Quantifying the Spectrum of Denial-of-Service Attacks through Internet Backscatter

Abstract

Denial of Service (DoS) attacks are a major threat currently observable in computer networks and especially the Internet. In such an attack a malicious party tries to either break a service, running on a server, or exhaust the capacity or bandwidth of the victim to hinder customers to effectively use the service. Recent reports show that the total number of Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks is steadily growing with "mega-attacks" peaking at hundreds of gigabit/s (Gbps).