efforts in • Insider Threat Mitigation • Malware detection (data sets available) • Cyber Situational Awareness • Fusing IDS alerts (data sets available) • Visualization of cyber situation data • IP Traceback

28. NICIAR Research Topics New tools are needed to detect and defend against next-generation malware Sophisticated malware hiding in “normal” data bypasses layered defenses Firewall IDS Anti-Virus SECRET Advanced techniques for mobility, stealth, polymorphism, armoring and persistence make detection difficult Left unchecked, malware can exfiltrate and/or corrupt sensitive data Insider Threat Mitigation Malicious Code Risk Mitigation • Goals: • Understand, characterize risk indicators • Detect suspicious insider workflows • Determine information provenance • Goals: • Detect malware in “passive” data • Test and deploy new countermeasures • Technologies: • Semantic discovery, relationship mining • Derivative text identification • Workflow process modeling and recognition • Technologies: • Statistical content analysis • Machine learning

29. NICIAR Research Topics Data Deluge Visual SA Decision Aids Seeing the Big Picture Payload encryption H P H P H P Reordering Traffic padding Header / address translation H H H P P P H H H P P P H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P Cyber Situational Awareness Attack Attribution & Traceback • Goals: • Decision support tools that normalize, deconflict, correlate & interpret large volumes of data • Exploit human pattern recognition abilities in IA situation displays • Goals: • Identify true source of an attack • Overcome attacker obfuscation techniques • Reduce analysis complexity by enabling integration of tools & results • Technologies: • Timing-based packet watermarking • Correlation of packet flows • Technologies: • Machine learning, automated deduction, abduction, visualization,

30. IP Traceback Research Summary • DTO research areas in attack traceback: • digital watermarking • traffic flow steering and timing analysis • passive monitoring • forensics for traceback • monitor placement and flow correlation • Research funding through mid FY07; looking for transition opportunities

31. Traceback: The Landscape • Attacks begin with an originating host • Traffic may pass through through various stepping stone hosts • A controller might control a number of zombie hosts that have malicious software implanted within them (most often without their knowledge or consent). • Zombies may attack one or more target machines, to perform either a denial of service attack or to modify or exfiltrate information from them. • Exfiltrated information may go to a receiver host that, in turn, is separated from the originating host by a series of stepping stone machines