`Symposium on Network and Distributed Systems
`Security
`(SNDSS'96)
`
`Hypermedia Proceedings, Slides, and Summary
`Report
`
`Table of Contents
`
`Copyright 1996 Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. Reprinted from The
`Proceedings of the 1996 Symposium on Network and Distributed Systems Security.
`
`This material is posted here with permission of the IEEE. Internal or personal use of this material
`is permitted. However, permission to reprint/republish this material for advertising or promotional
`purposes or for creating new collective works for resale or redistribution must be obtained from
`the IEEE by sending a blank email message to info.pub.permission@ieee.org
`
`By choosing to view this document, you agree to all provisions of the copyright laws protecting it.
`
`General Chair's Message
`Program Chairs' Message
`Organizing Committee
`Program Committee
`Privacy and Security Research Group
`Author Index
`
`Session 1: Electronic Mail Security
`Chair: Stephen T. Kent - BBN Corporation
`
`1. Mixing E-mail with BABEL
`C. Gulc and G. Tsudik (abstract)
`2. An Integration of PGP and MIME
`K. Yamamoto (abstract)
`
`Session 2: Distributed Object Systems
`Chair: Danny M. Nessett - Sun Microsystems
`
`1. A Security Framework Supporting Domain-Based Access Control in Distributed Systems
`N. Yialelis and M. Sloman (abstract, slides)
`2. Panel - Scalability of Security in Distributed Object Systems
`Moderator: Danny M. Nessett - Sun Microsystems (abstract)
` Bret Hartman - BlackWatch Technology (slides)
` Danny M. Nessett - Sun Microsystems (slides)
` Nicholas Yialelis - Imperial College, London
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`Session 3: Distributed System Security
`Chair: Michael Roe - University of Cambridge
`
`1. A Flexible Distributed Authorization Protocol
`J.T. Trostle and B.C. Neuman (abstract)
`2. Preserving Integrity in Remote File Location and Retrieval
`T. Jaeger and A.D. Rubin (abstract)
`3. C-HTTP - The Development of a Secure, Closed HTTP-Based Network on the Internet
`T. Kiuchi and S. Kaihara (abstract, slides)
`
`Session 4: Panel - Intellectual Property Protection
`Moderator: Peter Neumann - SRI International (abstract)
`
` Olin Sibert - Electronic Publishing Resources
` Russell D. Housley - Spyrus (slides)
` Dan Boneh - Princeton University (slides)
`
`Session 5: Network Security
`Chair: Matt Bishop - University of California at Davis
`
`1. Designing an Academic Firewall: Policy, Practice, and Experience with SURF
`M. Greenwald, S.K. Singhal, J.R. Stone, and D.R. Cheriton (abstract, slides)
`2. Digital Signature Protection of the OSPF Routing Protocol
`S.L. Murphy and M.R. Badger (abstract, slides)
`3. A Case Study of Secure ATM Switch Booting
`S-C. Chuang and M. Roe (abstract)
`
`Session 6: Key Management
`Chair: Burton S. Kaliski, Jr. - RSA Laboratories
`
`1. SKEME: A Versatile Secure Key Exchange Mechanism for Internet
`H. Krawczyk (abstract, slides)
`IDUP and SPKM: Developing Public-Key-Based APIs and Mechanisms for Communication Security
`Services
`C. Adams (abstract, slides)
`
`2.
`
`Session 7: Encryption
`Chair: Aviel D. Rubin - Bellcore
`
`1. An Empirical Study of Secure MPEG Video Transmissions
`I. Agi and L. Gong (abstract, slides)
`2. Parallelized Network Security Protocols
`E. Nahum, D.J. Yates, S. O'Malley, H. Orman, and R. Schroeppel (abstract, slides)
`3. A "Bump in the Stack" Encryptor for MS-DOS Systems
`D.A. Wagner and S.M. Bellovin (abstract, slides)
`
`Session 8: Panel - Public-Key Infrastructure
`Moderator: Warwick Ford - Bell-Northern Research (abstract)
`
` John Wankmueller - MasterCard International
` Taher ElGamal - Netscape Communications (slides)
` Michael Baum - Verisign
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`General Chair's Message
`
`Welcome to the third annual ISOC Symposium on Network and Distributed System Security! Each year we
`seek to bring together researchers, implementors, and users of network and distributed system security facilities.
`This year our Program Committee has again done an outstanding job of selecting a mix of technical
`presentations and panel sessions to discuss and debate the issues we face today.
`
`As we are all aware, the need for usable distributed system security mechanisms is growing rapidly, tracking the
`growth and utilization of the world-wide Internet. For a welcome change, the general awareness of and interest
`in security is growing significantly as well _ by commercial organizations, the media, and private citizens. More
`than ever before, organizations will be looking to you, the participants of this symposium, for both technical
`solutions to specific problems and advice for the emerging public policy debates.
`
`I encourage you to take advantage of this Symposium to not only listen to the presentations but also share your
`own experiences and ideas with other attendees during the breaks and evening activities.
`
`Many thanks are in order for the behind-the-scenes effort that has culminated in this symposium: Tom Hutton
`"secured" our new location at the Princess Resort; Donna Leggett has done a superb job in handling the
`increased registration activities; and Stephen Welke has brought our Proceedings into the electronic age! I also
`want to commend the Program Co-Chairs, David Balenson and Clifford Neuman, for their excellent work with
`the Program Committee for pulling together the excellent program in which you are about to participate.
`Without the hard work by all these folks, this symposium would not have been possible.
`
`As always, I want to thank all the authors who submitted papers and the panelists who are participating by
`sharing their knowledge and experiences with us.
`
`Enjoy!
`
`James T. Ellis
`Carnegie Mellon University
`jte@cert.org
`
`Program Chairs' Message
`
`In the past year, the public has increasingly been urged to enter cyberspace and to use the Internet to obtain
`information from vendors, order products, and even bank from home. At the same time, businesses are being
`compelled to have a presence on the Internet, making information available to customers and other businesses.
`As a result, the need for network and distributed system security has grown dramatically.
`
`Today we find that the individuals trying to breach the security of computer systems are using more
`sophisticated attacks, and because such attacks now can yield business data or result in financial transactions,
`these attacks have become more lucrative. While the computer security discipline once addressed mostly
`hypothetical threats, the press has recently taken notice when attacks known by practitioners for years were
`suddenly perpetrated against widely-used and heavily marketed products including web servers and browsers
`and network file systems.
`
`There is good news and bad news regarding the state of Internet security. The good news is that most of the
`threats we are seeing have been known for some time, and we know how to protect against them. The bad news
`is that the solutions must still be integrated with applications, many of the solutions require a computer security
`infrastructure that is not widely available, and we have yet to see widespread deployment of computer security
`technologies.
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`The organizers of this symposium hope that the symposium will encourage the Internet community to deploy
`the available security technology and develop new technology in areas where it is lacking. In selecting papers
`and panels for the symposium, the program committee sought to bring together the papers that will have the
`greatest impact on the field by introducing new computer security technologies whether research prototypes or
`actual products, demonstrating the application of computer security technologies to Internet applications, and
`describing components of the computer security infrastructure.
`
`By bringing together researchers and practitioners in the field we are confident that the symposium will have a
`positive impact on the state of Internet security. We encourage you, as a participant in this symposium, to use
`this opportunity to actively participate in the dialog. Ask questions of the speakers, raise your important issues
`during relevant panel sessions, and let others know of your requirements, observations, and experience in this
`important area.
`
`B. Clifford Neuman
`Marina del Rey, California
`bcn@isi.edu
`
`David M. Balenson
`Glenwood, Maryland
`balenson@tis.com
`
`Organizing Committee
`
`General Chair
`James T. Ellis
`CERT Coordination Center
`Carnegie Mellon University
`jte@cert.org
`
`David M. Balenson
`Trusted Information Systems
`balenson@tis.com
`
`Program Chairs
`B. Clifford Neuman
`USC Information Sciences Institute
`bcn@isi.edu
`
`Publications Chair
`Stephen R. Welke
`Institute for Defense Analyses
`welke@ida.org
`
`Registrations Chair
`Donna Leggett
`The Internet Society
`leggett@linus.isoc.org
`
`Local Arrangements Chair
`Thomas Hutton
`San Diego Supercomputer Center
`hutton@sdslug.org
`
`Steering Group
`Internet Research Task Force, Privacy and Security Research Group
`
`Program Committee
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`Members
`Thomas A. Berson - Anagram Laboratories
`Matt Bishop - University of California at Davis
`Doug Engert - Argonne National Laboratory
`Warwick Ford - Bell-Northern Research
`Burton S. Kaliski, Jr. - RSA Laboratories
`Stephen T. Kent - BBN Corporation
`Paul A. Lambert - Oracle
`John Linn - OpenVision Technologies
`Teresa Lunt - Advanced Research Projects Agency
`Danny M. Nessett - Sun Microsystems
`Hilarie Orman - University of Arizona
`Michael Roe - University of Cambridge
`Robert Rosenthal - National Institute of Standards and Technology
`Aviel D. Rubin - Bellcore
`Jeffrey I. Schiller - Massachusetts Institute of Technology
`Robert W. Shirey - BBN Corporation
`Doug Tygar - Carnegie Mellon University
`Roberto Zamparo - Telia Research
`
`External Reviewers
`Carlisle Adams - Bell-Northern Research
`William Burr - National Institute of Standards and Technology
`Jan Carlsson - Telia Research
`Trent Jaeger - University of Michigan
`Stewart Kowalski - Telia Research
`Tim Moses - Bell-Northern Research
`Paul Van Oorschot - Bell-Northern Research
`Rich Schroeppel - University of Arizona
`Ola Sjgren - Telia Research
`Richard Thomas - Bell-Northern Research
`Jyri J. Virkki - Bellcore
`Michael Wiener - Bell-Northern Research
`Andrey Yeatts - University of Arizona
`
`Privacy and Security Research Group of the Internet Research Task
`Force
`
`Chair
`Stephen T. Kent
`BBN Corporation
`kent@bbn.com
`
`PSRG Committee Members
`
`David M. Balenson
`Trusted Information Systems
`balenson@tis.com
`
`Matt Bishop
`University of California, Davis
`bishop@cs.ucdavis.edu
`
`Warwick Ford
`Bell-Northern Research
`wford@bnr.ca
`
`Russell D. Housley
`Spyrus
`housley@spyrus.com
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`Burton S. Kaliski, Jr.
`RSA Laboratories
`burt@rsa.com
`
`Danny M. Nessett
`Sun Microsystems
`nessett@eng.sun.com
`
`B. Clifford Neuman
`USC Information Sciences Institute
`bcn@isi.edu
`
`Richard L. Parker, II
`SHAPE Technical Centre
`parker@stc.nato.int
`
`Michael Roe
`University of Cambridge
`michael.roe@cl.cam.ac.uk
`
`Robert Rosenthal
`NIST
`rosenthal@ecf.ncsl.nist.gov
`
`Jeffrey I. Schiller
`Massachusetts Institute of Technology
`jis@mit.edu
`
`Roberto Zamparo
`Telia Research
`Roberto.Zamparo@haninge.trab.se
`
`Author Index
`
`Adams, C. (IDUP and SPKM: Developing ...)
`Agi, I. (An Empirical Study of Secure MPEG ...)
`Badger, M.R. (Digital Signature Protection ...)
`Bellovin, S.M. (A "Bump in the Stack" ...)
`Cheriton, D.R. (Designing an Academic Firewall: ...)
`Chuang, S-C. (A Case Study of Secure ATM ...)
`Gong, L. (An Empirical Study of Secure MPEG ...)
`Greenwald, M. (Designing an Academic Firewall: ...)
`Gulc, C. (Mixing E-mail ...)
`Jaeger, T. (Preserving Integrity in ...)
`Kaihara, S. (C-HTTP - The Development ...)
`Kiuchi, T. (C-HTTP - The Development ...)
`Krawczyk, H. (SKEME: A Versatile ...)
`Murphy, S.L. (Digital Signature Protection ...)
`Nahum, E. (Parallelized Network Security ...)
`Neuman, B.C. (A Flexible Distributed ...)
`O'Malley, S. (Parallelized Network Security ...)
`Orman, H. (Parallelized Network Security ...)
`Roe, M. (A Case Study of Secure ATM ...)
`Rubin, A.D. (Preserving Integrity in ...)
`Schroeppel, R. (Parallelized Network Security ...)
`Singhal, S.K. (Designing an Academic Firewall: ...)
`Sloman, M. (A Security Framework ...)
`Stone, J.R. (Designing an Academic Firewall: ...)
`Trostle, J.T. (A Flexible Distributed ...)
`Tsudik, G. (Mixing E-mail ...)
`Wagner, D.A. (A "Bump in the Stack" ...)
`Yamamoto, K. (An Integration of ...)
`Yates, D.J. (Parallelized Network Security ...)
`Yialelis, N. (A Security Framework ...)
`
`Return to the ISOC home page.
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`This page was last modified 17-January-1996.
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`mailto:welke@ida.org
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`C-HTTP -- The Development of a Secure, Closed HTTP-based Network
`on the Internet
`
`Takahiro Kiuchi
`Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics
`Faculty of Medicine, University of Tokyo
`7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113, Japan
`
`Shigekoto Kaihara
`Hospital Computer Center
`University of Tokyo Hospital
`7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113, Japan
`
`Abstract
`We have designed "C-HTTP" which provides secure
`HTTP communication mechanisms within a closed group
`of institutions on the Internet, where each member is
`protected by
`its
`own
`firewall. C-HTTP-based
`communications are made possible by the following three
`components: a client-side proxy, a server-side proxy and
`a C-HTTP name server. A client-side proxy and server(cid:173)
`side proxy communicate with each other using a secure,
`encrypted protocol while communications between a user
`agent and client-side proxy or an origin server and
`server-side proxy are performed using current HTTP!I.O.
`In a C-HTTP-based network, instead of DNS, a C-HTTP(cid:173)
`based secure, encrypted name and certification service is
`used. The aim of C-HTTP is to assure institutional level
`security and is different in scope from other secure HTTP
`protocols currently proposed which are oriented toward
`in which
`secure end-to-end HTTP communications
`security protection is dependent on each end-user.
`
`1. Introductiou
`In the medical community, there is a strong need for
`closed networks among hospitals and related institutions,
`such as coordinating centers for clinical trials or clinical
`laboratories. Secure transfer of patient infonnation for
`clinical use is obviously essential. In addition, some
`medical information has to be shared among some
`hospitals, but it should not be made available to other
`sites. This includes, for example, infonnation concerning
`multi-institutional clinical trials and documents for case
`conferences although patients' names are usually not
`specified in such information. In this paper, we discuss
`the design and implementation of a closed HTTP
`(Hypertext Transfer Protocol)-based network (C-HTTP)
`which can be built on the Internet.
`
`2. Design and specification of C-HTTP
`2.1 Overview
`C-HTTP is assumed to be used in a closed group of
`institutions on the Internet, in which each member is
`protected
`by
`its
`own
`firewall. C-HTTP-based
`communication is made possible with the following three
`components: 1) a client-side proxy on the firewall of one
`institution, 2) a server-side proxy on the firewall of
`another institution and 3) a C-HTTP name server, which
`manages a given C-HTTP-based network and
`the
`information for its all proxies. A client-side proxy and
`server-side proxy communicate with each other using a
`secure, encrypted protocol (C-HTTP). Communications
`between two kinds of proxies and HTTP/1.0 compatible
`servers/user agents within the firewalls are performed
`based on HTTP/IO with current C-HTTP implementation
`undcr way[l]. The DNS name service is not used for
`hostname resolution as the original secure name service,
`including certification, is used for the C-HTTP-based
`network. A summary of the protocol specification is
`described in the Appendices.
`
`2.2 Security technology and key information
`In C-HTTP, five kinds of security technologies are used.
`They are: 1) asymmetric key encryption for the secure
`exchange of data encryption keys between two types of
`proxies and host information between a proxY' and C(cid:173)
`HTTP name server, 2) symmetric key encryption for the
`encryption of C-HTTP encrypted headers and HTTP/1.0
`requests, 3) electronic signature for the request/response
`authentication, 4) a one-way hash function for checking
`data tampering and 5) random key generation technology.
`In the C-HTTP name service, symmetric encryption is not
`used because the amount of infonnation transferred is
`small.
`Each client-side or server-side proxy has its own
`private and public asymmetric keys and the C-HTTP
`name server's public key. Proxies do not exchange their
`
`0-8186-7222-6/96 $5.00 © 1996 IEEE
`Proceedings of SNDSS '96
`
`64
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`public keys with each other directly. Instead, the C-HTTP
`name selVer provides both client-side and selVcr-side
`proxies with each peer's public key. In addition, Nonce
`values for both request and response are also generated
`and provided by the C-HTTP name selVer, which will be
`specified as
`initial values
`in Request-Nonce and
`Response-Nonce headers contained in the first C-HTTP
`request dispatched by a client-side proxy and in the first
`C-HTTP response dispatched by a selVer-side pro:>..]"
`respectively. The C-HTTP name selVer manages its own
`private and public asymmetric keys and the public keys of
`all proxies which participate in the closed nen-vork. Two
`data encryption keys (symmetric keys) for requests and
`responses respectively are generated randomly during
`each C-HTTP session.
`An origin selVer which is compatible with HTTP/l.O is
`responsible for user authentication if necessary. It uses
`the built-in HTTP/LO
`authentication mechanism.
`Information concerning a user's ID, password and
`security realm (HTTP/I .O) are encrypted by proxies and
`are transferred only in encrypted form through the
`Internet. Replay attacks are blocked by checking values of
`the Request-Nonce header field of each request.
`When a given institution wants to participate in a
`closed network, it must 1) install a client-side and/or
`selVer-side proxy OIl its firewall, 2) register an IP address
`( for a selVer-side proxy, a port number should also be
`registered) and hostname (which does not have to be the
`same as its DNS name) for a firewall gateway, 3) give the
`proxy's public key to the C-HTTP name selVer, and 4)
`obtain the C-HTTP name selVer's public key. In the
`present C-HTTP specification, there is only one name
`selVer in a given C-HTTP network, although one can
`define any possible combination of closed subnetworks
`within the network.
`
`2.3 C-HTTP-based communication
`C-HTTP-based communication
`is
`follows:
`
`summarized as
`
`1) Connection of a client to a client-side proxy
`A client-side proxy behaves as an HTTP/l.O compatible
`proxy, and it should be specified as a proxy selVer for
`external (outside the firewall) access in each user agent
`within the firewall. In C-I-ITTP, as diffcrcnt from
`ordinary HTTP, a session (virtual C-HTrP connection) is
`established between a client-side prol\]' and server-side
`proxy and, thus, it is not stateless. The session is finished
`when the client accesses another C-HTTP selVer or an
`ordinary WWW selVer or when the client-side or selVer(cid:173)
`side proxy times out. The following ad-hoc mechanism is
`employed to define a session in stateless HTTP/IO-based
`communication between a client-side proxy and user
`
`agent. Suppose that the HTML specified in Figure (a) is
`retrieved and sent to a client-side prOl\]' after a C-HTTP
`session is established. In the client-side-pro:>..]" the HTML
`docwnent is rewritten as specified in Figure (b) and
`forwarded to a user agent. When one of these resource
`names with a connection ID, for example,
`''http://server.in.current.connection/sample.htrnl=@=6zd
`DfldfcZLj8V!i" in Figure (b), is selected and requested by
`an end-user, the client-side proxy takes off the connection
`ID and forwards the stripped, the original rcsource name
`to the selVer in its request as described in Figure (c).
`When the connection ID is not found
`in the current
`connection table in the client-sidc-pro:>..]"
`the current
`connection is disconnected. Thus a new connection is
`established if the host is in the closed network and an
`ordinary HTrPIl .O request is dispatched otherwise.
`
`2) Lookup of selVer-side pro:>..]' information (Appendix 3.
`a,b)
`A client-side pro:>..]' asks the C-HTTP name selVer
`whether it can communicate with the host specified in a
`given URL. If the name server confirms that the query is
`legitimate, it examines whether the requested selVer-side
`proxy is registcrcd in the closed network and is permitted
`to accept the connection from the client-side pro:>..]'. If the
`connection is permitted, the C-HTTP name selVer sends
`the IP address and public key ofthc server-side proxy and
`both request and response Nonce values. If it is not
`permitted, it sends a status code which indicates an error.
`If a client-side proxy receives an error status, then it
`performs DNS
`lookup, behaving
`like an ordinary
`HTTP/l.O proxy
`Both the request to and response from the C-HTTP
`name
`selVer are encrypted and certified, using
`asymmetric key encryption and digital
`signature
`technology.
`
`to
`
`the selVer-side proxy
`
`3) Request for connection
`(Appendix 3. c)
`When the C-HTTP name sen'er confirms that the
`specified selVer-side proxy is an appropriate closed
`network member, a client-side proxy sends a request for
`connection to the selVer-side pro,,-]', which is encryptcd
`using tlle selVer-side prol\]"s public key and contains the
`client-sidc proxy's IP address, hostname, request Nonce
`value aud symmetric data exchange key for request
`encI),pti on.
`
`4) Lookup of client-side pro:>..]' information (Appendix 3.
`d,e)
`When a sclVer-side proxy accepts a rcquest for
`connection from a client-side proxy, it asks the C-HTTP
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`Figure. Conversion of stateless HTIP
`stateful C-HTIP
`
`to
`
`a. The HTML document sent from a origin server to a
`client-side proxy
`
`<TITLE>SAMPLE</TITLE>
`<BODY>
`<A HREF =
`''http://server.in.current.connection/sample.html''>
`Please click here.</A>
`<A HREF =
`''http://another.server. i n.closed .network/">
`Another server.< / A>
`</BODY>
`
`b. The HTML document rewritten and forwarded to a
`use agent by
`the client-side proxy. The string,
`"6zdDfldfcZLj8V!i", attached to the end of the URLs
`is a connection ID
`
`<TITLE>SAMPLE< /TITLE>
`<BODY>
`<A HREF =
`''http://server.in.current.connection/sample.html=@
`=6zdDfldfcZLj8V!i">
`Please click here.</A>
`<A HREF =
`''http://another.server.in.closed.network/ =@=6zdDfl
`dfcZLj8V!i">
`Another server.</A>
`</BODY>
`
`c. HTTP/l.O request from the user agent (1) and
`HTTP/l.O request encrypted and wrapped in C-HTTP
`request dispatched by the client-side proxy (2)
`
`(1)
`GET ''http://server.ln.current.connection/
`sample.html=@=6zdDfldfcZLj8V!i"
`HTTP/l.O<CR><LF>
`
`(2)
`GET "http;/ /server.in.current.connection/
`sample.html"
`HTTP/l.O<CR><LF>
`
`is an
`the client-side proxy
`name server whether
`appropriate member of the closed network. If the name
`server confirms that the query is legitimate, it then
`examines whether the client-side proxy is permitted to
`access to the server-side proxy. If access is permitted, the
`C-HTTP name server sends the IP address and public key
`of the client-side proxy and both request and response
`Nonce values, which are the same as those sent to the
`client-sIde prox)'. The C-HTTP name server keeps both of
`the Nonce values for thirty seconds. If not, it sends a
`status code which indicates an error and the server-side
`proxy refuses the connection from the client-side proxy.
`
`5) Connection establishment (Fig. 2f)
`When the sever-side proxy obtains the client-side
`proxy's
`IP address, hostname and public key,
`it
`authenticates the client-side proxy, checks the integrity of
`the request and the request Nonce value and generates
`both a connection ID derived from the server-side proxy's
`name, date and random numbers (32 bits) using MD5,
`and also a second symmetric data exchange key for
`response encryption, which are sent to the client-side
`prox)'. When the client-side proxy accepts and checks
`them, the connection is established.
`
`6) Sending C-HTTP requests to the server-side proxy (Fig.
`2g)
`Once the connection is established, a client-side proxy
`forwards HTTPIl.O requests from the user agent in
`encrypted form using C-HTTP format.
`
`7) Forwarding requests to an origin server
`Using HTTPfl. 0, a server-side proxy communicates
`with an origin server inside the firewall. From the view of
`the user agent or client-side proxy, all resources appear to
`be located in a server-side proxy on the firewall. In reality,
`however, the server-side proxy forwards requests to the
`origin server. It is possible to map any of the virtual
`directories on the server-side proxy to any of the
`directories in one or more origin servers inside the
`firewall.
`
`8) Origin server responses to the user agent through the
`server-side and client-side proxies (Fig. 2h)
`An HTTP/l.O response sent from the origin server to
`the server-side proxy is encrypted in C-HTTP format by
`the server-side prox)', and is forwarded to the client-side
`proxy. Then,
`in the client-side proxy, the C-HTTP
`response
`is decrypted and
`the HTTPIl.O
`response
`extracted. If the transferred object is in HTML format, the
`connection ID is attached to the anchor URLs contained
`in the document. Thc resulting HTTP/l.O response is sent
`to the user agent.
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`9) Request for closing the connection (Appendix 3. ij)
`A client-side proxy can send a request for closing the
`connection. Thc sCIVer-side proxy returns a status which
`indicates the connection is closed. On the other hand, if
`the seIVer-side proxy detects that a given connection
`the connection ID
`times out,
`it deletes
`from
`the
`connection list, informing the client-side proxy that the
`connection is closed when an error status is returned in
`response to the request.
`
`3. Trial implementation
`Trial implementation is WIder way using 1) RSA as the
`asymmetric key encryption method (OSISEC RSA
`library) [2], 2) DES as the symmetric key encryption
`method (GNU DES library)[3], 3) RSA as the electronic
`signature method (OSISEC RSA library) and 4) a one(cid:173)
`way hash function based on MD5[4]). As for random key
`generation, programs included in the OSISEC RSA
`library and GNU DES
`library are used for RSA
`asymmetric keys and DES symmetric keys, respectively.
`In the implementation, we employed the following
`methods to enhance security.
`
`1) Key protection
`In C-HTTP, keys are stored only on the firewall of a
`given institution. C-HfTP proxy software is provided as
`source code, and the kcys are designed not to be stored in
`a separate "key file." A key generation program generates
`a C program file, which contains key information for
`proxies. It is more difficult to steal keys using this
`method than if they were stored in a separate file.
`
`2) No simultaneous data transfer to both sides
`Only after receiving all the data transfcrred from onc
`side, does a proxy SCIVer begin to forward it to the other
`side. except for image and sound data. In this method, the
`performance of data transfer is not good, however, the
`data transfer is separated between the internal and
`external sides. For the secure implementation of this
`feature, the size of HTML documents and object bodies
`should be limited and checked by each proxy. We plan to
`implement routines which check the contents of object
`bodies (especially concerning form data used in POST
`method) in the future.
`
`3) Closure ofTCP connection after each transaction
`C-HTTP itself is stateful, but the TCP connection is
`closed after each transaction (request and response pair)
`in ordcr to reduce the possibility of it bcing interccpted by
`attackers.
`
`4. Discussion
`4.1 Why HTTP?
`It is possible to develop a secure application level
`protocol availablc only to a closcd group in the Internet,
`making use of cipher technology. The reasons we chose
`HTTP as
`the communication protocol for a closed
`network are as follows:
`
`1) Flexibility ofHTTP
`level protocols have been
`Different application
`developed for individual network seIVices, such as FTP,
`SMTP, NNTP or GOPHER[5],[6],[7],[8]. HTTP has the
`flexibility to be able to provide seIVices similar to those
`which have been provided by these protocols
`For
`example, file transfer by FTP is accomplished by the
`transfer mechanism of HTTP and, from a
`object
`the Gopher protocol can be
`functional viewpoint,
`considered a subset of HITP. Internet news and
`electronic mail seIVices are available with an HTTP(cid:173)
`based graphical user interface via gateways for protocol
`conversions[9]. Electronic mail seIVices within a given
`group of institutions can be also developed using HTTP
`and CGI (Common Gateway Interface)[10j.
`
`2) Hypertext-based user-friendly graphical interface
`Using HTTP and the Hypertext Markup Language
`(HTML), distributed multimedia information systems
`with user-friendly graphical interfaces based on hypcrtext
`can be easily developed[ 11].
`
`3) User agents and seIVers available on almost all
`platforms
`HTTP has now gained widespread popularity and
`various kinds of user agents and seIVers are available on
`almost all platforms. Evcn if new protocols for closed
`networks are developed which are superior in function or
`flexibility, new clients and seIVers have to be developed
`for compatibility, which is costly and an obstacle to their
`universal acceptance.
`
`4.2 Proxy-proxy vs. end-to-end secure HTTP(cid:173)
`based information exchange
`As for hospitals, from which the Internet is available,
`in-hospital networks are usually protccted using a dual
`home gateway and packet filter (firewall) and the Internet
`can only be accessed through proxies on the firewalls.
`The role of proxies in HTTP communication has been
`considered as important in communicating over fircwalls
`and transfcrring information efficiently by caching. Other
`secure HTTP protocols are designed to be implemented in
`origin servers and user agents in order to assure "cnd-to(cid:173)
`end" security protection£l2-15]. Our approach is aimed at
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`is fundamentally
`
`assuring proxy-pro~]' security and
`different from theirs.
`All proposals for secure HTTP communications are
`designed to be secure against the following attacks : 1)
`network tampering, 2) replay attacks and 3) middle of the
`man attack[12-l5J . C-HTIP is also designed to be secure
`against these attacks and, in addition, it has the following
`enhancements for security protection.
`
`1) No end-user has any chance to obtain keys for
`encryption or decryption.
`Much cost and time are necessary to decode ciphers
`which have been used for a long time and are considered
`confidential, such as DES or RSA, so an easier and more
`practical way to obtain original information is not to
`decode them, but to "steal a key" instead. It is not realistic
`for hospital information managers to expect that all
`individual end-users, including those who connect their
`PCs to in-hospital LANs, manage their keys in a secure
`manner.
`As currently proposed secure HTIP protocols aim at
`providing end-to-end security mechanisms, responsibility
`for sccurity is attributed to each individual user. Securc
`is performed by
`transfer of data exchange keys
`exchanging public keys (in most cases with certificates)
`between both parties. In this situation, once a private key
`is stolen, it is possible to obtain information from WWW
`servers outside the hospital.
`Undoubtedly, the purpose of security protection is
`secure commercial
`information services or on-line
`shopping services which are provided by profit-making
`companies for the masses. For commercial services, it is
`reasonable that individual users (payers) are responsible
`for "their own risks," but, as for patient information, it is
`each hospital that should be responsible for "their
`patients' risks." Each hospital should take measures to
`assure security at the institutional level
`
`2) Name service
`As C-HTTP includes its own secure name service,
`which contains a certification mechanism, it is impossible
`to know the IP address of a server-side pro>..]' even if its
`C-HTIP hostname (not necessarily the same as its DNS
`name ) is known and vice versa. The C-HTTP name
`servic