An Investigation of VPN Fingerprinting
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2024
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Master Thesis
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yes
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Abstract
The increasing prevalence of Internet censorship in several regions of the world has necessitated the development of advanced censorshipresistant technologies. Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) have emerged as a crucial tool for circumventing censorship, allowing users to access restricted content securely.
However, as censorship techniques evolve, censors have adopted more sophisticated methods to detect and block VPN traffic. This thesis focuses on exploring the capabilities of VPN fingerprinting to contribute to the development of stronger censorship-resistant protocols in the future.
We provide a comprehensive analysis of two widely-used VPN protocols, Outline VPN and LEAP VPN, offering foundational insights into their structures and security features. Additionally, we develop a modular Python framework to automate the creation of synthetic VPN traffic datasets, enabling passive traffic analysis experiments to assess fingerprinting resistance.
Our analysis reveals insights into the limitations of existing VPN protocols in preventing detection and highlights the necessity of proactive approaches in censorship circumvention.
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ETH Zurich
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09653 - Paterson, Kenneth / Paterson, Kenneth