Welcome to Tech Tuesday
Presentation:
Encrypted Network Traffic Analysis and Protection
Abstract:
The widespread adoption of encrypted communication protocols has improved digital privacy. However, even if the content is encrypted, an attacker can exploit metadata and network traffic patterns to infer a user’s activity and behavior. This presentation explores traffic analysis, focusing on fingerprinting attacks that leverage observable metadata such as packet sizes, transmission timing, and traffic flow patterns to infer sensitive user information and identify user activities. By examining the real-world feasibility and high accuracy of these attacks across various platforms and use cases, the work demonstrates why common privacy tools like VPNs are insufficient to fully mitigate them.
To counteract these threats, several mitigation strategies are presented, including packet padding, timing obfuscation, and traffic shaping, each assessed for its tradeoffs between effectiveness, impact on network performance, and users’ quality of experience. As individuals and organizations increasingly depend on digital communication, these insights emphasize the urgent need for digital infrastructures that are more resilient, protecting not only communication content but also surrounding traffic patterns.
Do you have questions?
Feel free to contact me
christoffer.kamronn@linkopingsciencepark.se
See you soon!
Program
-
12:00 — 12:10
Check-in
-
12:10 — 12:50
Presentaton and Lunch
-
12:50 — 13:00
Q&A
Speakers
David Hasselquist
Research Manager
David Hasselquist is a Research Manager at Sectra Communications and an Adjunct Researcher at Linköping University. He holds a PhD in Computer Science, with research focused on network security and privacy, particularly in the area of traffic analysis and protection.
