Question 1: Defending against DoS attacks in SDN (25 Marks)
(i) [8 marks] Identify one type of DoS attack (of your choice) in SDN. This must be based on
a single academic paper (journal or conference), but can be modified and enhanced with
your own assumptions, ideas, and design choices. Explain how the attack works.
Describe the attack using message sequence diagrams and flowcharts. Include
information such as the attacker’s objectives and capabilities, target(s) of the attack, and a
diagram of the considered network topology. Specify the assumptions so that the attack
can be successful. Explain the role of all the relevant elements and components. Explain
why you think that these are reasonable assumptions. Make it clear which content/ideas
have been borrowed from the academic paper and which are yours. Include an Appendix
with the definitions of all security-related and SDN-related terminology that you have used.
(ii) [17 marks] For the DoS attack type described in the previous part, design a defence
mechanism. This design can be based on one or more academic papers (including the
paper used in the previous part if you want) and can be enhanced with your own ideas.
Explain how your defence solution works. Specify any new (or modified) components or
elements and explain their functionality using flowcharts and tables (e.g., Flow Tables of a
Switch). If your solution involves new (or modified) network traffic, explain it using
message sequence diagrams. Explain why you think that this solution will be effective
against the considered DoS attack type. Discuss any impact on the Quality-of-Experience
of legitimate users. Make it clear which ideas have been borrowed from the academic
paper(s) and which are yours. Add to the Appendix any new security-related and
SDN-related terminology that you have used.
Page Limit
Your answer to this question must not exceed 1 side of A4 in total.
Diagrams, Tables, Appendices, and References do not count towards the page limits.
Specific Guidance
Diagrams and Tables must be created by the student (not copy-pasted from papers), must be of
good quality, relevant to the text, must be informative, and must not include irrelevant or useless
information. Diagrams and Tables must be appropriately labelled, explained, and referenced
within the text. Diagrams and Tables can include numbers, keywords, and labels, but not lengthy
sentences.
Answers must be typed and Diagrams and Tables must be produced using specialised computer
software (not handwritten and scanned).