AI Cyber Defense / Network edge and segmentation
AI Cyber Defense: Secure IPv6 paths alongside IPv4 policies
Apply equivalent intent to both address families and restrict unauthorized router advertisements on supported access switches. Avoid blindly blocking essential IPv6 control traffic.
Environment and inputs: Enterprise routers, switches, firewalls, VPNs and workload segmentation; use syntax and features supported by the deployed platform.
Scenario and goal
An attacker can use an overlooked address family when only IPv4 access controls were reviewed.
Why it matters
For this scenario, assume discovery can enumerate alternate listeners, address families and routes repeatedly. Define the boundary as permitted communication between named roles, rather than physical network location alone. Separate management, control and application traffic when reviewing the effect of a change. Encryption protects a transport relationship but does not establish that its peer should reach every destination behind it.
Evidence to collect
Inventory global IPv6 addresses, router advertisements, neighbor discovery behavior and IPv6 firewall counters on the protected path.
Validate with an authorized exercise
In a test VLAN, check allowed IPv6 application traffic, denied management access and normal neighbor discovery; retain packet and policy evidence for each.
Rollout and checks
Export the effective policy and routes before a change and confirm a tested recovery channel. Apply the narrowest change to a representative test segment first. Measure permitted application transactions and forbidden reachability after deployment, including alternate paths. Review deny counters with source and destination context before concluding that a policy is correct or safe to broaden.
Scope and limits
This guide proposes a defensive test; it is not a tested production design. Check platform support and local requirements. References explain the mechanisms but do not certify the design. Behavior alone does not prove AI involvement.