Probabilistic QoS-aware Placement of VNF chains at the Edge

Deploying IoT-enabled Virtual Network Function (VNF) chains to Cloud-Edge infrastructures requires determining a placement for each VNF that satisfies all set deployment requirements as well as a software-defined routing of traffic flows between consecutive functions that meets all set communication requirements. In this article, we present a declarative solution, EdgeUsher, to the problem of how to best place VNF chains to Cloud-Edge infrastructures. EdgeUsher can determine all eligible placements for a set of VNF chains to a Cloud-Edge infrastructure so to satisfy all of their hardware, IoT, security, bandwidth, and latency requirements. It exploits probability distributions to model the dynamic variations in the available Cloud-Edge infrastructure, and to assess output eligible placements against those variations

Automation for network security configuration: state of the art and research trends

The size and complexity of modern computer networks are progressively increasing, as a consequence of novel architectural paradigms such as the Internet of Things and network virtualization. Consequently, a manual orchestration and configuration of network security functions is no more feasible, in an environment where cyber attacks can dramatically exploit breaches related to any minimum configuration error. A new frontier is then the introduction of automation in network security configuration, i.e., automatically designing the architecture of security services and the configurations of network security functions, such as firewalls, VPN gateways, etc. This opportunity has been enabled by modern computer networks technologies, such as virtualization. In view of these considerations, the motivations for the introduction of automation in network security configuration are first introduced, alongside with the key automation enablers. Then, the current state of the art in this context is surveyed, focusing on both the achieved improvements and the current limitations. Finally, possible future trends in the field are illustrated

Network Security Automation

L'abstract è presente nell'allegato / the abstract is in the attachmen

A pattern-based framework for the design of secure and dependable SDN/NFV-enabled networks

As the world becomes an interconnected network where objects and humans interact, cyber and physical networks appear to play an important role in smart ecosystems due to their increasing use on critical infrastructure and smart cities. Software Defined Networking (SDN) and Network Function Virtualisation (NFV) are a promising combination for programmable connectivity, rapid service provisioning and service chaining as they offer the necessary end-to-end optimisations. However, with the actual exponential growth of connected devices, future networks, such as SDN and NFV, require open architectures, facilitated by standards and a strong ecosystem.In this thesis, a model-based approach is proposed to support the design and verification of secure and dependable SDN/NFV-enabled networks. The model is based on the development of a pattern-based approach to design executable patterns as solutions for reusable designs and interactions of objects, encoded in a rule based reasoning system, able to guarantee security and dependability (S&D) properties in SDN/NFV enabled networks. To execute S&D patterns, a pattern based framework is implemented for the insertion of patterns at design and at runtime level. The developed pattern framework highlights also the benefit of leveraging the flexibility of SDN/NFV-enabled networks to deploy enhanced reactive security mechanisms for the protection of the industrial network via the use of service function chaining (SFC). To prove the importance of this approach and the functionality of the pattern framework, different pattern instances are implemented to guarantee S&D in network infrastructures. The developed design patterns are able to design network topologies, guarantee network properties and offer security service provisioning and chaining. Finally, in order to evaluate the developed patterns in the pattern framework, three different use cases are described, where a number of usage scenarios are deployed and evaluated experimentally

Hybrid SDN Evolution: A Comprehensive Survey of the State-of-the-Art

Software-Defined Networking (SDN) is an evolutionary networking paradigm which has been adopted by large network and cloud providers, among which are Tech Giants. However, embracing a new and futuristic paradigm as an alternative to well-established and mature legacy networking paradigm requires a lot of time along with considerable financial resources and technical expertise. Consequently, many enterprises can not afford it. A compromise solution then is a hybrid networking environment (a.k.a. Hybrid SDN (hSDN)) in which SDN functionalities are leveraged while existing traditional network infrastructures are acknowledged. Recently, hSDN has been seen as a viable networking solution for a diverse range of businesses and organizations. Accordingly, the body of literature on hSDN research has improved remarkably. On this account, we present this paper as a comprehensive state-of-the-art survey which expands upon hSDN from many different perspectives

Context-based security function orchestration for the network edge

Over the last few years the number of interconnected devices has increased dramatically, generating zettabytes of traffic each year. In order to cater to the requirements of end-users, operators have deployed network services to enhance their infrastructure. Nowadays, telecommunications service providers are making use of virtualised, flexible, and cost-effective network-wide services, under what is known as Network Function Virtualisation (NFV). Future network and application requirements necessitate services to be delivered at the edge of the network, in close proximity to end-users, which has the potential to reduce end-to-end latency and minimise the utilisation of the core infrastructure while providing flexible allocation of resources. One class of functionality that NFV facilitates is the rapid deployment of network security services. However, the urgency for assuring connectivity to an ever increasing number of devices as well as their resource-constrained nature, has led to neglecting security principles and best practices. These low-cost devices are often exploited for malicious purposes in targeting the network infrastructure, with recent volumetric Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks often surpassing 1 terabyte per second of network traffic. The work presented in this thesis aims to identify the unique requirements of security modules implemented as Virtual Network Functions (VNFs), and the associated challenges in providing management and orchestration of complex chains consisting of multiple VNFs The work presented here focuses on deployment, placement, and lifecycle management of microservice-based security VNFs in resource-constrained environments using contextual information on device behaviour. Furthermore, the thesis presents a formulation of the latency-optimal placement of service chains at the network edge, provides an optimal solution using Integer Linear Programming, and an associated near-optimal heuristic solution that is able to solve larger-size problems in reduced time, which can be used in conjunction with context-based security paradigms. The results of this work demonstrate that lightweight security VNFs can be tailored for, and hosted on, a variety of devices, including commodity resource-constrained systems found in edge networks. Furthermore, using a context-based implementation of the management and orchestration of lightweight services enables the deployment of real-world complex security service chains tailored towards the user’s performance demands from the network. Finally, the results of this work show that on-path placement of service chains reduces the end-to-end latency and minimise the number of service-level agreement violations, therefore enabling secure use of latency-critical networks

Gestion de la Sécurité pour le Cyber-Espace - Du Monitorage Intelligent à la Configuration Automatique

The Internet has become a great integration platform capable of efficiently interconnecting billions of entities, from simple sensors to large data centers. This platform provides access to multiple hardware and virtualized resources (servers, networking, storage, applications, connected objects) ranging from cloud computing to Internet-of-Things infrastructures. From these resources that may be hosted and distributed amongst different providers and tenants, the building and operation of complex and value-added networked systems is enabled. These systems arehowever exposed to a large variety of security attacks, that are also gaining in sophistication and coordination. In that context, the objective of my research work is to support security management for the cyberspace, with the elaboration of new monitoring and configuration solutionsfor these systems. A first axis of this work has focused on the investigation of smart monitoring methods capable to cope with low-resource networks. In particular, we have proposed a lightweight monitoring architecture for detecting security attacks in low-power and lossy net-works, by exploiting different features provided by a routing protocol specifically developed for them. A second axis has concerned the assessment and remediation of vulnerabilities that may occur when changes are operated on system configurations. Using standardized vulnerability descriptions, we have designed and implemented dedicated strategies for improving the coverage and efficiency of vulnerability assessment activities based on versioning and probabilistic techniques, and for preventing the occurrence of new configuration vulnerabilities during remediation operations. A third axis has been dedicated to the automated configuration of virtualized resources to support security management. In particular, we have introduced a software-defined security approach for configuring cloud infrastructures, and have analyzed to what extent programmability facilities can contribute to their protection at the earliest stage, through the dynamic generation of specialized system images that are characterized by low attack surfaces. Complementarily, we have worked on building and verification techniques for supporting the orchestration of security chains, that are composed of virtualized network functions, such as firewalls or intrusion detection systems. Finally, several research perspectives on security automation are pointed out with respect to ensemble methods, composite services and verified artificial intelligence.L’Internet est devenu une formidable plateforme d’intégration capable d’interconnecter efficacement des milliards d’entités, de simples capteurs à de grands centres de données. Cette plateforme fournit un accès à de multiples ressources physiques ou virtuelles, allant des infra-structures cloud à l’internet des objets. Il est possible de construire et d’opérer des systèmes complexes et à valeur ajoutée à partir de ces ressources, qui peuvent être déployées auprès de différents fournisseurs. Ces systèmes sont cependant exposés à une grande variété d’attaques qui sont de plus en plus sophistiquées. Dans ce contexte, l’objectif de mes travaux de recherche porte sur une meilleure gestion de la sécurité pour le cyberespace, avec l’élaboration de nouvelles solutions de monitorage et de configuration pour ces systèmes. Un premier axe de ce travail s’est focalisé sur l’investigation de méthodes de monitorage capables de répondre aux exigences de réseaux à faibles ressources. En particulier, nous avons proposé une architecture de surveillance adaptée à la détection d’attaques dans les réseaux à faible puissance et à fort taux de perte, en exploitant différentes fonctionnalités fournies par un protocole de routage spécifiquement développépour ceux-ci. Un second axe a ensuite concerné la détection et le traitement des vulnérabilités pouvant survenir lorsque des changements sont opérés sur la configuration de tels systèmes. En s’appuyant sur des bases de descriptions de vulnérabilités, nous avons conçu et mis en œuvre différentes stratégies permettant d’améliorer la couverture et l’efficacité des activités de détection des vulnérabilités, et de prévenir l’occurrence de nouvelles vulnérabilités lors des activités de traitement. Un troisième axe fut consacré à la configuration automatique de ressources virtuelles pour la gestion de la sécurité. En particulier, nous avons introduit une approche de programmabilité de la sécurité pour les infrastructures cloud, et avons analysé dans quelle mesure celle-ci contribue à une protection au plus tôt des ressources, à travers la génération dynamique d’images systèmes spécialisées ayant une faible surface d’attaques. De façon complémentaire, nous avonstravaillé sur des techniques de construction automatique et de vérification de chaînes de sécurité, qui sont composées de fonctions réseaux virtuelles telles que pare-feux ou systèmes de détection d’intrusion. Enfin, plusieurs perspectives de recherche relatives à la sécurité autonome sont mises en évidence concernant l’usage de méthodes ensemblistes, la composition de services, et la vérification de techniques d’intelligence artificielle