As you’ve probably heard, the current internet addressing system, IPv4, is running out of unallocated addresses. The replacement is called IPv6 and was supposed to be in use by now. Security concerns are holding it back:
The internet’s next-generation addressing scheme is so radically different from the current one that its adoption is likely to cause severe security headaches for those who adopt it, a researcher said last week.
With reserves of older addresses almost exhausted, the roll-out of the new scheme — known as IPv6 or Internet Protocol version 6 — is imminent. And yet, the radical overhaul still isn’t ready for prime time — in large part because IT professionals haven’t worked out a large number of security threats facing those who rely on it to route traffic over the net.
“It is extremely important for hackers to get in here fast because IPv6 is a security nightmare,” Sam Bowne, an instructor in the Computer Networking and Information Technology Department at the City College of San Francisco, said on day one of the Defcon hacker conference in Las Vegas. “We’re coming into a time of crisis and no one is ready.”
Chief among the threats is the issue of incompatible firewalls, intrusion-prevention devices, and other security appliances, Bowne said. That means many people who deploy IPv6 are forced to turn the security devices off, creating a dangerous environment that could make it easier for attackers to penetrate network fortresses.
