A system and method are provided for monitoring data packets received at a
target system. The data packets may be monitored at any layer of the
communication protocol to characterize the type of network traffic being
sent from a source machine. Upon detection of suspected and/or confirmed
attacks on the target system, the monitoring server may block and/or
contain data packets associated with the attacking source to prevent
continued attacks on the target system. The monitoring server may monitor
data packets transparently in approximately in real-time so that users of
the system do not experience messaging delays.