Using client puzzles to protect TLS

Abstract

Client puzzles are commonly proposed as a solution to denial-of-service attacks. However, very few implementations of the idea actually exist, and there are a number of subtle details in the implementation. In this paper, we describe our implementation of a simple and backwards compatible client puzzle extension to TLS. We also present measurements of CPU load and latency when our modified library is used to protect a secure webserver. These measurements show that client puzzles are a viable method for protecting SSL servers from SSL based denial-of-service attacks.