SBIR Phase I: An Integrated Solution to Internet Route Hijacking

Thousand Eyes, San Francisco CA

Investigators

Abstract

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to develop an effective solution for Internet route hijack detection, analysis, and mitigation. The Internet routing system is a critical component in the global Internet infrastructure because all other Internet functions depend on the routing system for end-to-end data delivery. Unfortunately today's routing system lacks effective security protection, thus malicious attackers can announce network addresses belonging to others and effectively divert data traffic to locations of the attackers' choice. Such route hijack attacks can lead to denial of service that leaves web site unreachable. If the target of such an attack were online commerce web sites, the financial loss for a 24-hour denial of service attach could be significant. Route hijacking attacks can also open the door to a variety of other more devastating attacks, such as unauthorized traffic capture, identity theft, stolen passwords and credit card information, financial fraud, and other criminal activities. Based on cutting-edge research results from academe, the company proposes to develop an integrated solution to route hijacking. The solution consists of threat awareness, early detection, and automatic recovery. A recent survey showed that route hijacking is one of the top concerns among network operators today. Although there are multiple players in the broad area of network security market, the proposed solution focuses specifically on routing security where the company possess a leading-edge solution. If successfully developed, the solution not only can detect but also can recover from hijack attacks. If deployed, the company has the potential to address a significant pain point in the industry.