DDoS Mitigation in SDN Using MTD and Behavior-Based Forwarding

Abstract

AbstractDDoS attacks target computing resources and they are usually launched from a large number of distributed devices. Due to its distributed nature, it is hard to trace and stop the DDoS attack. Also the attacks are more mature and varied due to the development of sophisticated tools and technology. Reactive defense mechanisms, such as IDS, have tried to secure systems and networks against such attacks in the past. But attackers cannot be prevented just by using reactive defense mechanisms. Moving target defense (MTD) is a “proactive defense mechanism” which is aimed at defeating the efforts of an attacker. Software defined networking is gaining large attention, and its popularity is increasing rapidly. Hence, it is essential to secure systems in the SDN environment against network attacks such as DDoS. We use a moving target defense mechanism called random host mutation and behavior-based forwarding which varies the quality of service provided to the clients based on their behavior to mitigate DDoS attacks in software defined networking environments.KeywordsDDoSMoving target defenseSDN