Securing ICS networks: SDN-based Automated Traffic Control and MTD Defensive Framework against DDoS attacks
Xingsheng Qin, Xingsheng Qin, Robin Doss, Frank Jiang, Xingguo Qin, Xingguo Qin, Biyue Long · Computer Communications · 2025
Industrial Control Systems (ICS) are increasingly targeted by distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, posing significant risks to system availability and reliability. This research proposes a novel defensive framework for ICS networks based on Software-Defined Networking (SDN). The main objectives are to enhance resilience against DDoS attacks and maintain critical system functions. Our framework combines automated traffic control (ATC) to filter and bypass malicious traffic dynamically, and Moving Target Defense (MTD) techniques such as proactive IP shuffling and network redundancy to protect critical nodes. Experimental results show that the proposed approach effectively reduces CPU load, improves round-trip time (RTT), and lowers packet drop rate (PDR) during DDoS scenarios. These findings demonstrate that integrating SDN-based ATC and MTD strategies can significantly strengthen ICS security and ensure system availability, providing a robust solution for critical infrastructure protection.