Automated Key Management for Router Updates

Abstract

Abstract-Security is assuming increasing importance in emerging networks. To ensure application security, the routing protocols are assumed to be trusted. Correct forwarding of packets requires the prior exchange of information among routers, using the appropriate routing protocol. Valid construction of the routes requires that the exchanged information be received from a legitimate neighbor, and that it not be altered en route, i.e., the inter-router communication has to be secure. This requires, in turn, an architecture for managing the necessary security associations and keying material within an administrative region. After reviewing current work and existing security tools, a proposal is made for a novel architecture to manage the router updates. The operations within this architecture are detailed, and its advantages are explained.

Router authentication, key management, and adjacency management for securing inter-router control messages

“…It also ensures completeness of information and helps eliminate spoofing attacks where a legitimate neighbor may appear on an interface other than the one it is supposed to appear on. This is followed by an acknowledgment sent by the GM to the GCKS in exchange (3).…”

“…Atwood [3] has specified a high level design for an automated key management system. His paper introduces the concepts of a Domain Key Server (DKS) and a Local Key Server (LKS).…”

“…This paper extends Atwood's [3] design, and proposes a methodology for ensuring the authentication and authorization of a peer router, and conveying the necessary policy information to do so. The methodology includes a set of interactions that meet most of the security and operational requirements specified in [4,1].…”

“…Atwood [3] has presented motivation for router security and a description of an architecture for an authentication and key management system. The Keying and Authentication for Routing Protocols (KARP) working group of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) has developed a Design document [4] and a Threats and Requirements document [1] to provide guidance for the work of improving routing protocol security.…”