DNS Address Randomization for Server IP Obfuscation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing network communication technologies fail to adequately protect the privacy of server addresses, making them vulnerable to attacks and allowing malicious entities to trace client devices, as destination IP addresses are often visible and used for routing and firewall decisions.
Innovation Solution
Implementing techniques that use Network Address Translation (NAT) and/or Mobile IP version 6 (MIPv6) in conjunction with DNS to anonymize server-side addresses, mapping IP addresses to a group of virtual IP addresses, and/or other techniques, which involve mapping IP addresses, and/or other techniques, to protect the privacy of server-side addresses, and/or other techniques, to provide a group of VIP addresses, and/or other techniques, to provide VIP addresses, and/or other techniques, to provide VIP addresses to client devices, and translating them to actual IP addresses using NAT, thus obfuscating server IP addresses.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If destination IP addresses are made visible for routing decisions, then network connectivity and routing efficiency are improved, but server privacy is worsened and servers become vulnerable to attacks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary system (proxy server or gateway) that sits between client devices and actual servers. This intermediary receives traffic with real server addresses, translates them to random addresses, and forwards traffic to the actual servers. The intermediary acts as a mediator that preserves routing functionality while hiding server identities from clients and potential attackers.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the network architecture into distinct functional layers: client devices, intermediary systems, and actual servers. By separating the server address resolution function from the routing function, the system allows routing decisions to be made based on random addresses while actual server communication occurs through the intermediary, thus protecting server privacy without compromising connectivity.
2Loss of information
If client device IP addresses are anonymized to protect privacy, then user privacy is improved, but destination address visibility remains and allows malicious entities to trace client devices
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of only anonymizing the source address while leaving the destination address visible, the patent inverts the approach by making the destination address random while preserving source address anonymity. This dual anonymization approach prevents malicious entities from tracing client devices through destination address analysis while maintaining the ability to route traffic correctly through the intermediary system.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If random IP addresses are assigned to servers to protect privacy, then server anonymity is improved, but routing complexity increases and legitimate traffic discrimination becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The intermediary system handles the complexity of managing random address assignments and maintaining routing tables. It translates random addresses back to actual server addresses for internal routing decisions, thereby simplifying the overall system architecture while achieving server anonymity. The intermediary absorbs the complexity of address translation and routing management.
Data Source
AI summary
Techniques for using Network Address Translation (NAT), Mobile Internet Protocol (MIP), and/or other techniques in conjunction with Domain Name System (DNS) to anonymize server-side addresses in data communications. Rather than having DNS provide a client device with an IP address of an endpoint device, such as a server, the DNS instead returns a random IP address that is mapped to the client device and the endpoint device. In this way, IP addresses of servers are obfuscated by a random IP address that cannot be used to identify the endpoint device or service. The client device may then communicate data packets to the server using the random IP address as the destination address, and a gateway that works in conjunction with DNS can convert the random IP address to the actual IP address of the server using NAT and forward the data packet onto the server.