This thesis investigates security threats and attack vectors targeting IP multicast networks. The research will analyze attacks such as multicast flooding, source spoofing, unauthorized group joins, and manipulation of Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP) or Protocol Independent Multicast (PIM) messages. By recreating controlled lab or virtual environments with multicast-enabled switches, routers, and hosts, the study aims to evaluate how attackers can exploit protocol weaknesses to disrupt service availability, intercept traffic, or inject malicious content into multicast streams.
The thesis will further explore detection and mitigation strategies for IP multicast attacks, including rate limiting, IGMP snooping, access control for multicast groups, and anomaly-based monitoring of multicast traffic patterns. The effectiveness of these measures will be assessed through metrics such as attack success rate, detection accuracy, and network performance impact. Expected contributions include a comprehensive taxonomy of IP multicast attack techniques, demonstrations of attack and mitigation scenarios, and practical recommendations for network administrators to secure multicast deployments while preserving efficiency and scalability.