POSTS TAGGED: danny_mcpherson
Danny McPherson | Dec 07, 2012
The capabilities IPv6 provides will enhance online security, but the shift to the new Internet address scheme may also present risks if not properly managed. Previously, Internet security was largely an after-thought for the early Internet, as its primary purpose was to facilitate open, end-to-end, any-to-any communications and information exchange for bridging and accelerating research efforts. Today, we have a much more complex online ecosystem that spans billions of users across the globe and serves not only as an engine for e-commerce, but as an engine for all commerce.
The Internet protocol suite has become the de facto standard for global Internet services and consumers, but it also serves as a near ubiquitous substrate for running critical network infrastructure and business critical applications. Transportation, financial systems, emergency services, utilities, and government applications are just a few examples of services that need absolute availability and robust security. But having robust security is only one part of the solution.
At the micro level, the migration of personally identifiable information and proprietary intellectual property online has influenced IPv6 protocol architects to bake additional security into the stack. For example, IPSec is mandatory to implement in IPv6 compliant protocol stacks, while secure neighbour discovery capabilities, privacy addresses, and unique local addresses (ULA) all provide additional security enhancements.
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Danny McPherson | Apr 06, 2012
Last year, along with hundreds of other companies and organizations, we participated in World IPv6 Day, the first coordinated global test of what would happen if many of the major websites, Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and enterprises that countless people depend on daily turned on their IPv6 capabilities for 24 hours. The goal was to help Internet stakeholders expand their operational experience with IPv6 through a global 24-hour trial run, and to prepare for the successful long-term deployment of the next generation Internet protocol, IPv6.
As one of the largest transitions in the history of the Internet, there were many theories about what would happen: some suggested it could break the Internet and others suggested cyber criminals would have a heyday breaking into networks. In the end, what we observed on June 8, 2011, was that with a dedicated, disciplined, and coordinated effort to “turn on” IPv6, very little impact was felt by participants and Internet users, and an array of knowledge was acquired across the board.
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Danny McPherson | Oct 19, 2011
Verisign recently hosted the “Building a Better Internet Symposium” in Washington, D.C. to mark Cyber Security Awareness Month and honor the winners of four Internet Infrastructure grants, which Verisign sponsored last year in honor of the 25th anniversary of .com. It was a great event with a strong turnout from leaders in policy, business, academia and technology.
For me, the highlight of the event was talking with the four grant winners and hearing them speak to the audience about their research.
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Danny McPherson | Sep 23, 2011
February 3, 2011 came and went without much fanfare, but it was a milestone for Internet stakeholders, whether they knew it or not. On that Thursday, the last available Internet Protocol Version 4 (IPV4) addresses were allocated by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA). Though some Regional Internet Registries (RIRs) have a reasonable inventory of IP addresses that could last another year or two, the days of “new” IPv4 address allocations are largely over.
Now that we’re out of IPv4 allocations, it’s time to get serious about adopting the next generation of Internet Protocol, IPv6. With a 128-bit address space (compared to IPv4’s 32-bit space), IPv6 can accommodate the ongoing and exponential growth of the Internet, which currently is adding about a million new devices every hour. In fact, compared with the 4.3 billion IP addresses that IPv4 allows, IPv6 will enable another 340 trillion, trillion, trillion addresses -- enough to accommodate global Internet demand for the foreseeable future.
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