I/O Virtualization Mechanism for Isolating Peripheral Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Portable wireless devices are vulnerable to spying attacks due to exploitable security vulnerabilities in their operating systems, allowing attackers to unauthorizedly activate input peripherals, rendering existing security controls ineffective.
Innovation Solution
Implementing an out-of-band mechanism using machine virtualization and I/O virtualization techniques to isolate peripheral control from the general-purpose operating system, employing a security kernel and I/O virtualization mechanism to redirect access requests and ensure secure, policy-driven authorization for input peripherals, thus preventing unauthorized access.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If security controls are implemented in the operating system to prevent unauthorized peripheral access, then security is improved, but the operating system vulnerabilities can be exploited to disable these controls, rendering them impotent
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the device into two separate domains: a general-purpose operating system domain and a peripheral control domain. The peripheral control domain is further segmented into a policy component and a physical peripheral control component. This segmentation isolates security-critical peripheral control functions from the vulnerable operating system, so that even if the OS is compromised, the peripheral control domain remains protected and can enforce security policies independently.
Solution Approach 2:
An I/O virtualization mechanism acts as an intermediary between the operating system and the peripheral control domain. This intermediary translates operating system-originated input peripheral access requests and responses, enabling controlled communication while maintaining isolation. The intermediary ensures that the operating system cannot directly access peripherals without going through the secure policy component, thus preventing exploitation of OS vulnerabilities to bypass security controls.
2Reliability
If the operating system is isolated from peripheral control, then security is improved, but direct access and control responsiveness may be reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The I/O virtualization mechanism serves as an intermediary that maintains responsive communication between the operating system and peripheral control domain. It translates access requests and responses efficiently, ensuring that the isolation does not create significant delays or bottlenecks. The intermediary enables the operating system to interact with peripherals through a secure but responsive interface.
Solution Approach 2:
The peripheral control domain is designed to handle multiple functions: it enforces security policies, processes access requests from the operating system, and directly controls physical peripherals. The policy component can operate in different modes (local autonomous decision-making or remote system communication), providing universal functionality that adapts to different security requirements while maintaining responsiveness.
Data Source
AI summary
In certain embodiments, virtualization mechanisms used to defend against spying can also be used by attackers as a means to execute spying attacks more effectively. In certain embodiments, attack methods may use the virtualization mechanisms to surreptitiously activate input peripherals without the user's knowledge or authorization. In certain embodiments, a virtualized network interface may be employed in which all network traffic transiting a portable wireless system is routed through a remote control component within a peripheral control domain. The remote control component may be used by an attacker to communicate remotely with the portable device to send it peripheral activation commands. The remote control component can then activate peripherals via the peripheral access module without the user's or general-purpose operating system's knowledge or authorization. All other network traffic may be passed through as normal and expected to the general-purpose operating system.