Ian Clarke and Oskar Sandberg: Routing in the Dark: Scalable Searches in Dark P2P Networks.

Black Hat Briefings, Las Vegas 2005 [Audio] Presentations from the security conference

It has become apparent that the greatest threat toward the survival of peer to peer, and especially file sharing, networks is the openness of the peers themselves towards strangers. So called "darknets"-encrypted networks where peers connect directly only to trusted friends-have been suggested as a solution to this. Some, small-scale darknet implementations such a Nullsofts WASTE have already been deployed, but these share the problem that peers can only communicate within a small neighborhood. Utilizing the small world theory of Watts and Strogatz, Jon Kleinbergs algorithmic observations, and our own experience from working with the anonymous distributed data network Freenet, we explore methods of using the dynamics of social networks to find scalable ways of searching and routing in a darknet. We discuss how the results indicating the human relationships really form a "small world", allow for ways of restoring to the darknet the characteristics necessary for efficient routing. We illustrate our methods with simulation results. This is, to our knowledge, the first time a model for building peer to peer networks that allow for both peer privacy and global communication has been suggested. The deployment of such networks would offer great opportunities for truly viable peer to peer networks, and a very difficult challenge to their enemies. Ian Clarke is the architect and coordinator of The Freenet Project, and the Chief Executive Officer of Cematics Ltd, a company he founded to realise commercial applications for the Freenet technology. Ian is the co-founder and formerly the Chief Technology Officer of Uprizer Inc., which was successful in raising $4 million in A-round venture capital from investors including Intel Capital. In October 2003, Ian was selected as one of the top 100 innovators under the age of 35 by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Technology Review magazine. Ian holds a degree in Artificial Intelligence and Computer Science from Edinburgh University, Scotland. He has also worked as a consultant for a number of companies including 3Com, and Logica UK's Space Division. He is originally from County Meath, Ireland, and currently resides in Edinburgh, Scotland. Oskar Sandberg is a post graduate student at the Chalmers Technical University in Gothenburg, Sweden. He is working on a PhD about the mathematics of complex networks, especially with regard to the small world phenomenon. Besides this he has an active interest in distributed computer networks and network security, and has been an active contributor to The Freenet Project since 1999.