TY - JOUR
T1 - A Novel Covert Timing Channel Based on Bitcoin Messages
AU - Zhu, Liehuang
AU - Liu, Qi
AU - Chen, Zhuo
AU - Zhang, Can
AU - Gao, Feng
AU - Yang, Zhongliang
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 1968-2012 IEEE.
PY - 2023/10/1
Y1 - 2023/10/1
N2 - Covert channels serve the construction of cyberspace security. By realizing the secure transmission of data, it is widely used in political and financial fields. Blockchain covert channels have higher reliability and concealment compared to traditional network-based covert channels. However, existing blockchain covert storage channels need to create a large number of transactions to transmit covert information. Creating transactions requires a transation fee, which means that the implementation of blockchain covert storage channels requires a high cost. Besides, created transactions remain on-chain permanently, leading to the threat of covert information being detected. To overcome these limitations, we propose a blockchain covert timing channel framework. Specifically, we utilize inv and getdata messages in the Bitcoin transaction broadcast as carriers and propose three modulation modes to achieve covert channels without cost and leaving no trace. We evaluate the concealment of our modes by K-S, KLD tests, and machine learning approaches. Experimental results show the indistinguishability between traffic carrying covert information and normal traffic. Our channels promise a capacity of 2.4 bit/s.
AB - Covert channels serve the construction of cyberspace security. By realizing the secure transmission of data, it is widely used in political and financial fields. Blockchain covert channels have higher reliability and concealment compared to traditional network-based covert channels. However, existing blockchain covert storage channels need to create a large number of transactions to transmit covert information. Creating transactions requires a transation fee, which means that the implementation of blockchain covert storage channels requires a high cost. Besides, created transactions remain on-chain permanently, leading to the threat of covert information being detected. To overcome these limitations, we propose a blockchain covert timing channel framework. Specifically, we utilize inv and getdata messages in the Bitcoin transaction broadcast as carriers and propose three modulation modes to achieve covert channels without cost and leaving no trace. We evaluate the concealment of our modes by K-S, KLD tests, and machine learning approaches. Experimental results show the indistinguishability between traffic carrying covert information and normal traffic. Our channels promise a capacity of 2.4 bit/s.
KW - Blockchain
KW - bitcoin
KW - covert channel
KW - covert communication
KW - transaction broadcast
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85162860343&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1109/TC.2023.3275096
DO - 10.1109/TC.2023.3275096
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85162860343
SN - 0018-9340
VL - 72
SP - 2913
EP - 2924
JO - IEEE Transactions on Computers
JF - IEEE Transactions on Computers
IS - 10
ER -