Hidden-Web Privacy Preservation Surfing (Hi-Wepps) Model

Abstract

A new model for privacy preservation named Hidden-web Privacy Preservation Surfing (Hi-WePPS) is proposed. A hidden-web site often requires a subscription in order to access information stored in the site’s database. The basic assumption motivating this proposal was that such websites cannot be trusted to preserve their surfers’ privacy since site owners know the identities of their users and can monitor their activities. The new privacy preservation model includes an agent installed in the user computer and generates “intelligent” noise when a user accesses a hidden-web site in order to conceal the user’s interests (profile). The noise is generated by submitting fake requests providing wrong data to the automatic programs collecting data about the users. A prototype of Hi-WePPS is being developed for preserving a surfer’s privacy while accessing the U.S. patent office site (www.uspto.gov). This prototype enables industrial companies to search for patents without exposing their interests to any eavesdroppers on the path between their computers and the site, or to the patent site itself.