To investigate the Internet's resilience to random and targeted attacks, we established multiple simulation environments that mimic real-world network conditions. Our research revealed that the Internet demonstrates moderate resistance to random attacks, effectively absorbing and mitigating their impact. However, it also showed considerable vulnerabilities when faced with deliberate, targeted attacks. Our analysis of hybrid attack scenarios—where random and intentional attacks coincide—found that the Internet remains inherently fragile. This fragility persists regardless of the ratio of targeted attacks to random ones, highlighting a critical area of concern for network security. Essentially, even when the proportion of intentional assaults is low, their presence significantly compromises the overall stability of Internet systems. This underscores the importance of developing robust defense mechanisms against both types of attacks to enhance the Internet's resilience.
Internet; Robustness; Random attacks; Targeted Attacks