Effect of padding on end to end correlation false positive rate

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA256 Hello, I have an idea which I want to put into a proposal, but need a clarification first so I won't be working on something which doesn't make a big difference. I am describing something like a Sybil attack where the adversary runs relays, gets lucky and is selected in a certain position of a certain rendezvous circuit and can do an end to end correlation of the traffic (both ends). This is different from one end correlation or website fingerprinting attack. For this scenario: HS -> Guard -> Middle1 -> Middle2 -> RDV -> MiddleC -> GuardC -> Client If the client is the attacker, and Middle1 is an evil relay colluding with him, and it was selected 2nd hop in a rendezvous circuit that connects the HS with the attacker (rendezvous is not colluding), he can learn the guard of the hidden service. The client (attacker) can send traffic over that circuit until he gathers enough data to make a fair assumption about where the traffic is coming from (identify the guard of that HS). I am not sure if there will even be a nonzero false positive rate in this context. Confirmation needed for these assumptions, this is what I think after reading: [0],[1]. Does this change with padding? If yes, how? For the same scenario described above, if padding is used, will the attacker have to own the entire path to the guard (Middle1 and Middle2 in the same circuit, since the rest of the path is under his control to select anyway), in order to make a reasonable guess on which might be the guard he is interested in? Or can he make the difference between the real traffic and the padding / dummy traffic and have the same results as with no padding? [0]: https://blog.torproject.org/blog/one-cell-enough [1]: https://blog.torproject.org/blog/traffic-correlation-using-netflows -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v2.0.22 (MingW32) iQEcBAEBCAAGBQJWIU5yAAoJEIN/pSyBJlsRlj4H+wcAc958SazmoXgYTtJisK5R dgcWZILgnYTYg17ub8Y3Hsgh0YjJyEgwgXV/r6ftNNir8kMSn3t+KMFAt9OpVhOJ 4W0f3E/X18viJNn3Pcb3FDc41sXxpwMVdUd337wGzqaNb8wsCARspmkDv9gdsLje GTTrz2MUa6lWyZHEuJMp02W2pkPVr48UnOsd0S0lyiDM3uxAAQyEtS9XwQyd+hBE KgLG7DHgwOnNzpBeQYJ5KlTzWi6j/NGxXcnHWcuWkq32ZG/gQsw6I43BNV9DMs6r 3UJbrdHsYJKDq8I16Ir0fblaOjsxmU7cEZZioOVngmw8wG6KevGI7fYKsEcqAhk= =CJly -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

On Fri, Oct 16, 2015 at 3:22 PM, s7r <s7r@sky-ip.org> wrote:
I am describing something like a Sybil attack where the adversary runs relays, gets lucky and is selected in a certain position of a certain
Does this change with padding? If yes, how? [1]: https://blog.torproject.org/blog/traffic-correlation-using-netflows
My thought was solely restricted to analysis of network traffic by *passive* adversary... not involving any collusion by actives over circuits they can see inside or pump within any given onion layer, though clocked and checked network fill by all proper nodes would inhibit pumping by actives. I talked on list with someone at briarproject and wherever else on idea of filling the network with traffic vs the passives. Apologize for not making time to review Mike's proposal or develop further talk yet. Someone will review / integrate fill padding of network with regard anonbib, Mike's, etc I'm sure, as it is clearly (to me at least) a weakness of non-filled non-store-and-forward networks vs the passives which we all know and love.
participants (2)
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grarpamp
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s7r