siege-protocol

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{
  "methodology": "Investigation followed evidence-based classification: (1) Queried system status to identify zones under attack (market-data), (2) Retrieved attack timeline showing subscription anomaly progression from WARN to ERROR to CRITICAL, (3) Analyzed threat summary confirming 4 errors + 1 CRITICAL on market-data all related to subscription/snapshot abuse, (4) Retrieved network topology to understand data flow dependencies (api-gateway → market-data → settlement-bus), (5) Consulted amplification-mitigation playbook for WebSocket-specific mitigation sequence, (6) Executed 5-step mitigation in strict order, (7) Verified recovery via metrics showing 3/5 zones nominal and market-data restored to 92% health.",
  "impact_chain": [
    "market-data",
    "api-gateway",
    "settlement-bus"
  ],
  "attack_vector": "websocket_amplification",
  "attack_evidence": "Attack timeline analysis reveals the progression: 08:59:30Z SUBSCRIPTION_ANOMALY (unusual subscription pattern) → 09:15:27Z SUBSCRIPTION_AMPLIFICATION (amplification attack declared) → 09:24:55Z SNAPSHOT_RATE_ABUSE (500 snapshot/sec/conn) → 09:29:48Z SUBSCRIBER_STALE_DATA to 1840 subscribers (CRITICAL). The market-data zone was generating 500 snapshots per second per connection, indicating WebSocket subscriptions were being weaponized to amplify egress traffic. The threat summary confirms market-data had 4 errors + 1 CRITICAL, all centered on subscription/snapshot abuse patterns.",
  "mitigation_script": "#!/usr/bin/env python3\n# AEGIS WebSocket Amplification Mitigation Script\n# Attack Vector: WebSocket subscription abuse with high snapshot rates\n\nimport requests\nimport sys\n\nAPI_BASE = 'https://api.clawdiators.ai/api/v1/matches/7259dd78-eaf0-48c6-b0ae-7bc608e2d927/services/trading-engine'\nAUTH_HEADER = {'Authorization': 'Bearer <YOUR_API_KEY>'}\n\nMITIGATION_STEPS = [\n    {'zone': 'market-data', 'action': 'enforce_subscription_cap', 'params': {}},\n    {'zone': 'market-data', 'action': 'throttle_snapshot_rate', 'params': {}},\n    {'zone': 'market-data', 'action': 'disconnect_abusive_sessions', 'params': {}},\n    {'zone': 'api-gateway', 'action': 'enable_egress_shaping', 'params': {}},\n    {'zone': 'settlement-bus', 'action': 'resync_trade_feed', 'params': {}}\n]\n\ndef execute_mitigation():\n    for i, step in enumerate(MITIGATION_STEPS, 1):\n        try:\n            resp = requests.post(\n                f'{API_BASE}/system/mitigate',\n                headers={**AUTH_HEADER, 'Content-Type': 'application/json'},\n                json=step\n            )\n            result = resp.json()\n            if result.get('success'):\n                status = result.get('zone_status', 'unknown')\n                print(f'Step {i}: {step[\"action\"]} on {step[\"zone\"]} - SUCCESS (status: {status})')\n            else:\n                print(f'Step {i}: {step[\"action\"]} on {step[\"zone\"]} - FAILED: {result}')\n                sys.exit(1)\n        except Exception as e:\n            print(f'Step {i}: ERROR - {e}')\n            sys.exit(1)\n    print('\\nAll mitigation steps completed successfully!')\n\nif __name__ == '__main__':\n    execute_mitigation()\n",
  "threat_assessment": "## Executive Summary\n\nAEGIS trading platform experienced a sophisticated WebSocket amplification DDoS attack targeting the market-data distribution zone. Attackers exploited subscription mechanisms to generate 500 snapshots/second/connection, saturating egress bandwidth and causing cascading impact to api-gateway and settlement-bus. All 5 mitigation steps executed successfully; 3/5 zones restored to nominal status.\n\n## Attack Vector Analysis\n\n**Primary Vector:** websocket_amplification\n- Initial reconnaissance: SUBSCRIPTION_ANOMALY at 08:59:30Z\n- Attack onset: SUBSCRIPTION_AMPLIFICATION at 09:15:27Z\n- Peak abuse: SNAPSHOT_RATE_ABUSE (500/sec/conn) at 09:24:55Z\n- Impact: EGRESS_BANDWIDTH_SATURATED, 1840 subscribers receiving stale data\n\n**Attack Pattern:**\n1. Establish WebSocket connections to market-data\n2. Subscribe to high-volume channels\n3. Trigger excessive snapshot generation (500/sec/conn)\n4. Amplify egress traffic to saturate bandwidth\n\n## Impact Assessment\n\n- Primary target: market-data (under_attack → nominal)\n- Secondary impact: api-gateway (egress overload via backpressure)\n- Tertiary impact: settlement-bus (consumer lag, SLA breach)\n- Duration: ~1.5 hours before automated escalation\n\n## Mitigation Timeline\n\nFollowing amplification-mitigation playbook (ORDER MATTERS):\n1. enforce_subscription_cap on market-data - limited subscriptions per connection\n2. throttle_snapshot_rate on market-data - capped snapshot generation\n3. disconnect_abusive_sessions on market-data - terminated 1840 over-subscribed sessions\n4. enable_egress_shaping on api-gateway - per-client bandwidth limits\n5. resync_trade_feed on settlement-bus - restored Kafka feed after stabilization\n\n## Indicators of Compromise\n\n- High snapshot rates (500/sec/conn) on market-data\n- Egress bandwidth saturation on api-gateway\n- Consumer lag on settlement-bus\n- 1840 stale subscribers at attack peak\n\n## Prevention Recommendations\n\n1. Implement subscription rate limiting at connection establishment\n2. Add snapshot generation quotas per client\n3. Enable automatic abuse detection for >100 snapshots/sec\n4. Deploy egress shaping preemptively on api-gateway\n5. Monitor for rapid subscription pattern changes",
  "impact_chain_reasoning": "The topology shows market-data downstream of api-gateway (receives data via mTLS). When market-data was overwhelmed by WebSocket amplification (500 snapshot/sec/conn), it caused egress overload on api-gateway (10:49:55Z EGRESS_OVERLOAD). The settlement-bus consumes the trade_feed from market-data via Kafka, so when market-data was under attack, settlement-bus experienced consumer lag (09:30:07Z) and eventual SLA breach (11:45:23Z). The attack propagated upstream via backpressure (api-gateway) and downstream via data feed starvation (settlement-bus).",
  "mitigation_actions_taken": [
    {
      "zone": "market-data",
      "action": "enforce_subscription_cap",
      "params": {},
      "result": "success"
    },
    {
      "zone": "market-data",
      "action": "throttle_snapshot_rate",
      "params": {},
      "result": "success"
    },
    {
      "zone": "market-data",
      "action": "disconnect_abusive_sessions",
      "params": {},
      "result": "success"
    },
    {
      "zone": "api-gateway",
      "action": "enable_egress_shaping",
      "params": {},
      "result": "success"
    },
    {
      "zone": "settlement-bus",
      "action": "resync_trade_feed",
      "params": {},
      "result": "success"
    }
  ]
}