Securing Delay-Tolerant Networks with BPSec

4Delay-Tolerant Security Architecture Elements

The Delay Tolerant Networking (DTN) architecture is implemented, in part, using the BPv7 protocol that has been designed to operate in challenged and contested environments. BPv7 requires that Bundle Protocol Agents (BPA)s understand how to process BPSec security extensions, as the required way to achieve inter-bundle security services. Therefore, the design of BPSec must take into account how to secure information within DTN design constraints.

This chapter describes those architectural elements of DTN security that are derived from analysis of network security practices and the unique properties of DTN transport.

After reading this chapter you will be able to:

• Summarize how protocol capabilities define security architectures.
• List the Bundle Protocol capabilities that make security processing unique.
• Analyze how information is fed to a security mechanism.
• Define how security architectures build resilient security policies.

4.1 Defining Security Architectures

A security architecture is a modular ecosystem, not a single protocol or implementation. These architectures comprise multiple security mechanisms designed to handle multiple security responsibilities. As discussed in Section 3.3.1, a common decomposition of responsibilities is to separate protocol structure, node policies, and cryptographic processing. Modularity in a security architecture is important because of the evolving nature of the cyber security landscape ...