SBIR-STTR Award

Even though the issues of security and trust of sensitive information have existed for hundreds of years, the increasing reliance on computer networks to transmit sensitive information has brought these matters to the forefront of information security. The old methods of relying on trusted couriers and sealed envelopes are no longer sufficient for communicating over large networks where the integrity of communication paths cannot be assured. As such, numerous network security systems have been proposed to address these issues, but few have proven either effective or tractable, and fewer still have proven to be both. Leveraging its experience in information security and tamper resistance, Pikewerks proposes to develop an information security and trust system that is effective at preventing unauthorized access to sensitive information and is easy to use and integrate into existing environments, thereby lowering barriers of adoption. This security and trust system will advance the state-of-the-art in secure communication and remote attestation by integrating the two technologies into a semi-automated solution capable of encrypting sensitive information and ensuring trust of remote systems.

Keywords:
Secure Tunnels, Information Security, Trust, Remote Attestation, Ipsec, Network Security Management, Cybersecurity, Encryption

Security in and trust of sensitive information communication has been a critical issue as long as humans have been sending messages, but the increasing reliance on computer networks to transmit sensitive information has brought these matters to the forefront like never before. Old methods of trusted couriers and sealed envelopes are no longer sufficient for today’s complex networks where the integrity of paths and destinations cannot be assured. Numerous solutions have been proposed to address these issues, but few have proven effective or tractable, and fewer still have proven to be both. Leveraging its experience in information security, anti-tamper, and data protection, Pikewerks proposes to extend GalaSec, its distributed security and trust system. GalaSec is effective at preventing unauthorized access to sensitive data as it flows across networks, supports integration into existing environments, and provides peers with the ability to verify remote trust across a wide array of platforms and environments. This system will advance the state of the art in secure communication and remote attestation by enhancing cipher key rotation/mutation and remote attestation technology. Following the completion of Phase II, GalaSec will be a TRL 6 product on its way to deployment in real-world applications.

Keywords:
Secure Tunnels, Information Security, Trust, Remote Attestation, Rotating Keys, Hardware Binding