How the Internet Works 6 August 2012

NIST's Excellent Guidelines On How To Securely Deploy IPv6

By Dan YorkSenior Director, Online Trust and Safety

Looking to understand how to securely deploy IPv6? Want a document you can provide to your security team or others concerned about IPv6?

If so, we’ve recently added to our list of resources an excellent “Special Publication” from the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST):

Guidelines for the Secure Deployment of IPv6

Like most of NIST’s special publications, including their excellent guide to DNSSEC, the document begins with a lengthy tutorial and then walks through a number of IPv6 security issues in great depth. It’s a very thorough document and includes detailed sections on the many different IPv4-to-IPv6 transition mechanisms as well as detailed appendices.

While the document naturally includes sections providing guidance for US federal agencies, the majority of the document is very applicable for anyone looking to understand issues of IPv6 security.  Well worth a read… and worth passing along to others who may be asking you questions about IPv6 security.

Disclaimer: Viewpoints expressed in this post are those of the author and may or may not reflect official Internet Society positions.

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