Meddling Middlemen - Empirical Analysis of the Risks of Data-Saving Mobile Browsers

Explore an empirical analysis of data-saving mobile browsers in this IEEE conference talk. Delve into the prevalence of smartphones and the emergence of data-saving browsers. Understand how data-saving mode works and examine research questions surrounding these browsers. Investigate the landscape of data-saving browsers on the Google Play Store and the complex network that emerges. Analyze the population and configurations of data-saving proxy servers, as well as their effectiveness in saving data. Evaluate the impact of data-saving browsers on usability, including a Google ReCAPTCHA v3 experiment. Learn about potential attacks, such as reputation poisoning, and privacy infringements associated with these browsers. Examine traffic modification, leakage, and security degradation risks. Assess the attack surface of proxy servers and their cipher suite strength. Study SSL certificate handling, including a case study on SuperFish. Conclude with an improved data-savings design proposal and a comprehensive summary of the research findings.

Intro
Smartphones are Everywhere
Enter Data Saving Browsers
Data-Saving Mode Explained
Research Questions
Data-saving Browsers on the Google Play Store
A More Complicated Network Emerges
Data-Saving Proxy Server Population
Data-Saving Proxy Server Configurations
Data Saving Effectiveness
Data-Saving Browsers Effects on Usability
Google ReCAPTCHA v3 Experiment
Data-Saving Proxy Server Reputation Poisoning Attack
Privacy Infringement
Traffic Modification/Leakage
Security Degradation
Proxy Server Attack Surface
Data-Saving Proxy Server Cipher Suite Strength
SSL Certificate Handling Case Study: SuperFish
Research Outline
Improved Data-Savings Design
Summary