Entropy based detection of DDoS attacks in packet switching network models

Abstract

Distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks are network-wide attacks that cannot be detected or stopped easily. They affect "natural" spatiotemporal packet traffic patterns, i.e. "natural distributions" of packets passing through the routers. Thus, they affect "natural" information entropy profiles, a sort of "fingerprints", of normal packet traffic. We study if by monitoring information entropy of packet traffic through selected routers one may detect DDoS attacks or anomalous packet traffic in packet switching network (PSN) models. Our simulations show that the considered DDoS attacks of "ping" type cause shifts in information entropy profiles of packet traffic monitored even at small sets of routers and that it is easier to detect these shifts if static routing is used instead of dynamic routing. Thus, network-wide monitoring of information entropy of packet traffic at properly selected routers may provide means for detecting DDoS attacks and other anomalous packet traffics. © 2009 ICST Institute for Computer Sciences, Social Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering.