"They Shall Not Pass: Keeping an Eye on Middleboxes"

When users access a website or send an email, they trust that their information will not be altered and read by third parties. However, maintaining the flow of information on global networks requires numerous intermediary processes, which may pose security risks. Ilies Benhabbour, a Ph.D. student working with Professor Marc Dacier at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), explains that, in terms of security, the more complex a system is, the more vulnerabilities it has. He added that the Internet was designed to operate as a modular system, with each data transmission component designated a specific function and contained in a protective layer known as encapsulation. The data packets are concealed and should not be altered during transmission. When a piece of information, such as an email, traverses the Internet, it encounters several third-party software components typically hidden from users. These network middleboxes, which Benhabbour and Dacier refer to as "semi-active components," improve efficiency and security by compressing large data packets or checking for viruses. Despite these benefits, some semi-active components may contain code that does not conform to international standards, is overly complex, or has been improperly configured. It is also possible for malicious hackers to pose as middleboxes in order to steal or change data. Existing tools for detecting semi-active components are often found to be cumbersome and limited to a few specific Internet protocols, so Benhabbour and Dacier designed a new tool called NoPASARAN that is simple, modular, and scalable to various situations. This article continues to discuss NoPASARAN. 

KAUST reports "They Shall Not Pass: Keeping an Eye on Middleboxes"