Software-Defined Networking Security

SDN Security Overview

Software-Defined Networking (SDN) separates control plane from data plane, centralizing network control. SDN introduces new security considerations including controller security, southbound/northbound API protection, and flow rule security.

Controller Security

Secure SDN controllers through hardening, access controls, authentication, encryption, redundancy for availability, and security monitoring. Controllers are single point of control making their security critical for entire network.

API Security

Protect southbound APIs (controller to switches) and northbound APIs (applications to controller) through authentication, encryption (TLS), rate limiting, input validation, and API access logging. Compromised APIs enable network-wide attacks.

Flow Rule Security

Validate flow rules for conflicts, implement flow rule verification, monitor for malicious flows, set flow timeouts preventing resource exhaustion, and maintain flow rule audit trails. Malicious flow rules can redirect or block traffic.

SDN-Specific Threats

Address controller compromise, flow table saturation, topology poisoning, application vulnerabilities, and east-west traffic visibility gaps. Implement SDN security frameworks and continuous monitoring for SDN-specific attack detection.

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