Abstract
In this paper, we develop an algorithm that may be used as a stepping-stone detection tool. Our approach is based on analyzing correlations between the cumulative number of packets sent in outgoing connections and that of the incoming connections. We present a study of our method’s effectiveness with actual connections as well as simulations of time-jittering (introduction of inter-packet delay) and chaff (introduction of superfluous packets). Experimental results suggest that our algorithm works well in the following scenarios: (1) distinguishing connection chains that go through the same stepping stone host and carry traffic of users who perform similar operations at the same time; and (2) distinguishing a single connection chain from unrelated incoming and outgoing connections even in the presence of chaff. The result suggests that time-jittering will not diminish our method’s usefulness.
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Huang, SH.S., Lychev, R., Yang, J. (2007). Stepping-Stone Detection Via Request-Response Traffic Analysis. In: Xiao, B., Yang, L.T., Ma, J., Muller-Schloer, C., Hua, Y. (eds) Autonomic and Trusted Computing. ATC 2007. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 4610. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-73547-2_29
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-73547-2_29
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