Re: [TLS] TLS client puzzles

[Kyle Rose <[e-mail]>]

> I agree, and I think it is clear that client puzzles can be a useful
> addition to the DDoS defense toolbox.  However, most of this can be handled
> at the higher levels above TLS, or possibly as a custom extension that does
> not complicate TLS.
>

A custom extension is a promising approach: this is what Erik Nygren
proposed in nygren-tls-client-puzzles-00 following discussions with some
IETF folks and Akamai colleagues. That draft has expired and doesn't
reference any of the recent work on memory-hard puzzles, but it might be a
good starting point.

Except at the pre-TLS stage for applications that use STARTTLS-style
mechanisms, I'm not sure how this could work at levels above TLS: the
primary attack targeted by client puzzles would be a client doing almost no
work in order to force the server to do expensive crypto, which means it
must be engaged prior to the handshake.

Kyle