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2014
Conference Paper
Titel
On the implications, the identification and the mitigation of covert physical channels
Abstract
Covert physical channels use physical means like optical emissions or acoustic wave propagation to connect isolated operating system compartments within the same computing system and independent devices that are physically separated by air gaps. We extensively discuss the implications, the identification and the mitigation of these covert physical channels. For the purpose of identifying covert physical channels during the design and evaluation of the computing system, an adaption of Kemmerers shared resource matrix, namely the physical environment matrix, is presented. The physical environment matrix enables the computing systems designers and evaluators to systematically describe and classify physical environments and the associated covert channels that might be possible between two specific devices or operating system compartments. Through the specification of limited access to physical environments, the presence or absence of a covert physical channel can be formally demonstrated during the design and evaluation of the computing system.
Author(s)
Hanspach, Michael