Attacks on BitTorrent - An experimental study

Abstract

Peer-to-peer (P2P) networks and applications represent an efficient method of distributing various network contents across the Internet. Foremost among these networks is the BitTorrent protocol. While BitTorrent has become one of the most popular P2P applications, attacking BitTorrent applications recently began to arise. Although sources of the attacks may be different, their main goal is to slow down the distribution of files via BitTorrent networks. This paper provides an experimental study on peer attacks in the BitTorrent applications. Real BitTorrent network traffic was collected and analyzed, based on which, attacks were identified and classified. This study aims to better understand the current situation of attacks on BitTorrent applications and provide supports for developing possible approaches in the future to prevent such attacks. © 2011 ICST Institute for Computer Science, Social Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering.