Improving internet security through traffic analysis and examination of the internet`s basic properties

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Improving Internet Security through Traffic Analysis and Examination of the Internet's Basic PropertiesThe Internet is arguably the biggest man-made entity. It is a very complex network that is not centrally controlled and that is continuously growing. This fashion of growth complicates network operation and management. However, if the end-goal is to have a network that facilitates communication the way the Internet does, it is inevitable that it will be that complex. This complexity led to questions on how the Internet actually works in terms of traffic patterns, logical and physical topologies, and geographical location of nodes.The objective of this research program is to improve Internet security through exploiting knowledge of Internet traffic and of its basic properties. The basic properties of the Internet refer to its topology and to the relation of  geographic location to the way Internet addresses are distributed and managed.  This is a twofold objective: the first is to better understand and gain knowledge of Internet traffic and basic properties. The second is to apply this knowledge in building new network security architectures, applications, and protocols, as well as in securing existing protocols and applications. The proposed research program will focus on the following lines of research:1- Traffic analysis of the patterns and structures that exist in Internet traffic.2- Characterization of malicious activities. (e.g. SPAM, Denial-of-Service)3- Relating network elements (hosts and routers) to geographical location.4- Enabling a new class of security applications that are based on actual knowledge of how the Internet works rather than relying solely on modeling and simulation.