NETWORK SECURITY TACTICS
Get ready for IPv6: Five security issues to consider
Mike Chapple
06.27.2005
Rating: -4.80- (out of 5)
What you will learn from this tip: Although IPv6 is a security-enabled protocol, migration from IPv4 can create new risks and weaken an organization's security strategy. Learn about the potential hazards and how to ensure a smooth transition without jeopardizing your company's security.
If you haven't thought about the impact of IPv6 on your network's security, it's time to start thinking! The replacement for the venerable IPv4 protocol is now in use on the Internet and might even exist on your network without your knowledge. Here's a look at some of the security implications of IPv6.
You're probably aware of the driving force behind the push to IPv6 – we're running out of IP address space! The current 32-bit addressing scheme used by IPv4 allows for a whopping 4.3 billion unique addresses. Although that sounds like a lot, consider that there are approximately 6.4 billion individuals on our planet. Certainly everyone doesn't have an IP address, but those that do might have multiple between home and work systems, IP-enabled
phones and other network-aware devices. The rapid explosion of technology in emerging markets, especially in the
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Asian-Pacific region, demands a new supply of IP address space. IPv6 solves this problem by using 128-bit addressing. That allows for a total of 3.4 x 1038 addresses; a quantity that should keep us from running out for a long time. (Although, that's what they said when IPv4 came out!)
So, what does the emergence of IPv6 mean to security practitioners? Let's look at five specific issues that impact our work:
As you can tell, IPv6 is revolutionary. It allows us to prepare our networks for the next decade of ubiquitous access but, as with any innovation, requires careful attention from a security perspective.
Take our Quick Quiz and test your knowledge of IPv6.
Mike Chapple, CISSP is an IT Security Professional with the University of Notre Dame. He previously served as an information security researcher with the National Security Agency and the U.S. Air Force. Mike is a frequent contributor to SearchSecurity, a technical editor for Information Security magazine and the author of several information security titles including the CISSP Prep Guide and Information Security Illuminated.
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