Abstract

IP traceback can be used to find the origin of anonymous traffic; however, Internet-scale IP traceback
systems have not been deployed due to a need for cooperation between Internet Service Providers (ISPs).
This article presents an Internet-scale Passive IP Trackback (PIT) mechanism that does not require ISP
deployment. PIT analyzes the ICMP messages that may scattered to a network telescope as spoofed packets
travel from attacker to victim. An Internet route model is then used to help re-construct the attack path.
Applying this mechanism to data collected by Cooperative Association for Internet Data Analysis (CAIDA),
we found PIT can construct a trace tree from at least one intermediate router in 55.4% the fiercest packet
spoofing attacks, and can construct a tree from at least 10 routers in 23.4% of attacks. This initial result
shows PIT is a promising mechanism.
Categories and Subject Descriptors: C.2.0 [Computer Communication Networks]: General– Security and
protection.