IP FRAGMENTATION–BASED ATTACKS AND PROTECTION MECHANISMS IN DISTRIBUTED AND HETEROGENEOUS NETWORK SYSTEMS

Abstract

In the context of the rapid advancement of corporate information networks and international telecommunication technologies, ensuring the security of distributed computing systems has become a critical challenge for government, administrative, and law enforcement agencies. Most modern Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) and packet filtering technologies are unable to perform a comprehensive analysis of fragmented datagrams. This technical limitation significantly hinders the timely identification of cyberattacks and the blocking of malicious traffic, thereby creating a fertile ground for the execution of Denial of Service (DoS/DDoS) attacks distributed across multiple fragments.

This paper examines the tension between the demand for increased intrusion detection efficiency and the necessity of aggregating heterogeneous information-computing systems. This problem is further exacerbated by the technical possibility of concealing destructive actions within individual fragments.

The study analyzes specific threats, such as Tiny Fragment Attacks and Overlapping Fragment scenarios. The primary objective of the research is to conduct an in-depth analysis of IP fragmentation characteristics and to develop effective, dynamic protection mechanisms for scalable information-computing systems.