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Applied Sciences
Volume 11
Issue 17
10.3390/app11177789
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Article

Encrypted Network Traffic Analysis of Secure Instant Messaging Application: A Case Study of Signal Messenger App

by
Asmara Afzal
1,
Mehdi Hussain
1,*,
Shahzad Saleem
1,2,
M. Khuram Shahzad
1,
Anthony T. S. Ho
3,4 and
Ki-Hyun Jung
5,*
1
Department of Computing, School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, National University of Sciences and Technology, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan
2
Department of Cybersecurity, College of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Jeddah, Jeddah 23218, Saudi Arabia
3
Department of Computer Science, University of Surrey, Guildford GU27XH, UK
4
Department of Computer Science and Technology, Tianjin University of Science and Technology, Tianjin 300222, China
5
Department of Cyber Security, Kyungil University, Gyeongbuk 38424, Korea
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(17), 7789; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11177789
Submission received: 14 July 2021 / Revised: 13 August 2021 / Accepted: 18 August 2021 / Published: 24 August 2021
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Real-Time Technique in Multimedia Security and Content Protection)
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Abstract

Instant messaging applications (apps) have played a vital role in online interaction, especially under COVID-19 lockdown protocols. Apps with security provisions are able to provide confidentiality through end-to-end encryption. Ill-intentioned individuals and groups use these security services to their advantage by using the apps for criminal, illicit, or fraudulent activities. During an investigation, the provision of end-to-end encryption in apps increases the complexity for digital forensics investigators. This study aims to provide a network forensic strategy to identify the potential artifacts from the encrypted network traffic of the prominent social messenger app Signal (on Android version 9). The analysis of the installed app was conducted over fully encrypted network traffic. By adopting the proposed strategy, the forensic investigator can easily detect encrypted traffic activities such as chatting, media messages, audio, and video calls by looking at the payload patterns. Furthermore, a detailed analysis of the trace files can help to create a list of chat servers and IP addresses of involved parties in the events. As a result, the proposed strategy significantly facilitates extraction of the app’s behavior from encrypted network traffic which can then be used as supportive evidence for forensic investigation.
Keywords: network forensics; encrypted traffic forensic; signal application; Wireshark; trace files network forensics; encrypted traffic forensic; signal application; Wireshark; trace files

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MDPI and ACS Style

Afzal, A.; Hussain, M.; Saleem, S.; Shahzad, M.K.; Ho, A.T.S.; Jung, K.-H. Encrypted Network Traffic Analysis of Secure Instant Messaging Application: A Case Study of Signal Messenger App. Appl. Sci. 2021, 11, 7789. https://doi.org/10.3390/app11177789

AMA Style

Afzal A, Hussain M, Saleem S, Shahzad MK, Ho ATS, Jung K-H. Encrypted Network Traffic Analysis of Secure Instant Messaging Application: A Case Study of Signal Messenger App. Applied Sciences. 2021; 11(17):7789. https://doi.org/10.3390/app11177789

Chicago/Turabian Style

Afzal, Asmara, Mehdi Hussain, Shahzad Saleem, M. Khuram Shahzad, Anthony T. S. Ho, and Ki-Hyun Jung. 2021. "Encrypted Network Traffic Analysis of Secure Instant Messaging Application: A Case Study of Signal Messenger App" Applied Sciences 11, no. 17: 7789. https://doi.org/10.3390/app11177789

APA Style

Afzal, A., Hussain, M., Saleem, S., Shahzad, M. K., Ho, A. T. S., & Jung, K.-H. (2021). Encrypted Network Traffic Analysis of Secure Instant Messaging Application: A Case Study of Signal Messenger App. Applied Sciences, 11(17), 7789. https://doi.org/10.3390/app11177789

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