Network attacks: Taxonomy, tools and systems

To prevent and defend networks from the occurrence of attacks, it is highly essential that we have a broad knowledge of existing tools and systems available in the public domain. Based on the behavior and possible impact or severity of damages, attacks are categorized into a number of distinct classes. In this survey, we provide a taxonomy of attack tools in a consistent way for the benefit of network security researchers. This paper also presents a comprehensive and structured survey of existing tools and systems that can support both attackers and network defenders. We discuss pros and cons of such tools and systems for better understanding of their capabilities. Finally, we include a list of observations and some research challenges that may help new researchers in this field based on our hands-on experience. (c) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.