Comparing Countermeasures against Interrupt-Related Covert Channels in an Information-Theoretic Framework

Authors:
Heiko Mantel;Henning Sudbrock
Affiliations:
RWTH Aachen University, Germany;RWTH Aachen University, Germany
Venue:
CSF '07 Proceedings of the 20th IEEE Computer Security Foundations Symposium
Year:
2007

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Information-Theoretic Modeling and Analysis of Interrupt-Related Covert Channels

Formal Aspects in Security and Trust

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Abstract

Interrupt-driven communication with hardware devices can be exploited for establishing covert channels. In this article, we propose an information-theoretic framework for analyzing the bandwidth of such interrupt-related channels while taking aspects of noise into account. As countermeasures, we present mechanisms that are already implemented in some operating systems, though for a different purpose. Based on our formal framework, the effectiveness of the mechanisms is evaluated. Despite the large body of work on covert channels, this is the first comprehensive account of interrupt-related covert channel analysis and mitigation.