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International Conference on Computer Communications and Networks (ICCCN)

Using Optical Signal Processing to Provide Information Security in Data Networks

Paul R. Prucnal, Mable P. Fok, Konstantin Kravtsov, Yanhua Deng, Zhenxing Wang, Natalie B. Kostinski

Published Aug 1, 2008• 3 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We propose and demonstrate the use of real-time optical signal processing, implemented with integrated and packaged off-the-shelf commercial technology, to enhance the security of data networks. Optical steganography, based on spread spectrum, is used to inhibit the observation of data traffic and the analysis of traffic patterns. Using optical CDMA to modulate the data, service interruption is prevented in presence of infrastructure attacks. Unlike conventional wavelength and time multiplexing approaches, the soft blocking capability of optical CDMA provides protection paths without permanently allocating bandwidth. The large size of the optical CDMA code set also reduces the probability that the secure signal can be intercepted by an eavesdropper. Finally, high-speed all-optical data encryption is demonstrated, which prevents side-channel attacks and enables real-time encryption with no delay.

DOI
10.1109/icccn.2008.ecp.175

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We propose and demonstrate the use of real-time optical signal processing, implemented with integrated and packaged off-the-shelf commercial technology, to enhance the security of data networks. Optical steganography, based on spread spectrum, is used to inhibit the observation of data traffic and the analysis of traffic patterns. Using optical CDMA to modulate the data, service interruption is prevented in presence of infrastructure attacks. Unlike conventional wavelength and time multiplexing approaches, the soft blocking capability of optical CDMA provides protection paths without permanently allocating bandwidth. The large size of the optical CDMA code set also reduces the probability that the secure signal can be intercepted by an eavesdropper. Finally, high-speed all-optical data encryption is demonstrated, which prevents side-channel attacks and enables real-time encryption with no delay.
Using optical processing techniques, we experimentally enhance the physical layer security of optical communication systems. We exploit optical encryption using fiber nonlinearity to achieve real time data encryption. By implementing interleaved waveband switching modulation and variable two-code keying to the system, the security of the data is further enhanced. Based on spread spectrum, we also demonstrate optical steganography such that the stealth signal is transmitted underneath system noise. Optical steganography in WDM and optical CDMA systems is experimentally demonstrated. We also propose and study optical CDMA-based backup channels that improve service availability without wasting the bandwidth in the backup channel. The multi-layered security provided improves the confidentiality and availability of the network.
The physical layer of an optical network is vulnerable to a variety of attacks, including jamming, physical infrastructure attacks, eavesdropping, and interception. As the demand for network capacity grows dramatically, the issue of securing the physical layer of optical network cannot be overlooked. In this survey paper, we discuss the security threats in an optical network as well as present several existing optical techniques to improve the security. In the first part of this paper, we discuss various types of security threats that could appear in the optical layer of an optical network, including jamming, physical infrastructure attacks, eavesdropping, and interception. Intensive research has focused on improving optical network security, in the above specific areas. Real-time processing of the optical signal is essential in order to integrate security functionality at the physical layer while not undermining the true value of optical communications, which is its speed. Optical layer security benefits from the unique properties of optical processing-instantaneous response, broadband operation, electromagnetic immunity, compactness, and low latency. In the second part of this paper, various defenses against the security threats outlined in this paper are discussed, including optical encryption, optical code-division multiple access (CDMA) confidentiality, self-healing survivable optical rings, anti-jamming, and optical steganography.
Enhanced security has often been cited as an important benefit of optical CDMA (O-CDMA) signaling. However, the quality and degree of security enhancement has not been closely examined in the literature. This paper examines the degree and types of security that may be provided by O-CDMA encoding. A quantitative analysis of data confidentiality is presented for O-CDMA encoding techniques that use both time spreading and wavelength hopping. The probability of successful data interception is calculated as a function of several parameters, including signal-to-noise ratio and fraction of total available system capacity. For reasonable choices of system and encoding parameters, it is shown that increasing code complexity can increase the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) required for an eavesdropper to "break" the encoding by only a few dB, while the processing of fewer than 100 bits by an eavesdropper can reduce the SNR required to break the encoding by up to 12 dB. The overall degree of confidentiality obtainable through O-CDMA encoding is also compared with that obtainable through standard cryptography. time-spreading/wavelength-hopping in particular, and O-CDMA in general, are found to provide considerably less data confidentiality than cryptography, and the confidentiality provided is found to be highly dependent on system design and implementation parameters.
(OCDMA) is an alternative method, which performs encoding and decoding through an optical signature code, in order to allow the selection of the desired signal so that different users can share the same bandwidth. In such a system, the data signal overlap both in time and wavelength. Tradeoffs between security and performance in optical CDMA are presented. Confidentiality against eavesdropper interception strategies for optical CDMA is considered. Coherent detection and combining signals shows better confidentiality than the incoherent one. Spectral amplitude optical CDMA based on Modified Double Weight (MDW) systems, with different code dimension, is investigated. Increasing the network system capacity or maximizing authorized specified SNRs will lead to eavesdropper to detect high SNRs.
An enhancement of data networks security using a hybrid WDM and SAC/Optical CDMA System is proposed. Secure transmission for dedicated users is achieved by overlaying a covert channel onto a multichannel WDM network. The covert channel is spectrally encoded using spectral amplitude coding (SAC) with unipolar Modified Double Weight (MDW) as the signature address code. OCDMA improves service availability in the presence of physical infrastructure attacks. With the use of WDM channels, the difficulty for an eavesdropper to intercept and decode the secure signal is increased. A simulation is presented as a demonstration of the concept.