ASM and Group-Based Attacks: Exploring Security Threats
Question
With ASM, sources can launch attacks by sending traffic to any groups that are supported by an active RP.
Such traffic might not reach a receiver but will reach at least the first-hop router in the path, as well as the RP, allowing limited attacks.
However, if the attacking source knows a group to which a target receiver is listening and there are no appropriate filters in place, then the attacking source can send traffic to that group.
This traffic is received as long as the attacking source is listening to the group.
Based on the above description, which type of security threat is involved?
Answers
Explanations
Click on the arrows to vote for the correct answer
A. B. C. D.A.
The security threat involved in the given description is a type of Denial of Service (DoS) attack known as Multicast-based DoS attack.
In the context of multicast communication, the attacking source sends a large amount of traffic to a multicast group address, which is supported by an active RP, in order to flood the network and consume its resources. This makes it difficult for legitimate multicast traffic to be delivered to its intended receivers, leading to a denial of service.
In this attack, the attacking source does not need to know the exact group address that a target receiver is listening to. However, if the source does know the group address, it can send traffic directly to that group, and as long as the source is also listening to the same group, the traffic will be received by the source as well as the legitimate receiver.
To mitigate this type of attack, appropriate filters and access control mechanisms need to be put in place to prevent unauthorized sources from sending traffic to multicast groups. These filters can be based on the source IP address, the group address, or the content of the multicast traffic itself.
Therefore, option A (DoS) is the correct answer to the given question.
