The government-wide standardisation of IPv6 addresses is in full swing. The conversion from IPv4 to IPv6 not only entails the use of new structured address blocks, but also many improvements in the area of security. With its new scanning technology, Trust Guard offers a solution for companies and government organisations that already work with IPv6 addresses.
Limit IPv4 addresses reached
It has always been clear that the IPv4 protocol was finite. By using all possible combinations of digits, it was possible to create some 4.3 billion IP addresses, and this limit has now been reached. It is high time for IPv6: the new 132-bit protocol with space for, we might say, an infinite number of addresses. An IPv6 address no longer consists only of numbers, but of letter and number combinations in eight 16-bit blocks. In addition, IPv6 has better routing and network configuration possibilities from the standard and better data security can be achieved at the IP level.
Municipalities assigned ‘own’ IP addresses
The address blocks that have been created are assigned to organisations and institutions by sector. Thus municipalities have also been assigned their ‘own’ IPv6 addresses. These are part of a worldwide address block reserved for governments, to prevent spammers, hackers and fraudulent companies from impersonating governments.
The great thing about the Netherlands is the willingness of Dutch municipalities to make the transition to IPv6. The new possibilities of the IPv6 protocol are embraced nationwide and more than half of the Dutch municipalities have already switched to new IP addresses. This concerns both addresses for internal use and communication between municipalities, as well as public websites. This means that municipalities are well ahead of the business world in terms of market acceptance.
Leverage the benefits of IPv6
In order to make the most of this lead and thus to benefit from the improvements of IPv6 compared with IPv4, it is essential for municipalities to have their security policy in order. This is where Trust Guard comes in. Trust Guard is one of the few companies that has developed a scan for IPv4 and IPv6 domain names. The scan results are clearly displayed in an online dashboard where the vulnerabilities found are classified by risk level and provided with additional information and solutions so that you can take immediate action. By investing in Trust Guard’s advanced scanning technology, you ensure that cybersecurity within your organisation is in order and that you comply with the security requirements of your sector. We scan and issue reports according to numerous standards such as PCI, GDPR, ISO27001, OWASP, HIPAA and SOx.
For certification projects within the government Trust Guard works together with various auditors to work in accordance with the ‘Baseline Informatiebeveiliging Overheid’ (BIO) in addition to the ISO27001 scan results. Examples include the DigiD audit and the ‘Eenduidige Normatiek Single Information Audit’ (ENSIA), which gives the local government more overview and control over information security.
