A TOR-Based Anonymous Communication
Approach to Secure Smart Home Appliances
Nguyen Phong HOANG *, Davar PISHVA*** Department of Social Informatics, Graduate School of Informatics, Kyoto University, Japan** Institute of Information & Communications Technology, APU (Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University), Japanhoang.phong.37e@st.kyoto-u.ac.jp, dpishva@apu.ac.jp

Abstract— Digital information has become a social infrastructure and with the expansion of the Internet, network infrastructure
has become an indispensable part of social life and industrial activity for mankind. The idea of using existing electronics in smart
home appliances and connecting them to the Internet is a new dimension along which technologies continue to grow, and in recent
years mankind has witnessed an upsurge of usage of devices such as smart phone, smart television, home health-care device, smart
LED light bulbs system, etc. Their build-in internet-controlled function has made them quite attractive to many segments ofconsumers and smart phone has become a common gadget for social networking. There are, however, serious challenges which need
to be addressed as these tiny devices are designed for specific functions and lack processing capacity required for most security
software. This research explores how these internet-enabled smart devices can be turned into very dangerous spots for distributed
attacks purposes by cybercriminals for various ill intensions in a pinpointed manner. It then introduces a new approach to deal withsuch problems by taking advantage of the anonymous communication of the Onion Router (hereafter: TOR). It compares pros andcons of using anonymous communication scheme and justifies it be an efficient countermeasure to most attack scenarios.
Keyword— Smart Appliances, the Internet of Things, Security, Anonymous Communication, the Onion Router (TOR)
Nguyen Phong HOANG was born in Tien Giang Province, Vietnam in 1992. He received his undergraduate degree in Business
Administration majoring in Information & Communications technology (ICT) from Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University (APU), Japan.
He is presently pursuing his graduate studies at the Graduate School of Informatics at Kyoto University in Japan. He has received
numerous scholarship and awards; APU Tuition Reduction Scholarship from 2010-2014, JASSO (Japan Student ServicesOrganization) Scholarship from 2011-2012, and TOYOTA Tsusho Scholarship from 2013-2014. His research interests include
information security, privacy and anonymous communication. He hopes to advance his research on TOR (The Onion Router), one of
the most robust anonymous tools, during his graduate studies. He participated in the 16 th International Conference on Advanced
Communication Technology and received Outstanding Paper Award from the Conference. He has been an IEEE member since 2013.

Davar Pishva is a professor in ICT at the College of Asia Pacific Studies, Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University (APU) Japan andpresently serves as the Dean of both College and Graduate School of Asia Pacific Studies. In teaching, he has been focusing on
information security, technology management, VBA for modelers, structured decision making and carries out his lectures in an appliedmanner. In research, his current interests include biometrics; e-learning, environmentally sound and ICT enhanced technologies. Dr.
Pishva received his PhD degree in System Engineering from Mie University, Japan. He is Secretary General of IAAPS (InternationalAssociation for Asia Pacific Studies), Senior Member of IEEE, and a member of IEICE (Institute of Electronics Information &Communication Engineers), IAAPS and University & College Management Association.