Internet-Draft Kernel Bot Attestation October 2026
Semcheddine Expires 1 May 2027 [Page]
Workgroup:
Network Working Group
Internet-Draft:
draft-darkdragon-hardware-bot-attestation-00
Published:
Intended Status:
Informational
Expires:
Author:
R. Semcheddine
Independent Researcher

Hardware-Interrupt Attestation for Privacy-Preserving Bot Mitigation

Abstract

This document proposes a privacy-first, OS kernel-level attestation mechanism to mitigate automated botnets on internet platforms. By evaluating input events at the physical hardware interrupt layer, the system generates attestation tokens only upon detecting automated execution, remaining silent during legitimate human usage to preserve user privacy.

Status of This Memo

This Internet-Draft is submitted in full conformance with the provisions of BCP 78 and BCP 79.

Internet-Drafts are working documents of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). Note that other groups may also distribute working documents as Internet-Drafts. The list of current Internet-Drafts is at https://datatracker.ietf.org/drafts/current/.

Internet-Drafts are draft documents valid for a maximum of six months and may be updated, replaced, or obsoleted by other documents at any time. It is inappropriate to use Internet-Drafts as reference material or to cite them other than as "work in progress."

This Internet-Draft will expire on 1 May 2027.

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Table of Contents

1. Introduction

Coordinated Inauthentic Behavior (CIB) and automated botnets on social media platforms undermine public trust and manipulate social consensus. Existing countermeasures rely on client-side web scripts or CAPTCHAs, which are easily bypassed by modern headless browser automation.

2. Proposed Architecture

The proposed system shifts attestation to the operating system kernel and hardware layer:

2.1. Hardware Interrupt Validation

The OS monitors input events to verify whether they originate from physical hardware Interrupt Requests (IRQs) or synthetic software injection.

2.2. Zero-Telemetry Human Privacy Model

If interaction patterns match physical hardware inputs, the OS emits no telemetry or tokens, ensuring zero user tracking during normal operation.

2.3. Negative-Attestation Token Delivery

Upon isolating automated or synthetic execution, the kernel enclave generates a cryptographic attestation token delivered directly to the requesting application or platform API.

3. Security and Privacy Considerations

This design prevents continuous profiling by operating on a negative-attestation model. Threat models including hardware emulation via external microcontrollers and local kernel tampering are addressed via hardware-backed secure enclaves (e.g., TPM/TrustZone).