학술논문

Controllable Asymmetric Attack Against Practical Round-Trip Fiber Time Synchronization Systems
Document Type
Periodical
Source
IEEE Photonics Technology Letters IEEE Photon. Technol. Lett. Photonics Technology Letters, IEEE. 35(23):1263-1266 Dec, 2023
Subject
Engineered Materials, Dielectrics and Plasmas
Photonics and Electrooptics
Synchronization
Optical fibers
Delays
Time measurement
Optical fiber communication
Optical fiber devices
Optical switches
Asymmetric delay attack
synchronization accuracy
round-trip fiber time synchronization systems
Language
ISSN
1041-1135
1941-0174
Abstract
The round-trip fiber time synchronization system is preferred for high-precision time synchronization due to its easier implementation compared to bidirectional systems. However, its link-symmetry assumption renders it susceptible to asymmetric delay attacks, posing a serious threat to the system that current encryption methods cannot effectively prevent. This letter proposes a controllable asymmetric channel attack scheme for the round-trip fiber time synchronization system. The objective is to assess the impact of asymmetry on time synchronization accuracy by measuring the time difference between the local and remote ends of the system. Experimental results demonstrate that by employing asymmetric channels, the synchronization accuracy of the system can be reduced to 1.01 ns, 2.09 ns, and 5.06 ns, respectively, from the initial accuracy of 52.40 ps. This work highlights the critical security issue in round-trip systems, emphasizing the urgent need for effective countermeasures against asymmetric delay attacks.