Achievable rates for queue-based timing stegocodes

This work studies stegocodes (data-hiding codes) for covert communication over timing channels. In a timing channel, the information resides in the packet interdeparture times as opposed to the packets themselves. The en- coding procedure should preserve the statistics of the packet interarrival process. Our steganographic codes are based on two novel ideas, namely, queue- based codes and Shannon's encoding functions for channels with causal side information at the transmitter. The embedding of information bits is done by a Geo/Geo/1 queue servicing the interarrival times. Shannon's theory of coding with causal side information at the transmitter is then used to study the queue-based stegocodes and their information-theoretic limits. Evaluating these limits for the Geo/Geo/1 queue is a formidable computational problem. An efficient computational approach is proposed to compute the maximum achievable rate of the queue-based stegocode and the optimal encoding functions. We also design simple practical codes, test them on a communication system while taking network noise into account, and compare their performance to the mappings under study.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.S.

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Electrical & Computer Engr

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2010

Author dc:creator

• Ezzeddine, Ibtissam M.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Moulin, Pierre

• stegocodes
• timing channel
• steganography
• mutual information
• shannon's mappings

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2010 Ibtissam M. Ezzeddine

Language dc:language

en

Handle dc:identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/15966

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/15966