Business and social evaluation of denial of service attacks of communications networks in view of scaling economic counter-measures

TL;DR

This paper presents an analytical approach to evaluate the economic and social impacts of denial of service attacks on communication networks, aiding policy decisions and counter-measure strategies.

Contribution

It introduces a novel analytical method based on time preference dynamics to assess the economic implications of DoS attacks and recovery efforts.

Findings

Method applicable to various target classes

Provides policy and legal guidance

Illustrated with mobile communication case studies

Abstract

This paper gives an analytical method to determine the economic and indirect implications of denial of service and distributed denial of service attacks. It is based on time preference dynamics applied to the monetary mass for the restoration of capabilities, on long term investments to rebuild capabilities, and of the usability level of the capabilities after an attack. A simple illustrative example is provided for a denial of service on a corporate data centre. The needed data collection methodologies are categorized by classes of targets. The use of the method is explained in the context of legal or policy driven dissuasive, retaliation or compensation/ restoration actions. A concrete set of deployment cases in mobile communications services is discussed. The conclusion includes policy recommendations as well as information exchange requirements.