Evaluation of Security Vulnerabilities by Using ProtoGENI as a Launchpad

In this paper we analyze the security architecture of ProtoGENI. ProtoGENI is a prototype control framework implementation of GENI (Global Environment for Network Innovations). We perform a variety of experiments in an effort to identify potential vulnerabilities presented in the current implementation. We classify our attacks into three types: data plane to data plane, data plane to control plane, and data plane to Internet. Our results indicate the potential for a breach of confidentiality and availability internally within ProtoGENI, as well as risks to external Internet. We make suggestions outlining possible defense strategies to improve ProtoGENI security and aid in future development.