Integrating public key cryptography into the simple network management protocol (SNMP) framework

The simple network management protocol (SNMP) is widely used for remote network resource management due to its simplicity and distributed management capabilities. However, the increased use of SNMP to manage and control network resources such as routers and servers also introduces security risks whereby unauthorized users can retrieve information or modify the given resources remotely. The basic security framework introduced in SNMPv3 only specifies the use of symmetric cryptography techniques to address the security concerns. This paper outlines a new methodology, public-key security model (PSM), to integrate public cryptography techniques into the SNMP framework. It extends the existing user-based security model (USM) to include per-session authentication and encryption keys, thus enhancing the security of the SNMPv3 protocol.