Security validation for data diode with reverse channel

Abstract

Hardware-based data diode is a powerful security method that removes the reverse channel for network intrusion. However, simple removal leads to data unreliability and user inconvenience. A reverse channel is forbidden if it affects physical unidirectionality without an exact security analysis. If a reverse channel is used restrictively and its security is validated, the data diode can be a secure solution. Thus, we propose security criteria based on an application environment for a data diode that was implemented with a reverse channel and validate the data diode’s security by unit/integration/system testing based on our security criteria.