Innovating additional Layer 2 security requirements for a protected stack

Security is only as good as the weakest link and if the weakness is at a low level in the communication stack then every other Layer has potential to inherit the problem. The OSI Layer model has defined the theoretical architecture for network communications (ISO/IEC 7498-1). Standardisation assures that each element of an internetwork uses the same model and hence a message can be moved intelligibly and correctly between participants. The OSI model divides communications into seven hierarchical Layers that provide the necessary services from the application Layer through to the physical Layer of electricity (ISO/IEC 7498-2). Each Layer is dependent on the one below to provide the more primitive functions and is hence interconnected from top to bottom in a communication chain. The four Layer TCP/IP pragmatic model conveys a similar relationship of dependant services for communication that have inter-dependence (Comer, 1995). The consequence is that no matter how a communication stack is looked at – theoretically or in practice – problems low down impact higher Layers. In this research we looked specifically at the OSI Data Link Layer (2) not only because so much has been written on security issues at this Layer, but also because it is the first Layer where serious abstraction in terms of logics and protocols is made from the primitive physical impulses (Altunbasak et al., 2005; NIST, 2013). These theoretical abstractions offer opportunity for proper and improper manipulation that may either better facilitate communication or impede effective communication. The data link Layer also gives opportunity for a range of logical attacks that may exploit the effective communication but not always for the intended purposes. Such vulnerabilities occur elsewhere in the communication stack but Layer 2 is the first real opportunity for logical attacks (Shanmug et al, 2010; Altunbasak, et al., 2005). This paper is structured to briefly review current literature and define the implications of OSI Layer 2 security vulnerabilities. The OSI model is selected in preference over the TCP/IP model as it has greater clarity around specific layers and reference detail. Two gaps in the literature are identified and theoretical solutions proposed for Layer 2 security

Improvising Intrusion Detection for Malware Activities on Dual-Stack Network Environment

Malware is software which was invented and meant for doing harms on computers. Malware is becoming a significant threat in computer network nowadays. Malware attack is not just only involving financial lost but it can also cause fatal errors which may cost lives in some cases. As new Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6)emerged, many people believe this protocol could solve most malware propagation issues due to its broader addressing scheme. As IPv6 is still new compares to native IPv4, some transition mechanisms have been introduced to promote smoother migration. Unfortunately, these transition mechanisms allow some malwares to propagate its attack from IPv4 to IPv6 network environment. In this paper, a proof of concept shall be presented in order to show that some existing IPv4 malware detection technique need to be improvised in order to detect malware attack in dual-stack network more efficiently. A testbed of dual-stack network environment has been deployed and some genuine malware have been released to observe their behaviors. The results between these different scenarios will be analyzed and discussed further in term of their behaviors and propagation methods. The results show that malware behave differently on IPv6 from the IPv4 network protocol on the dual-stack network environment. A new detection technique is called for in order to cater this problem in the near future

Evaluation and Investigation of the Delay in VoIP Networks

The paper is focused mainly on the delay problems, which considerably influence the final quality of connections in VoIP (Voice over IP) networks. The paper provides a detailed exploration of the nature and mechanisms of the delay. The main purpose of the investigation was an attempt to formulate a mathematical model of delay in the VoIP network and its subsequent analysis by laboratory data