Secure Client and Server Geolocation Over the Internet

TL;DR

This paper reviews recent methods for secure Internet geolocation, focusing on verifying client and server locations in real-time while resisting manipulation tactics like VPNs and anonymizers.

Contribution

It provides a technical overview of Client Presence Verification and Server Location Verification, highlighting their capabilities to prevent geolocation cheating.

Findings

CPV and SLV effectively detect location spoofing

Techniques resist VPN and anonymizer-based deception

Real-time geolocation verification is feasible

Abstract

In this article, we provide a summary of recent efforts towards achieving Internet geolocation securely, \ie without allowing the entity being geolocated to cheat about its own geographic location. Cheating motivations arise from many factors, including impersonation (in the case locations are used to reinforce authentication), and gaining location-dependent benefits. In particular, we provide a technical overview of Client Presence Verification (CPV) and Server Location Verification (SLV)---two recently proposed techniques designed to verify the geographic locations of clients and servers in realtime over the Internet. Each technique addresses a wide range of adversarial tactics to manipulate geolocation, including the use of IP-hiding technologies like VPNs and anonymizers, as we now explain.