System and method for deterring malicious network attacks

• US 10,146,705 B2
• Filed: 10/27/2016
• Issued: 12/04/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 04/01/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Georgetown University
• Original Assignee: Georgetown University
• Inventors: Shields, Thomas Clay
• Primary Examiner(s): Rahman, Shawnchoy
• Application Number:
  US15/336,478
• Publication Number:
  US 20170147510A1
• Time in Patent Office: 768 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/1408 by using cryptography for digital transmission H04L9/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/1466 Key-lock mechanism
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/50 Monitoring users, programs or devices to maintain the integrity of platforms, e.g. of processors, firmware or operating systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/552 involving long-term monitoring or reporting
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2212/1052 Security improvement
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2212/402 Encrypted data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/034 Test or assess a computer or a system
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/1408 by monitoring network traffic monitoring network traffic per se H04L43/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/1441 Countermeasures against malicious traffic countermeasures against attacks on cryptographic mechanisms H04L9/002
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/0894 Escrow, recovery or storing of secret information, e.g. secret key escrow or cryptographic key storage
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/14 using a plurality of keys or algorithms
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/30 Public key, i.e. encryption algorithm being computationally infeasible to invert or user's encryption keys not requiring secrecy
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/32 including means for verifying the identity or authority of a user of the system or for message authentication, e.g. authorization, entity authentication, data integrity or data verification, non-repudiation, key authentication or verification of credentials

Abstract

A system and method for deterring malicious network attacks. The system and method is configured to execute instructions on at least one of the processors to generate a plurality of random blocks of data; generate a first XOR result by using the XOR function with the plurality of random blocks of data as the XOR function inputs; generate a tail value by using the XOR function with the first XOR result and a random encryption key as the XOR function inputs; encrypt a designated file using the random encryption key; write the plurality of random blocks and tail value to at least one storage medium; and write the encrypted designated file to at least one storage medium.

Claims

1. A computer-readable storage medium, which is non-transitory, encoded with instructions that, when executed by one or more processors within a computer system that comprises one or more interfaces operatively coupled to at least one of the processors, causes the computer system at least to:

execute instructions on at least one of the processors to generate a plurality of random blocks of data;

generate a first XOR result by using the XOR function with the plurality of random blocks of data as the XOR function inputs;

generate a second XOR result by using the XOR function with a designated data file and the first XOR result as the XOR function inputs; and

write the plurality of random blocks together with the second XOR result as an expanded file that is larger than the designated data file to at least one storage medium so as to store the expanded file on the at least one storage medium.

2. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, further comprising instructions that cause the computer system at least to:

recover the designated file by using the XOR function with the second XOR result and the plurality of random blocks as the XOR function inputs.

3. A method of expanding a file, comprising:

generating a plurality of random blocks of data;

generating a first XOR result by using the XOR function with the plurality of random blocks of data as the XOR function inputs;

generating a second XOR result by using the XOR function with a designated data file and the first XOR result as the XOR function inputs; and

writing the plurality of random blocks together with the second XOR result as an expanded file that is larger than the designated data file to at least one storage medium to store the expanded file on the at least one storage medium.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

recovering the designated file by using the XOR function on the expanded file.