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Abstract : |
Existing Internet systems implement anonymity at the application layer or through centralized components. A robust, decentralized infrastructure that anonymizes any Internet traffic could benefit a wide array of existing protocols and systems. This anonymous network layer could seamlessly replace the current communications channel, and it could continue to offer anonymity and availability even while components fail maliciously. This thesis proposes Tarzan, a peer-to-peer anonymous IP network overlay. Because it provides IP service, Tarzan is general-purpose and transparent to applications. Organized as a decentralized peer-to-peer overlay, Tarzan is fault-tolerant, highly scalable, and easy to manage. Tarzan achieves its anonymity with layered encryption and multi-hop routing, much like a Chaumian mix. A message initiator chooses a path of peers pseudo-randomly in a way that adversaries cannot easily influence. Cover traffic prevents a global observer from drawing conclusions based, |
