NSF Org:	CNS Division Of Computer and Network Systems
Recipient:	REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
Initial Amendment Date:	February 8, 2023
Latest Amendment Date:	May 13, 2025
Award Number:	2237552
Award Instrument:	Continuing Grant
Program Manager:	Daniela Oliveira doliveir@nsf.gov  (703)292-0000 CNS  Division Of Computer and Network Systems CSE  Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering
Start Date:	July 1, 2023
End Date:	June 30, 2029 (Estimated)
Total Intended Award Amount:	$619,259.00
Total Awarded Amount to Date:	$256,386.00
Funds Obligated to Date:	FY 2023 = $116,392.00 FY 2024 = $20,000.00 FY 2025 = $119,994.00
History of Investigator:	Roya Ensafi (Principal Investigator) ensafi@umich.edu
Recipient Sponsored Research Office:	Regents of the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor 1109 GEDDES AVE STE 3300 ANN ARBOR MI  US  48109-1015 (734)763-6438
Sponsor Congressional District:	06
Primary Place of Performance:	Regents of the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor 503 THOMPSON ST ANN ARBOR MI  US  48109-1340
Primary Place of Performance Congressional District:	06
Unique Entity Identifier (UEI):	GNJ7BBP73WE9
Parent UEI:
NSF Program(s):	Special Projects - CNS, Secure &Trustworthy Cyberspace
Primary Program Source:	01002324DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT 01002425DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT 01002526DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT 01002627DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT 01002728DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT 01002829DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT
Program Reference Code(s):	025Z, 1045, 9102, 9178, 9251
Program Element Code(s):	171400, 806000
Award Agency Code:	4900
Fund Agency Code:	4900
Assistance Listing Number(s):	47.070

ABSTRACT

The number of democracies in the world has decreased recently for the first time since World War II. The newly authoritarian regimes engage heavily in Internet censorship, and private institutions, major platforms, and Internet service providers are following suit. These new threat actors far outnumber the large totalitarian states traditionally studied in censorship research and they operate differently, with different capabilities and limitations. This requires a new science of censorship detection, diagnosis, and circumvention. The project?s novelties are effective techniques and tools for combating censorship by the new, more nimble threat actors. The project?s broader significance and importance are to safeguard users and contribute to a more secure and democratic technology future by upholding Internet freedom and human rights.

This project enhances global censorship observatories through the design and validation of new measurement methodologies that are suitable for detecting the blocking activities of governments and non-governmental actors alike. Moreover, the project introduces scalable techniques for detecting Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) middleboxes and tracking their use for censorship and provides accurate threat models for modern DPI capabilities by simulating an adversarial network in partnership with a mid-sized Internet Service Provider (ISP). Finally, the project investigates quantitative and qualitative factors behind circumvention tool (CT) adoption, such as technical, operational, and usability issues, and helps ensure that CTs meet users? needs.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

Please report errors in award information by writing to: awardsearch@nsf.gov.