Thanks to everyone who helped out. cheers joe baptista >http://www.circleid.com/articles/2533.asp > >Overcoming IPv6 Security Threat > >September 12, 2002 | By Joe Baptista > >Technology rags and industry pundits see IPv6 (Internet Protocol version >6) as the future of networking, but Daniel Golding a participant of the >North American Network Operators' Group (NANOG) thinks it's a "solution in >search of a problem". Many others have argued IPv6 is a problem in itself >and it is unlikely the protocol will gain wide acceptance in the short >term. > >IPv6 does solve many of the problems with the current version of IPv4 >(Internet Protocol version 4). Its purpose is to expand address space and >fix the IPv4 address depletion problem, which many techies claim, was due >to mismanagement. The industry's goal is to use the very large address >allocation pool in IPv6 to expand the capabilities of the Internet to >enable a variety of peer-to-peer and mobile applications including >cellular phone technology and home networking. > >IPv6, a suite of protocols for the network layer, uses IPv4 gateways to >interconnect IPv6 nodes and comes prepackaged with some popular operating >systems. This includes almost all Unix flavors, some Windows versions and >Mac OS. Some vendors offer upgrades to older operating systems. Trumpet >Software International in Tasmania Australia manufactures a Trumpet >Winsock version that upgrades old Windows 95/98 and NT systems to the >current IPv6 standard. > >IPv6 has suffered bad press over privacy issues. Jim Fleming, the inventor >of IPv8, a competing protocol, sees many hazards and privacy flaws in >existing IPv6 implementations. IPv6 address space in some cases uses an ID >(identifier) derived from your hardware or phone "that allows your packets >to be traced back to your PC or cell-phone" said Fleming. Potential abuse >to user privacy exists as a hardware ID wired into the IPv6 protocol can >be used to determine the manufacturer, make and model number, and value of >the hardware equipment being used. Fleming warns users to think twice >before they buy themselves a used Laptop computer and inherit all the >prior surfing history of the previous user! > >IPv6 uses 128 bits to provide addressing, routing, and identification >information on a computer interface or network card. The 128 bits are >divided into the left 64 and the right 64. Some IPv6 systems use the right >64 bits to store an IEEE defined global identifier (EUI64). This >identifier is composed of company id value assigned to a manufacturer by >the IEEE Registration Authority. The 64-bit identifier is a concatenation >of the 24-bit company identification value and a 40-bit extension >identifier assigned by the organization with that company identification >assignment. The 48-bit MAC address of your network interface card may also >be used to make up the EUI64. > >In the early stages of IPv6 development, Bill Frezza a General Partner >with the venture capital firm, Adams Capital Management warned software >developers that if privacy issues are not properly addressed, the >migration to IPv6 "will blow up in their face"! Leah Gallegos agrees that >while "expanding the address space is necessary the use of the address for >ID and tracking is horrific". Gallegos the operator of the top-level >domain .BIZ and a Director of the Top Level Domain Association cautions >network administrators that they should refuse to implement IPv6 unless >these issues are properly addressed. > >Privacy concerns prompted the creation of new standards, which provide >privacy extensions to IPv6 devices. Thomas Narten and Track Draves of >Microsoft Research published a procedure to ensure privacy of IPv6 users. >Narten, IBM's technical lead on IPv6 and an Area Director for the Internet >Engineering Task Force (IETF), agrees "IPv6 address can, in some cases, >include an identifier derived from a hardware address". But Narten points >out that a hardware address is not required. "In cases where using a >permanent identifier is a problem", said Narten "RFC 3041 addresses should >be used". > >RFC 3041 titled "Privacy Extensions for Stateless Address >Autoconfiguration in IPv6" was published this past January 2001 by the >IETF. It is an algorithm developed jointly by Narten and Draves which >generates randomized interface identifiers and temporary addressees during >a user session. This would eliminate the concerns privacy advocates have >with IPv6. > >Unfortunately RFC 3041 is not widely implemented. But Narten expects major >vendors to incorporate his privacy standard and offered that Microsoft >implemented privacy extensions "and apparently intends to make it part of >their standard stuff". Narten also assisted in the drafting of >recommendations for some second and third generation cellular phones >recently approved for publication by the Internet Engineering Steering >Group. That document recommends that RFC 3041 be implemented as part of >cellular phone technology but he did not know what direction cell phones >manufacturers were taking. "I suspect that client vendors will generally >implement it because of the potential bad PR if they don't" said Narten. > >Another obstacle raised by NANOG operators is that there is currently no >commercial demand for IPv6 at this time. Dave Israel, a Data Network >Engineer and regular participant on NANOG lists, sees no immediate demand >for IPv6 services. "The only people who ask me about IPv6", said Israel >"are people who have heard something about it from some tech-magazine and >want the newest thing". Israel says he sees no commercial demand for a v6 >backbone. > >Daniel Golding, another NANOG participant agrees, "v6 deployment is being >encouraged by some countries, and the spread of 3G (cellular technology) >is helping things along, but we have yet to see really widespread v6 >deployments anywhere". Golding sees major backbone networks deploying IPv6 >when it makes economic sense for them to do so. "Right now", said Golding >"there is no demand and no revenue upside. I don't expect this to change >in the near future". > >Most on NANOG agree the roadblock seems to be a lack of ISPs that offer >IPv6 services. Stephen Sprunk, a Network Design Consultant with Cisco's >Advanced Services group sees the "greater adoption of always-on broadband >access will be the necessary push" to get IPv6 off the ground. "Enterprise >networks will not be the driver for ISPs to go to IPv6" said Sprunk and >"NAT is too entrenched". Network Address Translation (NAT) is a method of >connecting multiple computers to the Internet (or any other IP network) >using one IPv4 address. > >Vint Cerf senior vice president of architecture & technology at WorldCom >has been using IPv6 for about four years. IPv6 has been a key element for >some of WorldCom's Government customers. Cerf thinks IPv6 supporters have >a lot of work ahead to achieve successful deployment of the protocol. He >expects "that over the next several years we will see a lot of consumer >devices set up to work with IPv6" and "cell phones are likely candidates, >as are radio-enabled PDAs". > >-EOF The dot.GOD Registry, Limited http://www.dot-god.com/