Implementing moving target IPv6 defense to secure 6LoWPAN in the internet of things and smart grid

Abstract

The growing momentum of the Internet of Things (IoT) has shown an increase in attack vectors within the security research community. We propose adapting a recent new approach of frequently changing IPv6 address assignment to add an additional layer of security to the Internet of Things. We examine implementing Moving Target IPv6 Defense (MT6D) in IPv6 over Low-Powered Wireless Personal Area Networks (6LoWPAN); a protocol that is being used in wireless sensors found in home automation systems and smart meters. 6LoWPAN allows the Internet of Things to extend into the world of wireless sensor networks. We propose adapting Moving-Target IPv6 Defense for use with 6LoWPAN in order to defend against network-side attacks such as Denial-of-Service and Man-In-The-Middle while maintaining anonymity of client-server communications. This research aims in providing a moving-target defense for wireless sensor networks while maintaining power efficiency within the network.

Toward Proactive, Adaptive Defense: A Survey on Moving Target Defense

“…Since IoT concerns severe resource constraints because most of them are mobile devices, developing lightweight shufflingbased MTD is a key concern in IoT-based MTD. Main Attacks: The most common attack behaviors considered in IoT-based MTD approaches are reconnaissance (scanning) attacks [101,140,162,163] although some conventional attacks, such as cryptographic attacks [26], are also considered. Although more intelligent, smarter attack behaviors have been extensively studied in IoT environments, IoT-based MTD techniques dealing with APT attacks have been rarely studied [107].…”

“…Key Methodologies: Casola et al [26] identified reconfigurable architectural layers to develop shuffling-based or diversity-based MTD in terms of security and physical layers. IP shuffling-based MTD has been developed based on IPv6 for IoT devices [140,162,163]. Mahmood and Shila [101] used minimal trusted code in an IoT device, which can be erased after it was used in order to ensure security in a resourceconstrained IoT environment.…”

“…Evaluation Methods: As observed in other domains, simulation testeds are the most popular validation method. A real IoT testbed with end devices (e.g., laptops), called '6LoWPAN testbed' [140], is developed to validate IP shuffling MTD. Some recent studies developed the testbeds for IP mutationbased MTD using IPv6 [162,163].…”

IANVS: A Moving Target Defense Framework for a Resilient Internet of Things

“…Casola et al [10] proposes diversification of the network security protocols (Network) and firmware (Platform). The most explored strategy has been IPv6 address randomization [11]- [13] (Network). Mahmood et al [14] proposed code execution partitioning and diversification (Software).…”

Optimization and Design of RPL Routing Protocol for 6LowPAN Wireless Sensor Network

“…Therefore, the objective function cannot provide the optimal route with a single routing metric. The aim of this study is to introduce multiple routing metrics in routing decision-making by fuzzy logic theory to design and implement the objective function, and use Cooja simulation software to simulate and analyze the fuzzy optimization routing performance [2][3] .…”