1st International ICST Conference on Security and Privacy for Emerging Areas in Communication Networks

Research Article

Short Paper: Harnessing Emergent Ubiquitous Computing Properties to Prevent Malicious Code Propagation

  • @INPROCEEDINGS{10.1109/SECURECOMM.2005.42,
        author={D.  Llewellyn-Jones and M. Merabti and Qi Shi  and B.  Askwith},
        title={Short Paper: Harnessing Emergent Ubiquitous Computing Properties to Prevent Malicious Code Propagation},
        proceedings={1st International ICST Conference on Security and Privacy for Emerging Areas in Communication Networks},
        publisher={IEEE},
        proceedings_a={SECURECOMM},
        year={2006},
        month={3},
        keywords={},
        doi={10.1109/SECURECOMM.2005.42}
    }
    
  • D. Llewellyn-Jones
    M. Merabti
    Qi Shi
    B. Askwith
    Year: 2006
    Short Paper: Harnessing Emergent Ubiquitous Computing Properties to Prevent Malicious Code Propagation
    SECURECOMM
    IEEE
    DOI: 10.1109/SECURECOMM.2005.42
D. Llewellyn-Jones1, M. Merabti1, Qi Shi 1, B. Askwith1
  • 1: Liverpool John Moores University

Abstract

We introduce a method for harnessing the emergent behaviour of networked devices in a ubiquitous computing setting, with the aim of reducing malicious code propagation. It is not intended as a means of identifying malicious code, but rather reducing the opportunity for it to propagate once identified. At the heart of the method is a correlation between the nodes of a ubiquitous computing network and cells of a cellular automaton using the propagation of trust between devices. The use of cellular automata produces a system that is scalable, requires limited network capacity, allows for reduced resource usage and localises the security threat posed by malicious code; all essential in a ubiquitous computing environment, where we find many devices, but with restricted resources and capabilities.