IT Security Stack Exchange
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Questions tagged [covert-channel]

Covert channels are a stealthy medium of data transfer using common network protocols. This technique attempts to bypass network security protections like firewalls and IDS

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Covert, Overt, and side channels

I am really confused between the following three terms: Overt Channel. Covert Channel. Side-Channel. I feel frustrated! I've been searching about them to find a clear explanation but I keep getting confused more. I REALLY apology if this question…
Steve
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What is good metric for detecting data exfiltration on covert channel?

Considering the scenario when the attacker is able to exfiltrate sensitive data from compromised system to external network or Internet, but there are only limited ways to achieve this because the outbound connection is configured to not allow…
Pandora
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Could always-listening mobile apps secretly spy on conversations?

Various apps and services available on modern smartphones constantly listen with the mic (e.g. Siri or Google Assistant listening for wake word, "Now Playing" feature on Pixel phones). To settle user privacy concerns, most of these services promise…
Estarossa
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Actual use of covert channel in malware

I have seen several academic sources mentioning covert channels in computers, such as one process sending data to another process/thread on the same machine in a way that attempts to avoid detection. Covert channels methods include for instance…
Jacques
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Has hackers ever used a microarchitectural side channel to launch an attack?

I'm a student of computer architecture and I just got through a class on Hardware Security. We spent a considerable amount of time learning about microarchitectural side channels, reading papers on how researchers "stole" cryptographic keys from toy…
Cedar
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How does cache partitioning prevent covert/side-channel attacks?

In a report on an open-source separation kernel (Muen kernel) I was reading, in the future work section, it says that cache coloring can be implemented to prevent covert/side-channel attacks. It is mentioned that In a second step each subject is…
nj2237
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Does DSR or L3DSR allow for a secret back channel between hosts? How can it be stopped?

This Serverfault question describes how a load balancer can embed data that will be round-tripped back to the originating node. Traditionally DSR can't exceed the boundaries of a broadcast domain. L3DSR allows an interaction to exceed those…
makerofthings7
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How to get a completely isolated virtual time using Xen?

Referring to the following quote https://www.kernel.org/doc/Documentation/virtual/kvm/timekeeping.txt 4.8) Covert channels and leaks In addition to the above problems, time information will inevitably leak to the guest about the host in anything…
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What are the main differences between a covert timing channel and a covert storage channel?

I am trying to find the differences between a covert timing channel and a covert storage channel in terms of detectability, performance, features, and any other advantages and disadvantages. Is there any resource that directly compares the…
Nick
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