DNS-Mapped Virtual IPs for Server Address Anonymization
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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 visible and used for routing and firewall decisions.
Innovation Solution
Implementing techniques that use Network Address Translation (NAT) and Mobile IP version 6 (MIPv6) in conjunction with DNS to map server IP addresses to virtual IP (VIP) addresses, which are then translated back to actual IP addresses, thereby obfuscating the server's true IP address and protecting its identity.
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 compromised and servers become vulnerable to attacks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a proxy server as an intermediary between client devices and destination servers. The proxy server receives packets from clients with randomized source addresses, translates them to actual server addresses, and forwards them to the destination. This mediator enables routing decisions while hiding the true server address from clients and malicious entities, thus resolving the contradiction between network connectivity and server security.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the network communication into distinct functional layers: client devices communicate with proxy servers, which then communicate with destination servers. This segmentation allows the proxy layer to handle routing and addressing separately from the actual server communication, enabling routing efficiency while protecting server addresses from direct exposure to clients.
2Loss of information
If source IP addresses are anonymized to protect client privacy, then client privacy is improved, but network routing decisions become more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The proxy server acts as an intermediary that preserves client privacy by randomizing source addresses in outbound packets while maintaining routing capability. The proxy knows the actual client identity for routing decisions but presents randomized addresses to the network, thus protecting privacy without sacrificing routing effectiveness.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If destination addresses are randomized to protect server identity, then server privacy is improved, but packet routing accuracy may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The proxy server mediates between the need for server address randomization and routing accuracy. It receives packets with randomized destination addresses, translates them to actual server addresses using internal mappings, and forwards them correctly. This ensures both server privacy protection and accurate packet delivery to the intended destination.
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.