802.1AE plan aims to safeguards LANs

NETWORK WORLD NEWSLETTER: NETWORKING TECHNOLOGY UPDATE
10/10/05

Dear networking.world@gmail.com,

In this issue:

* The IEEE 802.1 Security Task Group is developing a suite of
protocols to secure LANs
* Links related to Networking Technology Update
* Featured reader resource
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Today's focus:

802.1AE plan aims to safeguards LANs

By Allyn Romanow

Because networks are vulnerable to configuration errors,
miswiring and malicious attacks that can disrupt enterprise and
service provider operations, it is essential for companies to
apply multiple security mechanisms to protect their data,
applications and network functions. The forthcoming IEEE 802.1AE
standard helps prevent disruptions to Ethernet networks by
protecting LAN devices from unauthorized communication.

The IEEE 802.1 Security Task Group is developing a suite of
protocols to secure LANs. The principal one is IEEE 802.1AE
Media Access Control Security (MACSec), which integrates
security protection into wired Ethernet to secure LANs from
attacks such as passive wiretapping, masquerading,
man-in-the-middle and some denial-of-service attacks. MACSec is
in the final stage of standardization and is expected to be
published in early 2006.

MACSec helps assure ongoing network operations by identifying
unauthorized stations on a LAN and preventing communication from
them. It protects control protocols that manage bridged network
and other data through cryptography techniques that authenticate
data origin, protect message integrity, and provide replay
protection and confidentiality. By assuring that a frame comes
from the station that claimed to send it, MACSec can mitigate
attacks on Layer 2 protocols.

The proposed standard safeguards communication between trusted
components of the network infrastructure by providing hop-by-hop
security. This distinguishes it from IPSec, which protects
applications on an end-to-end basis. Network administrators make
use of MACSec by configuring a set of network devices to use the
protocol.

When a frame arrives at a MACSec station, the MACSec Security
Entity (SecY) decrypts the frame if necessary and computes an
integrity check value (ICV) on the frame and compares it with
the ICV included in the frame. If they match, the station
processes the frame as normal. If they do not match, the port
handles the frame according to a preset policy, such as
discarding it.

To learn more about 802.1AE, go to:
<http://www.networkworld.com/nltechupdate8362>

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_______________________________________________________________
To contact:

Romanow is a technical leader for Cisco. She can be reached at
allyn@cisco.com
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<http://www.networkworld.com/news/2005/092205-itil.html>
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