Security research and learning environment based on scalable network emulation

Abstract

Subject reviewSecurity attacks are becoming a standard part of the Internet and their frequency is constantly increasing. Therefore, an efficient way to research and investigate attacks is needed. Studying attacks needs to be coupled with security evaluation of currently deployed systems that are affected by them. The security evaluation and research process needs to be completed quickly to counter the incoming attacks, but this is currently a complex and timeconsuming procedure which includes a variety of systems and tools. Furthermore, as the attack frequency is increasing, new security specialists need to be trained in a comprehensible and standardized way. We propose a new approach to security evaluation and research that uses scalable network emulation based on lightweight virtualization implemented in IMUNES. This approach provides a unified testing environment that is efficient and straightforward to use. The emulated environment also couples as a portable and intuitive training tool. Through a series of implemented and evaluated scenarios we demonstrate several concepts that can be used for a novel approach in security evaluation and research. Keywords: network emulation; protocol evaluation; security testing; virtualizationOkolina za istraživanje i podučavanje sigurnosti zasnovana na skalabilnoj emulaciji računalnih mreža Pregledni članakSigurnosni napadi postaju svakodnevni dio Interneta, a učestalost njihovog izvođenja u stalnom je porastu. Zbog toga je potrebno razviti metodu za učinkovito istraživanje i analizu takvih napada. Proučavanje napada potrebno je izvoditi u sprezi s procjenom sigurnosti računalnih sustava na kojima se u tom trenutku izvršavaju napadi. Procjena sigurnosti i proces istraživanja moraju se moći obaviti u kratkom vremenu zbog što brže zaštite od dolazećeg napada. Trenutno je to kompleksan i vremenski zahtjevan zadatak koji uključuje širok raspon sustava i alata. Također, budući da se učestalost napada povećava, novi sigurnosni stručnjaci moraju se obučavati na način koji im je razumljiv i standardiziran. Predlažemo novi pristup procjeni sigurnosti i istraživanju koji koristi skalabilnu emulaciju mreže zasnovanu na virtualizaciji korištenoj u alatu IMUNES. Ovakav pristup pruža ujedinjenu okolinu za testiranje koja je efikasna i jednostavna za korištenje. Emulirana okolina također može služiti kao prenosiv i intuitivan alat za podučavanje i vježbu. Kroz niz implementiranih i analiziranih scenarija, pokazali smo određene koncepte koji se mogu koristiti za novi pristup u procjeni i istraživanju sigurnosti.