A self-destructing file distribution system with feedback for peer-to-peer networks

• Authors: Jason Croft;Roert Signorile
• Venue: ACS'09 Proceedings of the 9th WSEAS international conference on Applied computer science
• Year: 2009

Maintaining control and ownership of data is difficult in any network environment. In peer-to-peer P2P networks, without a central authority to control access to data, other mediations must be proposed. We propose a method to control distribution of data in P2P networks through the use of a feedback-based, restrictive content distribution system. Unauthorized distribution is thwarted through a method of self-destructing, one-time-use data. Transmitted data is encrypted, encapsulated within an executable, and authenticated to a single user and machine. Once accessed, measures are taken to ensure it cannot be used outside the executable (e.g., displayed within a non-selectable, non-editable window) and that the executable cannot be easily decompiled. After a single use, data is destroyed through a method of in-memory compilation of a new executable which, during run-time, overwrites the original. Methods to prevent overwriting, such as removing write privileges, are treated as misuse of the data. Misuse of data, or unsatisfactory transactions, negatively affect a peer's trust on the network. Misuse can include failed authentication, unauthorized multiple uses, or attempted distribution of the data. The executable provides feedback to the sender based on this usage so trust values can be adjusted accordingly. We assume some pairwise trust, and place emphasis on these pair-wise interactions. To compute trust values, we determined that the most efficient approach, given the emphasis on each individual pair-wise transaction, is a modified Bayesian approach with weight given towards information gathered first-hand.