Date of Award
2019
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelors
Department
Natural Sciences
First Advisor
Lepinski, Matthew
Area of Concentration
Computer Science
Abstract
The Inter-Planetary File System is a distributed, peer to peer file system aiming to connect all computing devices with the same system of files. It is an open source project currently in development, with incomplete implementations in several programming languages. One of its layers, called BitSwap, is inspired by and similar to the BitTorrent peer to peer file sharing protocol. BitTorrent is known to be vulnerable to a multitude of attacks, such as the Sybil and Eclipse attacks, Piece Lying attacks, and Geo-Localized Isolation attacks. In this thesis, we compare the architecture of BitTorrent with that of BitSwap, and analyze how BitSwap’s differences affect its vulnerability to the aforementioned attacks. We found that in general BitSwap is significantly less vulnerable to these attacks than BitTorrent, thanks to several important design considerations. Specifically, BitSwap’s scope as a general-purpose marketplace for data exchange renders it invulnerable to file-specific attacks.
Recommended Citation
Liberte, Genevieve, "Files in (Cyber) Space: Comparing the Security of BitTorrent with the Inter-Planetary File System" (2019). Theses & ETDs. 5741.
https://digitalcommons.ncf.edu/theses_etds/5741