Hiding Communication Beyond Anonymity: A Covert Information Transmission Framework Over Anonymous Networks

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Abstract
Anonymous networks facilitate privacy-preserving information transmission by ensuring data confidentiality and communication anonymity. While encryption effectively secures content, anonymity remains vulnerable to traffic analysis, which can expose users' network identities and communication relationships. Consequently, anonymity alone is insufficient, necessitating integrated technologies to further strengthen communication security. This paper introduces covert communication to anonymous networks by proposing a novel Covert Information Transmission Framework over Anonymous Networks, designed to realize both covert and anonymous data transfer. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work to propose covert communication schemes specifically within anonymous networks. In our framework, we establish covert channels in the Tor network and transmit covert information based on Tor's hidden service protocol. Utilizing Tor's anonymous circuits, we strategically select suitable protocol data fields as information carriers and propose three covert communication schemes with distinct characteristics. These schemes enable secure data exchanges between clients and hidden services, catering to diverse communication requirements. Finally, we implement the proposed framework in a real-world Tor network and conduct extensive experiments to evaluate its feasibility and performance.
Funding Information
  • National Key R&D Program of China (2023YFC3605800)
  • National Natural Science Foundation of China (62232004)
  • National Natural Science Foundation of China (92467205)
  • Jiangsu Province Frontier Technology R&D Program (BF2025615)
  • Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Network and Information Security (BM2003201)
  • Key Laboratory of Computer Network and Information Integration of Ministry of Education of China (93K-9)
  • Collaborative Innovation Center of Novel Software Technology and Industrialization