Internet Denial of Service: Attack and Defense Mechanisms

Appendix C. DDoS Data

Relatively little reliable data is available on the DDoS problem. Because of its distributed nature and the difficulties of measuring Internet-wide phenomena, direct measurements of the most important characteristics of DDoS attacks (how often they occur, how long they typically last, how heavy the attack flow is, how many agent sites are typically used, the composition of the attack traffic, etc.) are difficult to obtain.

Here, we summarize the reliable data that is publicly available that addresses such questions. Most of the sources we discuss were mentioned earlier in this book, but here we gather all the information into a single place, for the purpose of drawing the best picture possible of the measurable characteristics ...