Every piece of digital information, whether it’s emails, accessed websites, or messages sent via apps, is transmitted over the internet in small bundles of data known as packets. These packets contain not only the information itself but also a layer of metadata that identifies traffic source, destination, content, and other valuable details, that ensure that data is routed to the proper destination. The process of analyzing these packets, known as deep packet inspection (DPI), is used every day by enterprises and internet service providers (ISPs) to detect and prevent cyberattacks, combat malware, optimize servers to reduce overhead, and analyze user behavior.
DPI, also known as complete packet inspection and information extraction, is an advanced method of inspecting and managing network traffic and is considered an essential tool for advanced IT security. Going a step further than basic packet filtering that examines only packet headers and is usually applied through routers, DPI analyzes the actual data content of the packet along with the headers. It can search for non-compliance with protocols and filtering rules, spam, viruses, or malware and based on results, classify, reroute, or block packets.