Efficient verification of web-content searching through authenticated web crawlers

Abstract

We consider the problem of verifying the correctness and completeness of the result of a keyword search. We introduce the concept of an authenticated web crawler and present its design and prototype implementation. An authenticated web crawler is a trusted program that computes a speciallycrafted signature over the web contents it visits. This signature enables (i) the verification of common Internet queries on web pages, such as conjunctive keyword searches-this guarantees that the output of a conjunctive keyword search is correct and complete; (ii) the verification of the content returned by such Internet queries-this guarantees that web data is authentic and has not been maliciously altered since the computation of the signature by the crawler. In our solution, the search engine returns a cryptographic proof of the query result. Both the proof size and the verification time are proportional only to the sizes of the query description and the query result, but do not depend on the number or sizes of the web pages over which the search is performed. As we experimentally demonstrate, the prototype implementation of our system provides a low communication overhead between the search engine and the user, and fast verification of the returned results by the user.

Efficient Verifiable Range and Closest Point Queries in Zero-Knowledge

“…We note that range query is not to be confused with range proof [8] where the goal is to prove that the committed value lies in a specified integer range without revealing it. Authenticated data structures (ADS) [14,21,35,36,38,42] are often set in the three party model with a trusted owner, a trusted client and a malicious server; the owner outsources the data to the server and later the client interacts with the server to run queries on the data. The security requirement of such constructions is data authenticity for the client against the server.…”

From GPS and virtual globes to spatial computing - 2020

“…Another major research direction toward enabling trust in transportation systems is the verification of the integrity and completeness of the results of geospatial queries to defend not only against inadvertent data loss and corruption (e.g., caused by faulty hardware and software errors) but also against malicious attacks (e.g., aimed at causing traffic congestion). Relevant research should evaluate recent advances in applied cryptography and secure data management, such as authenticated data structures (e.g., [42]), differential privacy (e.g., [26]), and oblivious storage (e.g., [41]) in the context of spatial computing needs, e.g., location authentication and geo-fencing of entities. How can we ensure location authentication and authenticity despite GPS-spoofing and other location manipulation technology?…”

Near Field User Detection Strategy using Wi Fi BLE Networks

“…2, the system comprising of two applications on smart phone/devices (manager and user), a database server , and a web application server [1]. Now we take a look at the operation of the smart phone/device applications.…”