On the Internet, a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack is one in which amultitude of compromised systems attack a single target, thereby causing denialof service for users of the targeted system. The flood of incoming messages tothe target system essentially forces it to shut down, thereby denying service tothe system to legitimate users.The FBI's latest survey of cyber crime lists denial of service as the second mostcostly form of cyber attack, only slightly trailing theft of proprietaryinformation. This book offers an in-depth examination of this increasinglypopular form of network-based attacks by providing a thorough description ofthe scope of the problem, both actual and potential, enabling readers tounderstand the severity of the problem and why it occurs. It also containsdetailed guidelines to practical methods of protecting one's network fromDDoS attacks and responding to them when they occur.

Suddenly your Web server becomes unavailable. When you investigate, you realize that a flood of packets is surging into your network. You have just become one of the hundreds of thousands of victims of a denial-of-service attack, a pervasive and growing threat to the Internet. What do you do?

Internet Denial of Service sheds light on a complex and fascinating form of computer attack that impacts the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of millions of computers worldwide. It tells the network administrator, corporate CTO, incident responder, and student how DDoS attacks are prepared and executed, how to think about DDoS, and how to arrange computer and network defenses. It also provides a suite of actions that can be taken before, during, and after an attack.

Inside, you'll find comprehensive information on the following topics

• How denial-of-service attacks are waged
• How to improve your network's resilience to denial-of-service attacks
• What to do when you are involved in a denial-of-service attack
• The laws that apply to these attacks and their implications
• How often denial-of-service attacks occur, how strong they are, and the kinds of damage they can cause
• Real examples of denial-of-service attacks as experienced by the attacker, victim, and unwitting accomplices

The authors' extensive experience in handling denial-of-service attacks and researching defense approaches is laid out clearly in practical, detailed terms.