TightRope: Towards optimal load-balancing of paths in anonymous networks

Hussein Darir, Hussein Sibai, Nikita Borisov, Geir Dullerud, Sayan Mitra

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

Abstract

We study the problem of load-balancing in path selection in anonymous networks such as Tor. We first find that the current Tor path selection strategy can create significant imbalances. We then develop a (locally) optimal algorithm for selecting paths and show, using flow-level simulation, that it results in much better balancing of load across the network. Our initial algorithm uses the complete state of the network, which is impractical in a distributed setting and can compromise users' privacy. We therefore develop a revised algorithm that relies on a periodic, differentially private summary of the network state to approximate the optimal assignment. Our simulations show that the revised algorithm significantly outperforms the current strategy while maintaining provable privacy guarantees.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationWPES 2018 - Proceedings of the 2018 Workshop on Privacy in the Electronic Society, co-located with CCS 2018
PublisherAssociation for Computing Machinery
Pages76-85
Number of pages10
ISBN (Electronic)9781450359894
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 15 2018
Event17th ACM Workshop on Privacy in the Electronic Society, WPES 2018, held in conjunction with the 25th ACM Conference on Computer and Communications Security, CCS 2018 - Toronto, Canada
Duration: Oct 15 2018 → …

Publication series

NameProceedings of the ACM Conference on Computer and Communications Security
ISSN (Print)1543-7221

Other

Other17th ACM Workshop on Privacy in the Electronic Society, WPES 2018, held in conjunction with the 25th ACM Conference on Computer and Communications Security, CCS 2018
Country/TerritoryCanada
CityToronto
Period10/15/18 → …

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Software
  • Computer Networks and Communications

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