Interstellar Adversarial Model

This document outlines the global adversarial model for the Interstellar authentication scheme, which relies on decentralized cryptographic primitives, mobile hardware-secured environments, and dynamic visual cryptographic mechanisms.

The model assumes a powerful adversary capable of compromising mobile operating systems, deploying persistent malware (e.g., rootkits, banking trojans), intercepting communication channels, and launching real-time manipulation attacks.

Key Assumptions

• The adversary can compromise the mobile OS and inject malware with root access.
• The adversary can observe user interactions, network traffic, and screen content.
• The adversary can attempt overlay attacks, clipper malware, and phishing attempts.
• The adversary cannot break hardware-enforced secure enclaves (e.g., Secure Elements or TEEs).
• The adversary does not have access to Interstellar blockchain private keys or TEE execution logs.

Attack Vectors & Defenses

Threat Vector	Attack Description	Interstellar Defense Mechanism	Mitigation Strength
Rooted Malware	Adversary gains root access and attempts to exfiltrate secrets.	Private keys are generated and stored in Secure Element; never accessible by OS.	Very High
Clipper Malware	Malware changes destination addresses in clipboard or overlays.	Transaction data is encoded into dynamic visual cryptographic shares only visible to human eyes.	High
Overlay Attacks	Fake UI screens trick users into approving false transactions.	Garbling and rapid frame refresh (60–120fps) prevent fake overlays from mimicking dynamic VCA output.	High
Man-in-the-Middle (MitM)	Interception or manipulation of transaction payloads during communication.	Transactions require on-device signing using a non-extractable proxy private key in SE; payloads validated visually.	High
Screen Recording / Scraping	Malware attempts to capture screen content during VCA session.	Each frame is cryptographically unique; cannot reconstruct one-time code from partial or delayed frames.	Medium
Phishing via Fake Apps	User installs a fake Interstellar app that mimics UI to harvest credentials.	Authentication is device-bound using SE attestation; fake apps cannot generate valid attestation or VCA output.	High

Model Scope and Limitations

• Assumes hardware Secure Element (SE) or TEE are trusted anchors.
• Assumes the blockchain network honestly verifies VCA tokens and SE attestations.
• Does not address social engineering tactics outside of screen-level spoofing.

Summary

Interstellar’s authentication model is built with adversarial resistance in mind, designed to remain trustworthy even under OS-level compromise. By combining secure enclaves, decentralized key attestation, and visual cryptography bound to human cognition, Interstellar raises the bar against mobile-based Advanced Persistent Threats.