An Internet Architecture Based on the Principle of Least Privilege

In this paper, we present a novel interdomain network architecture that is based on the application of the principle of least privilege. By applying this design principle from the ground up, we can reduce the scope for a large range of misbehaviors (both unintentional and intentional), including configuration errors, DoS attacks, malicious behavior by ISPs, traffic discrimination, and censorship. We present a complete architecture that considers the control plane, name translation mechanisms and even business models. Our objective in this paper is to show that such a system is possible and what it takes to make it work. We show that in our system, users can trade off performance and privacy, with very little performance penalty for users who do not need additional security.