The Darknet and the Future of Content Distribution by Shruthi B Krishnan

Agenda  Introduction  What is darknet?  Features of darknet  Evolution of darknet  Introducing content into darknet  Methods of policing  Conclusions

Introduction  Copying or distributing content in digital format is easier  Legal vs. illegal distribution of content  Terms used ObjectsObjects UsersUsers HostsHosts

What is darknet?  Darknet is a collection of networks and technologies used to share digital content  Assumptions Any widely distributed object is available to some users in a form that permits copyingAny widely distributed object is available to some users in a form that permits copying Users copy available and interesting objectsUsers copy available and interesting objects Users have high-bandwidth channelsUsers have high-bandwidth channels  Infrastructure requirements  Input facilities  Transmission facilities  Output facilities  Search mechanisms/ database  Caching mechanism  Target infrastructure requirements to fight darknet

Evolution of darknet – Early Small-World networks  “Sneaker net” of floppy disks and tapes  Limitations LatencyLatency Lack of search enginesLack of search engines  Interconnected Small-World networks

Evolution of darknet – contd Central Internet Servers  Internet displaced sneaker net – reduced latency and powerful search mechanisms  Centralized storage and search  Efficient for legal online commerce  Poor support for illegal object distribution

Evolution of darknet – contd Peer-to-peer networks (Napster)  Distributed storage of objects – injection, storage, distribution & consumption of objects done by users  Centralized database for searching – became the legal target

Evolution of darknet – contd Peer-to-peer networks (Gnutella)  Distributed object storage and distributed database  To reach any host on Gnutella darknet, a peer needs one or few participating peer-IP addresses  Open protocol

Fully distributed darknets  How robust are they?  Free riding Downloading objects without sharing themDownloading objects without sharing them Some users sacrifice their resources, free-riders don’tSome users sacrifice their resources, free-riders don’t  Lack of anonymity Server end-points can be determinedServer end-points can be determined

Fully distributed darknets – Attacks

Introducing content into darknet – Conditional Access systems  Subscribers are given access to objects based on a service contract  Customers have no access to channels they are not entitled to  Can freely use channels subscribed for

Introducing content into darknet (contd) – DRM systems  Client obtains Encrypted contentEncrypted content License specifying how to useLicense specifying how to use  BOBE-strong vs. BOBE-weak systems  Renewability

Introducing content into darknet (contd) – using software  Mainly used to secure computer programs  Bind software to a host – program won’t work on an unlicensed machine  Machine id should not be virtualizable  Code to perform bind-checks should be resistant to tampering

Policing hosts – Watermarking  Embeds an indelible, invisible mark on content  Concerns about the robustness of the embedding layer  Key management  Watermark detectors in software or hardware

Policing hosts (contd) – Fingerprinting  Supplier marks the object with an individualized mark identifying the purchaser  If shared on darknet, purchaser is identified  No key-distribution needed  Expensive  Collusion attacks

Conclusion  Technological implications Even strong DRM systems can failEven strong DRM systems can fail Watermark detectors have not made an impactWatermark detectors have not made an impact  Competition to legal commerce  Evidence that darknet will continue to exist

Questions….