The goal of this project is to analyse different aspects of key management in interplanetary and satellite networks. There are different sub-projects available at the level of a Bachelor thesis or MSc semester project).

Key Management: Additional Factors

In large satellite networks, particularly interplanetary networks, key management is currently an unsolved problem - pre-shared keys become infeasible due to the large number of nodes in the network, and PKI is made more difficult due to the long distances and intermittent connectivity between nodes. Recent work within our group makes use of a network simulator to test the suitability of terrestrial PKI to large-scale satellite systems, finding that it can be used with a small number of modifications. This project will seek to extend this work by implementing additional assessment criteria to the network simulator. Current simulations focus on connection establishment time and the time taken for revocation messages to cover the entire network - this will be extended to add storage and network load measurement capabilities to the simulator, showing that it is possible to use protocols that are not only faster but also require less space and network load.

This project will require experience with network protocols, key management, and a good grasp of Python.

Key Management: Formal Verification

In large satellite networks, particularly interplanetary networks, key management is currently an unsolved problem - pre-shared keys become infeasible due to the large number of nodes in the network, and PKI is made more difficult due to the long distances and intermittent connectivity between nodes. Recent work within our group makes use of a network simulator to test the suitability of terrestrial PKI to large-scale satellite systems, finding that it can be used with a small number of modifications. This project would seek to extend this work with the aid of formal verification techniques, seeking to formally establish convergence properties, time bounds, and the ordering of actions for a given network topology and PKI system.

This project will require an understanding of formal verification techniques, network protocols, and a basic understanding of key management/revocation techniques.

Related Work: [1] KeySpace: Public Key Infrastructure Considerations in Interplanetary Networks, http://www.arxiv.org/abs/2408.10963