A Survey of DDoS Attack and Defense Technologies in Multiaccess Edge Computing

Multiaccess edge computing (MEC) is a novel service paradigm located at the network’s edge, where servers with computation and storage capabilities are placed in proximity to network endpoints to meet the high-speed computation and low-latency requirements of these endpoints. MEC faces numerous security challenges, with Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks being one of the primary threats. On one hand, the edge server layer (ESL) encounters a greater number of attack sources and has relatively fewer defense resources, making traditional defense techniques less applicable. On the other hand, the ESL can integrate with new technologies for earlier detection and interception of attack traffic, achieving more real-time attack mitigation. To provide comprehensive insights into the latest research developments and inspire new DDoS defense solutions, this article conducts an extensive survey and synthesis. This article begins with a summary of the basic concepts, application scenarios, and security vulnerabilities of MEC networks. It then introduces the types and principles of DDoS attacks faced by MEC networks. Subsequently, various security solutions for DDoS attacks in MEC were detailed and extensively compared, followed by an introduction to current application cases of DDoS defense deployment in practical MEC scenarios. Finally, open issues and future research directions are listed for further exploration.