This project focuses on the design of an infrastructureless communication system that makes it easy for people without expertise in computer security to safely communicate with friends and family members without being subjected to third-party surveillance, censorship, propaganda, or reprisal. The primary goals of this work are to (1) further open access to information people require to educate themselves and (2) make sharing information easier. Particular attention is paid to designing protocols that do not rely on centralized control points, which are subject to attack. The influence of patterns in human behavior on communication system performance, energy efficiency, and security are being studied, and the findings used to guide the development of better, user-aware, communication protocols. Design and analysis of communication protocols; defenses against side-channel attacks on portable communication devices; distributed system architecture; and energy-efficient software systems play central roles in the work.
