History and Scope

• Internet security lapses were reported in 1994 by the Internet Architecture Board (IAB) and again in 1998 by the Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT). IP spoofing---creating false IP address---was recognized as a major challenge. This led to the design of IPSec that included authentication and encryption as major security features. By November 1998, IPSec specifications were covered in many Requests for Comments (RFC). These were implemented in IPV4 and extended to include much more IP addresses in IPv6.
  
  

IP Addresses

• IP Addressemail @ image by Witold Krasowski from Fotolia.com
  
  Internet protocol (IP) addresses serve to identify any computer system or host on the Internet. This may be a server, router, hub or terminal that communicates with other devices on the network. IP addresses fall into 5 classes (A, B, C, D, E). Each has a limit of possible IP addresses. The maximum limit of IP addressing in IPv4 (32-bit addressing scheme) with growing Internet led to IPv6. IPv6 has 128-bit addressing scheme which can accommodate the growing Internet in the foreseeable future.
  
  

From IPv4 to IPv6

• IPv4 established in 1986 is capable of 4 billion Internet addresses, which are projected to be exhausted by June 2010. IPv6, which replaces it, will have address capacity of 340 billion x 10 to the 27th power. It will have improved security, better quality of service and can be configured automatically by the computer.
  
  

Applications of IPSec

• IPSec finds applications in email, network management and web access. Security software for email include Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) and Privacy Enhanced Mail. For network management software we have Simple Network Management Protocol version 3 (SNMPv3), and for web access we have secure HTTP and Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), to name a few. Other applications of IPSecv4 include enhancing security in electronic commerce applications and its use in intranets and extranets to secure communications within and with other organizations.
  
  

Benefits of IPSec

• IPSec has many benefits, some of which are strong security features that can be implemented in a firewall, transparency to applications and end-users and security for intranets and offline applications.