Capacity Estimation of Non-Synchronous Covert Channels

Capacity estimation is an important part of covert channel analysis. It measures the severity of a covert channel by estimating the maximum information rate attainable over it. Traditional capacity estimation methods usually calculate the channel capacity based on a synchronous model, assuming that the channel is synchronous or there are mechanisms that can be utilized to synchronize the transmission. The overhead for synchronization is ignored. In this paper we argue that covert channels in general are non-synchronous and the overhead for synchronization is not negligible. Instead of assuming a synchronous model, we propose to use the deletioninsertion channel as a more general basis of capacity estimation. Capacity estimation is extended to be able to evaluate the overhead for overcoming nonsynchronous effects. Our study shows that reliable communication over a non-synchronous channel is still possible even without synchronization mechanisms. Such non-synchronized communications, ho...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2005
• Where: ICDCSW
• Authors: Zhenghong Wang, Ruby B. Lee
• Keywords: Capacity Estimation, Capacity Estimation Methods, Covert Channels, Distributed And Parallel Computing, ICDCSW 2005