Want a NOOK? Explore Now
IPv6 Security
Protection measures for the next Internet Protocol
As the world’s networks migrate to the IPv6 protocol, networking professionals need a clearer understanding of the security risks, threats, and challenges this transition presents. In IPv6 Security, two of the world’s leading Internet security practitioners review each potential security issue introduced by IPv6 networking and present today’s best solutions.
IPv6 Security offers guidance for avoiding security problems prior to widespread IPv6 deployment. The book covers every component of today’s networks, identifying specific security deficiencies that occur within IPv6 environments and demonstrating how to combat them.
The authors describe best practices for identifying and resolving weaknesses as you maintain a dual stack network. Then they describe the security mechanisms you need to implement as you migrate to an IPv6-only network. The authors survey the techniques hackers might use to try to breach your network, such as IPv6 network reconnaissance, address spoofing, traffic interception, denial of service, and tunnel injection.
The authors also turn to Cisco® products and protection mechanisms. You learn how to use Cisco IOS® and ASA firewalls and ACLs to selectively filter IPv6 traffic. You also learn about securing hosts with Cisco Security Agent 6.0 and about securing a network with IOS routers and switches. Multiple examples are explained for Windows, Linux, FreeBSD, and Solaris hosts. The authors offer detailed examples that are consistent with today’s best practices and easy to adapt to virtually any IPv6 environment.
Scott Hogg, CCIE® No. 5133, is Director of Advanced Technology Services at Global Technology Resources, Inc. (GTRI). He is responsible for setting the company’s technical direction and helping it create service offerings for emerging technologies such as IPv6. He is the Chair of the Rocky Mountain IPv6 Task Force.
Eric Vyncke, Cisco Distinguished System Engineer, consults on security issues throughout Europe. He has 20 years’ experience in security and teaches security seminars as a guest professor at universities throughout Belgium. He also participates in the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) and has helped several organizations deploy IPv6 securely.
This security book is part of the Cisco Press® Networking Technology Series. Security titles from Cisco Press help networking professionals secure critical data and resources, prevent and mitigate network attacks, and build end-to-end self-defending networks.
Category: Networking: Security
Covers: IPv6 Security
Ch. 1 Introduction to IPv6 Security 3
Ch. 2 IPv6 Protocol Security Vulnerabilities 15
Ch. 3 IPv6 Internet Security 73
Ch. 4 IPv6 Perimeter Security 127
Ch. 5 Local Network Security 181
Ch. 6 Hardening IPv6 Network Devices 219
Ch. 7 Server and Host Security 281
Ch. 8 IPsec and SSL Virtual Private Networks 319
Ch. 9 Security for IPv6 Mobility 377
Ch. 10 Securing the Transition Mechanisms 417
Ch. 11 Security Monitoring 467
Ch. 12 IPv6 Security Conclusions 499
Index 512
INTRODUCTION
Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) is the next version of the protocol that is used for communications on the Internet. IPv6 is a protocol that has been in existence for many years, but it has not yet replaced IPv4. IPv4 has some limitations that were not anticipated when it was first created. Because IPv6 overcomes many of these limitations, it is the only viable long-term replacement for IPv4.
While the migration to IPv6 has started, it is still in its early stages. Many international organizations already have IPv6 networks, the U.S. federal organizations are working on their transitions to IPv6, and others are contemplating what IPv6 means to them. However, many organizations already have IPv6 running on their networks and they do not even realize it. Many computer operating systems now default to running both IPv4 and IPv6, which could cause security vulnerabilities if one is less secure than the other. IPv6 security vulnerabilities currently exist, and as the popularity of the IPv6 protocol increases, so do the number of threats.
When a security officer wants to secure an organization, he must be aware of all potential threats, even if this threat is a ten-year-old protocol that represents less than 1 percent of the overall Internet traffic in 2008. Don’t be blinded by this 1 percent: This figure is doomed to increase in the coming years, and chances are good that your network is already exposed to some IPv6 threats. It’s better to be safe than sorry.
Just like the early deployment of many technologies, security is often left to the final stages of implementation. Our intent in writing this book is to improve the security ofearly IPv6 deployments from day one. Any organization considering or already in the midst of transitioning to IPv6 does not want to deploy a new technology that cannot be secured right from the outset. The transition to IPv6 is inevitable, and therefore this book can help you understand the threats that exist in IPv6 networks and give you ways to protect against them. Therefore, this book gives guidance on how to improve the security of IPv6 networks.
Goals and MethodsCurrently, many organizations have slowed their migration to IPv6 because they realize that the security products for IPv6 might be insufficient, despite the fact that the network infrastructure is ready to support IPv6 transport. They realize that they cannot deploy IPv6 without first considering the security of this new protocol. This book intends to survey the threats against IPv6 networks and provide solutions to mitigate those threats. It covers the issues and the best current practices.
This book is arranged so that it covers the threats first and then describes ways to combat these threats. By outlining all the risks and showing that a solution exists for each threat, you can feel more comfortable with continuing the transition to IPv6. You learn about techniques attackers might use to breach your networks and what Cisco products to use to protect the networks.
However, showing attacks without solutions is socially irresponsible, so the focus is on the current techniques that are available to make the IPv6 network more secure and on the best current practices.
By reading this book, you can gain an understanding of the full range of IPv6 security topics.
Who Should Read This BookThis book is intended to be read by people in the IT industry who are responsible for securing computer networks. You should already know the basics of the IPv6 protocol and networking technology. This book is not an introduction to IPv6. There are many good books and online resources that can teach you about IPv6, and there are many great books on computer network security.
The intent of this book is to dive deeper into the protocol and discuss the protocol details from a security practitioner’s perspective. It is a book for experts by experts. It covers the theory but at the same time gives practical examples that can be implemented.
How This Book Is OrganizedThis book starts with a foundation of the security aspects of the IPv6 protocol. The early topics of this book are arranged from the outward perimeter of an organization’s network inward to the LAN and server farms. The later chapters of the book cover advanced topics. This book can be read completely from start to finish; however, if you want to “skip around,” that is fine. You should eventually read every chapter to gain a comprehensive knowledge of the subject matter.
Some of the information (such as tables and commands) in this book is for reference. You should refer back to this book when it comes time to implement. This gives you cookie-cutter examples to follow that should be in line with the best current practices for securing IPv6. However, do not just go through this book and implement every command listed. Perform some of your own basic research on these commands to make sure that they perform exactly what you intend your network to do.
IPv6 security is an incredibly active research area, and new protocols and new products will continually be developed after this book is written. It is our goal that the “shelf life” of this book is many years because the concepts will still be valid even as Cisco security products continue to evolve with the threat landscape. Every effort was made to make this book as current as possible at the time it was published, but you are advised to check whether new methods are available at the time of reading. The IPv6 security field is quickly evolving as IPv6 gets more widely deployed.
Chapters 1 through 12 cover the following topics:
© Copyright Pearson Education. All rights reserved.
DMolfetas
Posted April 15, 2009
This reference explains how to secure an IPV6 network across the major boundaries and potential targets for breaches: LAN, WAN, firewall-perimeter, VPN, and locking down the router. Many of these guidelines are also relevant to an IPV4 infrastructure and this book is a resource for both network and information security specialists who construct and maintain production environments. IPV6 Security encompasses two sets of concepts: the Self Defending Network's Collaboration, Integration, and Adaptability and InfoSec's Confidentiality, Integrity and Availability.
Some noteworthy citations for ensuring security include configuring a WAN BGP session with a Message Digest 5 (MD5) algorithm password and using Secure Neighbor Discovery (SEND) for safeguarding IPV6 layer two addresses. As IPV6 uses named access control lists instead of numbered ACLs, the book explores both access control entries (ACE) and the IPV6 IOS commands in detail. Security is also examined for the IPV6 routing protocols, which include EIGRPv6, RIPng, and OSPFv3. Endpoint and server safeguards are also discussed since BSD, Vista and Server 2008 have IPV6 support incorporated in the operating systems. Since adopting a protection policy is one segment of a secure network, utilities such as Multi-Router Traffic Grapher (MRTG) and CiscoWorks LAN Management Solution are examined for capturing data traffic statistics. Setting a baseline and measuring performance are necessary steps for detecting when a security violation has occurred.
IPV6 Security is a must-read resource for those actively engaged in both IPV6 and security implementation. As IPV6 is in its beginning stages and is incorporated into dual-stack architectures with IPV4, there is much to learn. Since information security should always be a consideration, this book offers many examples to consider for protecting the integrity of both the network and data. From a scale of 1-5, this book receives a 5 ranking and I look forward to reading the next book from the authors.
network_guy
Posted March 4, 2009
In my quest to learn and transition to IPv6 from IPv4, I learned that you have to have a stable background in learning new materials. IPv6 has been around awhile but now just getting a little more used from many companies and myself. Along with the transition comes concerns with security as IPv4 didn't have much security. With this book [IPv6 Security] the authors took the technology and really explained some very detail and practical aspects of IPv6 with security enhancements. I realyy enjoyed reading this book. The authors did a good job in bringing the IPv6 protocol to the forefront by explaning different parts of the security features like mobile security, running dual stack protocols, IPv6 deployment solutions, address spoofing, and many other network problems. The authors used Cisco products to explain the security mechanisms. they also teach you how to use Cisco IOS® and ASA firewalls and ACLs to filter out IPv6 traffic. This book is one for the ages in describing, explaining, and implementing security in an IPv6 netowrk. Overall the book is great. I gave it a 5 start because of the deep explaining of the IPv6 protocol and security.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.
Overview
IPv6 Security
Protection measures for the next Internet Protocol
As the world’s networks migrate to the IPv6 protocol, networking professionals need a clearer understanding of the security risks, threats, and challenges this transition presents. In IPv6 Security, two of the world’s leading Internet security practitioners review each potential security issue introduced by IPv6 networking and present today’s ...