Virtual IP Address Obfuscation for Server Privacy
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing technologies fail to effectively anonymize destination IP addresses of servers, making them vulnerable to attacks such as distributed denial-of-service (DDOS) and allowing malicious entities to correlate client and server locations, thereby compromising user privacy.
Innovation Solution
The use of virtual IP (VIP) addresses mapped to actual server IP addresses, combined with Network Address Translation (NAT) and DNS services, to obfuscate server-side addresses in data communications. This involves a virtual network service that allocates VIP addresses to client devices, which then communicate with servers using these addresses, while the virtual network service translates VIP addresses back to server IP addresses for routing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If destination IP addresses are made visible for routing decisions, then network connectivity and routing functionality is improved, but server vulnerability to DDOS attacks and privacy compromise increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a virtual IP address system as an intermediary layer between client devices and actual servers. Virtual IP addresses are allocated to servers and used in data packets instead of real IP addresses, allowing routing decisions to be made based on virtual addresses while the actual server remains hidden from direct access. This intermediary mechanism enables network connectivity to function while protecting servers from direct DDOS attacks.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the IP address space into virtual IP addresses and actual IP addresses. Virtual IP addresses are assigned to servers dynamically and can be changed, while actual IP addresses remain hidden. This segmentation allows the system to maintain routing functionality through virtual addresses while isolating the actual server infrastructure from direct exposure to malicious traffic.
2Loss of information
If destination IP addresses are anonymized to protect privacy, then user privacy is improved, but network routing and connectivity capability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The virtual IP address system acts as an intermediary that preserves privacy by not exposing actual server IP addresses to clients or network observers. The virtual IPs serve as the visible destination addresses in packets, maintaining routing capability while the actual infrastructure remains hidden, thus protecting user privacy without compromising network functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter of IP address visibility by introducing virtual IP addresses that can be dynamically assigned and changed. This allows the system to anonymize actual server addresses while maintaining the ability to route traffic correctly through the virtual address space, thereby protecting privacy without sacrificing routing capability.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If virtual IP addresses are allocated and translated to actual server addresses, then server address anonymization is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The virtual IP address system introduces an intermediary layer that manages the mapping between virtual and actual IP addresses. This intermediary mechanism, implemented through DNS-like resolution and packet translation, provides server address anonymization while containing complexity within a dedicated translation infrastructure that separates from the core routing and server communication layers.
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 virtual IP (VIP) address that is mapped to the client device and the endpoint device. In this way, IP addresses of servers are obfuscated by a virtual network of VIP addresses. The client device may then communicate data packets to the server using the VIP address as the destination address, and a virtual network service that works in conjunction with DNS can convert the VIP address to the actual IP address of the server using NAT and forward the data packet onto the server.