Crosby-Signed Thesis - Alliance Digital Repository

IMPACT OF IPV6 TRANSITION MECHANISMS ON THE NETWORK FORENSIC
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While the new protocol has quietly penetrated the network environment, the academic
and business communities have neglected research and development in this area. Despite
consumer device support, network security vendors have been slow to support IPv6 in their
products because low utilization rates make it difficult to realize a return on investment.
Researchers have addressed general security in IPv6; however, they have neglected a technical
discussion of the context and nature of the traffic. Attackers will exploit attack vectors that offer
the greatest chance of success with the least chance of being discovered. The IPv6 protocol is
available and can covertly traverse the network which opens up an opportunity that will lead to
growth in IPv6 based attacks.
Research Objective
The primary objective of this study was to develop a practical methodology for
investigating and analyzing transitional networks. To accomplish this goal, the study employed a
qualitative method based on the active research methodology to evaluate the IPv6 transition
mechanisms, operating systems, and attack vectors. First, the literature review enumerated
current research in digital forensics, IPv6 transition mechanisms, operating system support, and
IPv6 vulnerabilities. Second, a virtual lab environment was created and testing procedures were
designed to answer the research sub-problems. Third, the procedures were implemented while
the researcher recorded operating system states, tool output, and other observations. Finally, the
discoveries and results were analyzed and distilled into three outputs that supported the proposed
investigative methodology. First, the implications of IPv6 transition mechanisms on the digital
forensics discipline were outlined. Second, a summary of the behaviors of each transition
mechanism and operating system in the study was presented from the perspective of a forensic