Network routing is vulnerable to disruptions caused by mal- functioning or malicious routers that draw traffic towards themselves but fail to correctly forward the traffic. The existing approach to addressing this problem is to secure the routing protocol by having it validate routing updates, i.e., verify their authenticity, accuracy, and/or consistency. We argue that it is also important to ensure the robustness of packet forwarding itself. To this end, we propose a different approach, the central idea of which is a secure traceroute protocol that enables end hosts or routers to detect and locate the source of (arbitrarily severe) routing misbehaviors, so that appropriate action can be taken.
(Joint work with Venkata N. Padmanabhan)
Gates 4B (opposite 490), 03/12/2003, 4:30 PM