On the analysis of backscatter traffic

Abstract

This work offers in-depth analysis of three different darknet datasets captured in 2004, 2006 and 2008 to provide insights into the nature of backscatter traffic. Moreover, we analyzed these datasets using two well-known open source intrusion detection systems (IDSs), namely Snort and Bro. Our analysis shows that there are interesting trends in these datasets that help us to understand backscatter traffic over a 4-year period of time. However, it also shows that it is challenging to identify the attacks that generated this traffic.