Link Layer and IP Stack Protocol Security

Summary

The foundation of communication security for the BEMS is the link layer and the IP stack network and transport layers. Threats to basic communication can take many forms. Protocol security for the link layer and IP stack depends on the implementation of security services using the security technologies discussed in Chapter 2 in the context of the specific protocol. In this chapter, the security features for the link layer protocols discussed in Chapter 3 and the IP stack protocols at the network and transport layers discussed in Chapter 4 are presented. Authentication and authorization protocols such as Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) and RADIUS that are used widely for securing the Ethernet link layer and IP layer in an enterprise context are also discussed, as is the public key infrastructure based on the X.509 certificate and certificate authorities. Certificates are used primarily at the transport layer for TLS, but also for IP layer security to secure VPNs. Deploying security for a distributed system like a BEMS requires good tools, and there are many open‐source tools available for securing IP networks. Three open source tools for deploying VPNs are discussed in this chapter as well.