Advanced Packet Sniffer Project

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Problem Statement:
Monitoring network traffic is essential for detecting malicious activities such as unauthorized access, data exfiltration, or DDoS attacks. Traditional packet sniffers lack advanced filtering and logging features.

Solution:
By designing a Python-based advanced packet sniffer that:

1. Captures live packets on a network.
2. Filters traffic based on protocol (HTTP, TCP, UDP).
3. Detects anomalies like suspicious IP addresses or unusually large packet sizes.
4. Logs traffic data for later analysis.

I was able to solve this problem.

• Coding: Python (Scapy, socket, pandas).
• Networking: Packet capturing and analysis.
• Intrusion Detection: Traffic anomaly detection.
• Documentation: Comprehensive technical guide and results log.

 A. Packet Sniffing Module 

• Description: Captured live packets using scapy.
• Features: 
  • Filter protocols (HTTP, TCP, UDP).
  • Log packet source IP, destination IP, protocol type, and size.

  Code Snippet:

             from scapy.all import sniff, IP, TCP, UDP

             def packet_callback(packet):

                    if IP in packet:

                        print(f"Source: {packet[IP].src}, Destination: {packet[IP].dst},

             Protocol: {packet[IP].proto}")

                             with open("packet_log.txt", "a") as log:

                                      log.write(f"{packet.summary()}\n")

            print("Sniffing packets... Press Ctrl+C to stop.")

            sniff(prn=packet_callback, store=0) 

  
  

  B. Traffic Anomaly Detection Module

• Description:      

                    Analyzed captured packets for anomalies like: 

                    High data transfer volume.

                    Traffic from suspicious IP addresses. Code Snippet:            import pandas as pd            def analyze_traffic(log_file):                    df = pd.read_csv(log_file, names=["Summary"])                    print("Analyzing traffic for anomalies...")                    print(df.head()) # Perform IP address analysis or anomaly detection 
C. Output & Results

• Real-time packet capture displayed in the console.
• Log file storing all packets for analysis.
• Flagged anomalies (e.g., large packet sizes).

• README: 
  • Project Setup (dependencies: scapy, pandas).
  • Use Cases: Detect unusual network traffic or monitor specific protocols.

• Report: 
  • Introduction to packet sniffing.
  • Key results: Captured traffic samples, anomaly detection outcomes.