[p2p-hackers] Secure communication in p2p networks

[Alain Damiral]

Thanks, (and to Matthias also)

So here are some extra details about my project... What I am trying to 
achieve is rather simple. I'm using OpenSSL but instead of letting it 
send data directly over a TCP stream, I feed the data back to the 
peer-to-peer middleware. I'm basically moving SSL/TLS's transport layer 
one level up. This can be done as long as the actual transport of 
messages accross the network is reliable. This allows for secure 
communication between two peers much in the same way SSL usually does, 
without having to trust any intermediate peer in the network.

The most exotic aspect of my work is that the p2p middleware I am 
working with is written in Oz (hello Oz coders !) while the OpenSSL API 
is defined in C.

Simple end-to-end TLS enabled channels can already give the user some 
modest solutions for group communication, if a symmetric key algorithm 
is available. This can be done by having a service responsible for 
providing peers (if they can be authentified) with a shared secret key, 
that he can update regularly.

However I believe that it is possible to design a protocol that would 
achieve something more efficient and maybe stronger. I do not intend to 
support such a protocol in my work, but if something exists or is being 
researched today, I would like to mention it in my written report :) So 
it is absolutely not critical for my project.

Once again, thanks for the help !

-Alain


Ranus wrote:

>End-to-End encryption is tested by (mu)torrent (the greek letter \mu), they
>use DH public-key scheme to exchange the secret and symmetric key encryption
>for data transfer. read this interview
>http://www.slyck.com/news.php?story=1083
>
>I don't know if it helps, are you trying to find a way to achieve something
>like group signature or merely secure communication for each connection?
>Hope you can tell more about your project, sounds interesting.
>
>
>--
>Ranus Yue
>Tsinghua University
>
>(
>-----Original Mail-----
>Sender: p2p-hackers-bounces at zgp.org [mailto:p2p-hackers-bounces at zgp.org]
>Alain Damiral
>time: 2006/02/13 18:36
>receiver: p2p-hackers at zgp.org
>Subject: [p2p-hackers] Secure communication in p2p networks
>
>Hello list,
>
>This is my first post so please let me know if I'm already doing it wrong.
>
>I am a student and am currently working on establishing SSL/TLS enabled
>communication channels in a peer-to-peer network (for one-to-one secure
>communication). In my report, I would also like to mention some current
>research that might be in progress on secure protocols specifically designed
>for one to many communication. According to what I last heard, hardly
>anything has been done in this regard (creating shared secrets between more
>than 2 entities).
>
>I was hoping that maybe some of the members of this fine community could
>direct me to some documentation on current research on this topic.
>
>Well that's it for now, thank you all for your time and if you never
>received this message, please disregard it.
>
>--
>Alain Damiral,
>
>I hope this message makes me look like a very intelligent person
>
>Université Catholique de Louvain - student
>alain.damiral'at'student.info.ucl.ac.be
>
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