NSF Org:	CNS Division Of Computer and Network Systems
Recipient:	THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY
Initial Amendment Date:	July 29, 2002
Latest Amendment Date:	July 28, 2004
Award Number:	0208683
Award Instrument:	Continuing Grant
Program Manager:	Karl Levitt CNS  Division Of Computer and Network Systems CSE  Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering
Start Date:	September 1, 2002
End Date:	August 31, 2006 (Estimated)
Total Intended Award Amount:	$330,000.00
Total Awarded Amount to Date:	$330,000.00
Funds Obligated to Date:	FY 2002 = $108,412.00 FY 2003 = $116,662.00 FY 2004 = $104,926.00
History of Investigator:	Hector Garcia-Molina (Principal Investigator) hector@cs.stanford.edu
Recipient Sponsored Research Office:	Stanford University 450 JANE STANFORD WAY STANFORD CA  US  94305-2004 (650)723-2300
Sponsor Congressional District:	16
Primary Place of Performance:	Stanford University 450 JANE STANFORD WAY STANFORD CA  US  94305-2004
Primary Place of Performance Congressional District:	16
Unique Entity Identifier (UEI):	HJD6G4D6TJY5
Parent UEI:
NSF Program(s):	TRUSTED COMPUTING
Primary Program Source:	app-0102  app-0103  app-0104
Program Reference Code(s):	1667, 9218, HPCC
Program Element Code(s):	280200
Award Agency Code:	4900
Fund Agency Code:	4900
Assistance Listing Number(s):	47.070

ABSTRACT

This project will develop techniques for trusted systems that can provide correct information and take correct actions when needed and where needed. The focus will be on peer-to-peer (P2P) systems, where computers or nodes operate autonomously, without any central control. In a P2P system, each node provides storage and compute resources. It connects to other neighbor nodes, and the community provides services like file sharing, document archiving, or data analysis.

P2P systems are especially well suited as the "backbone" of a trusted system because nodes operate independently, without reliance on particular network connections or on nodes with a fixed functionality. Thus, a P2P system can adapt to a changing environment, and with the proper mechanisms, can isolate or ignore malicious nodes.

As part of the project, several important problems will be addressed such as:

Denial of Service (DoS): How does one protect against malicious sites that generate excess load to prevent others from receiving resources or service?

Searching: How does one efficiently find information without using centralized index facilities, and in a dynamically changing environment?

Information Authenticity: How does one verify the authenticity of documents or information?

Preservation: How does one preserve information past the lifetime of the originating node?

The proposed research is high risk, but there is also the potential for a large payoff. The research is high risk because the problems faced are difficult: Building a trusted community out of building blocks that may be transient and malicious, is not an easy task. However, the only way to build a trusted system is, as proposed, by making as few assumptions as possible about the trustworthiness of its components. The techniques to be developed, if successful, will provide a solid foundation for building truly reliable, secure, and trusted systems for electronic commerce, military applications, healthcare, and many other applications.

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