A Novel Visualization Method for Detecting DDoS Network Attacks

Abstract

With the rapid growth of networks in size and complexity, netwok administrators today are facing more and more challenges for protecting their networked computers and other devices from all kinds of attacks. Unlike the traditional methods of analyzing textual log data, a visual interactive system called DDoSViewer is proposed in this paper for detecting DDoS kind of network attacks. DDoSViewer is specifically designed for detecting DDoS attacks through the analysis of visual patterns. We will discuss the data sources, visual structures and interactive functions that are used in the proposed visualization system. We will also discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the existing visual solutions for DDoS detection. The extraction and analysis of network data, the calculation and display of graphic elements' attributes and the pre-characteristics of DDoS attacks are all included in the new visualization technique. The experiments showed that the new system can detect DDoS attacks effectively.