Proof-of-Work Mitigation Strategy for DNS-Based Amplification Attacks

Abstract

Distributed Denial of Service attacks, and particularly DNS Amplification attacks, have seen a steady rise in deployment over the past few decades. DNS Amplification attacks, in particular, are challenging to identify and mitigate because of their apparent similarity to legitimate DNS traffic. This thesis proposes a new Proof-of-Work mitigation strategy that provides a defense against DNS Amplification attacks and shifts the burden of mitigation to the attackers. Through our experiments, we show that our Proof-of-Work strategy is effective in reversing the impact of DNS Amplification attacks on the victim’s ability to service legitimate clients. We also provide an evaluation framework to evaluate the mitigation strategy’s impact on the victim’s quality of service.