IP Library Granted Patent US 12,284,208
Granted Patent B2
US 12,284,208 · App. 18/242,874 · Granted Apr 22, 2025

Event driven route control

Inventors: Robert Smith (Irvine, CA); Shawn Marck (San Francisco, CA); Christopher Newton (Westlake Village, CA)
Assignee: Level 3 Communications, LLC
H04L63/1458H04L63/20
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,284,208
App. No.
18/242,874
Granted
Apr 22, 2025
Kind
B2
Abstract

Embodiments provide system and methods for a DDoS service using a mix of mitigation systems (also called scrubbing centers) and non-mitigation systems. The non-mitigation systems are less expensive and thus can be placed at or near a customer's network resource (e.g., a computer, cluster of computers, or entire network). Under normal conditions, traffic for a customer's resource can go through a mitigation system or a non-mitigation system. When an attack is detected, traffic that would have otherwise gone through a non-mitigation system is re-routed to a mitigation system. Thus, the non-mitigation systems can be used to reduce latency and provide more efficient access to the customer's network resource during normal conditions. Since the non-mitigation servers are not equipped to respond to an attack, the non-mitigation systems are not used during an attack, thereby still providing protection to the customer network resource using the mitigation systems.

Claims (37)

1. A method comprising:

detecting an attack event;

determining a routing scheme that routes network traffic to one or more mitigation systems of a mitigation network;

communicating the routing scheme to one or more routing devices to cause the one or more routing devices to update from a first Domain Name Service (DNS) zone associated with a non-mitigation system of the mitigation network to a second DNS zone associated with the one or more mitigation systems; and

initiating, by the one or more mitigation systems, scrubbing of the network traffic according to one or more mitigation rules.

2. The method as recited in claim 1 , further comprising:

detecting an end of the attack event; and

communicating another routing scheme corresponding to the non-mitigation system to the one or more routing devices.

3. The method as recited in claim 1 , wherein a distributed system of devices determines the routing scheme based on signaling from a central server.

4. The method as recited in claim 3 , wherein a plurality of possible routing schemes are predetermined before the attack event is detected.

5. The method as recited in claim 1 , wherein a central server of the mitigation network determines the routing scheme.

6. The method as recited in claim 1 , wherein the customer network resource is a customer network or a computer hosting a website of the customer.

7. The method as recited in claim 1 , wherein the attack event is a distributed denial of service attack.

8. A mitigation network comprising:

at least one processor;

memory, operatively connected to the at least one processor and storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform a method, the method comprising:

detecting an attack event;

determining a routing scheme that routes network traffic to one or more mitigation systems of the mitigation network;

communicating the routing scheme to one or more routing devices to cause the one or more routing devices to update from a first Domain Name Service (DNS) zone associated with a non-mitigation system of the mitigation network to a second DNS zone associated with the one or more mitigation systems; and

causing the one or more mitigation systems to initiate scrubbing of the network traffic according to one or more mitigation rules.

9. The mitigation network as recited in claim 8 , the method further comprising:

detecting an end of the attack event; and

communicating another routing scheme corresponding to the non-mitigation system to the one or more routing devices.

10. The mitigation network as recited in claim 8 , wherein a distributed system of devices determines the routing scheme based on signaling from a central server.

11. The mitigation network as recited in claim 10 , wherein a plurality of possible routing schemes are predetermined before the attack event is detected.

12. The mitigation network as recited in claim 8 , wherein a central server of the mitigation network determines the routing scheme.

13. The mitigation network as recited in claim 8 , wherein the customer network resource is a customer network or a computer hosting a website of the customer.

14. The mitigation network as recited in claim 8 , wherein the attack event is a distributed denial of service attack.

15. Non-transitory computer readable media comprising instructions that, when executed by one or more processors associated with a mitigation network comprising one or more mitigation systems, cause the one or more processors to:

detecting an attack event;

determining a routing scheme that routes network traffic to one or more mitigation systems of a mitigation network;

communicating the routing scheme to one or more routing devices to cause the one or more routing devices to update from a first Domain Name Service (DNS) zone associated with a non-mitigation system of the mitigation network to a second DNS zone associated with the one or more mitigation systems; and

causing the one or more mitigation systems to initiate scrubbing of the network traffic according to one or more mitigation rules.

16. The non-transitory computer readable media as recited in claim 15 , wherein the instructions further cause the one or more processors to:

detect an end of the attack event; and

communicate another routing scheme corresponding to the non-mitigation system to the one or more routing devices.

17. The non-transitory computer readable media as recited in claim 15 , wherein the instructions further cause the one or more processors to determine the routing scheme based on signaling from a central server.

Assignments (3)
NOTICE OF GRANT OF SECURITY INTEREST IN INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY (SECOND LIEN) Recorded Nov 4, 2024
From: LEVEL 3 COMMUNICATIONS, LLC; GLOBAL CROSSING TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INC
To: WILMINGTON TRUST, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 069295/0749 →
NOTICE OF GRANT OF SECURITY INTEREST IN INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY (FIRST LIEN) Recorded Nov 4, 2024
From: LEVEL 3 COMMUNICATIONS, LLC; GLOBAL CROSSING TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INC.
To: WILMINGTON TRUST, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 069295/0858 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Sep 11, 2023
From: SMITH, ROBERT; MARCK, SHAWN; NEWTON, CHRISTOPHER
To: LEVEL 3 COMMUNICATIONS, LLC
Reel/Frame 064861/0962 →