Ipv6

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IPv6 Security
Scott Hogg and Eric Vyncke Copyright© 2009 Cisco Systems, Inc. Published by: Cisco Press 800 East 96th Street Indianapolis, IN 46240 USA All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without writtenpermission from the publisher, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review. Printed in the United States of America First Printing December 2008 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data: Hogg, Scott. IPv6 security / Scott Hogg, Eric Vyncke. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978-1-58705-594-2 (pbk.) ISBN-10: 1-58705-594-5 1. Computer networks—Securitymeasures. 2. TCP/IP (Computer network protocol) I. Vyncke, Eric. II. Title. TK5105.59.H637 2009 005.8—dc22 2008047255 ISBN-13: 978-1-58705-594-2 ISBN-10: 1-58705-594-5

Warning and Disclaimer
This book is designed to provide information about the security aspects of the IPv6 protocol. Every effort has been made to make this book as complete and as accurate as possible, but no warranty or fitnessis implied. The information is provided on an “as is” basis. The authors, Cisco Press, and Cisco Systems, Inc., shall have neither liability nor responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damages arising from the information contained in this book or from the use of the discs or programs that may accompany it. The opinions expressed in this book belong to the author and arenot necessarily those of Cisco Systems, Inc.

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All terms mentioned in this book that are known to be trademarks or service marks have been appropriately capitalized. Cisco Press or Cisco Systems, Inc., cannot attest to the accuracy of this information. Use of a term in this book should not be regarded as affecting the validity of any trademark or service mark.

xixIntroduction
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-termreplacement 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 computeroperating 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 aten-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 ofimplementation. Our intent in writing this book is to improve the security of early 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...