To implement the network cybersecurity policies in ns3, we have to make the nodes in the network to ensure security by defining rules and actions which includes access control policies, traffic filtering, encryption, and logging mechanisms. Here, we provide the step-by-step implementation process of network cybersecurity policies in ns3.
Step-by-Step Implementation:
Step 1: Set Up ns3 Environment
- Install ns3: Make certain that ns3 is installed on your computer.
- Familiarize Yourself with ns3: Read through the ns3 tutorial to know the basic concepts and structure of ns3 simulations.
Step 2: Define the Network Topology
- Create a Secure Network Topology: Define a network topology that comprises security devices like firewalls and IDS nodes. This involves creating multiple nodes, setting up channels, and configuring IP addresses. We’ll use a simple topology with a client, server, firewall, and IDS.
Step 3: Implement Cybersecurity Policies
To implement cybersecurity policies, we can use the following strategies:
- Access Control: Define rules to control which nodes can communicate.
- Traffic Filtering: Depends on the predefined rules, it has to filter the traffic using firewalls.
- Encryption: Encrypt data before transmission.
- Logging: Log all significant events for analysis and reporting.
Follow the provided sample to implement basic network cybersecurity policies:
C++ Code for ns3 Simulation (main.cc)
#include “ns3/core-module.h”
#include “ns3/network-module.h”
#include “ns3/internet-module.h”
#include “ns3/point-to-point-module.h”
#include “ns3/applications-module.h”
#include <iostream>
#include <fstream>
using namespace ns3;
void LogEvent(const std::string &event)
{
std::ofstream logFile;
logFile.open(“cybersecurity_log.txt”, std::ios_base::app);
logFile << Simulator::Now().GetSeconds() << “: ” << event << std::endl;
logFile.close();
}
// Firewall application
class FirewallApp : public Application
{
public:
FirewallApp() {}
virtual ~FirewallApp() {}
void Setup(Address address, uint16_t port)
{
m_peerAddress = address;
m_peerPort = port;
}
private:
virtual void StartApplication()
{
m_socket = Socket::CreateSocket(GetNode(), TypeId::LookupByName(“ns3::UdpSocketFactory”));
m_socket->Bind();
m_socket->Connect(InetSocketAddress(m_peerAddress, m_peerPort));
// Set up the receive callback
m_socket->SetRecvCallback(MakeCallback(&FirewallApp::ReceivePacket, this));
}
virtual void StopApplication()
{
if (m_socket)
{
m_socket->Close();
m_socket = 0;
}
}
void ReceivePacket(Ptr<Socket> socket)
{
Ptr<Packet> packet = socket->Recv();
// Simple firewall rule: drop packets containing “malicious”
uint8_t buffer[1024];
packet->CopyData(buffer, packet->GetSize());
std::string receivedMessage((char *)buffer, packet->GetSize());
if (receivedMessage.find(“malicious”) != std::string::npos)
{
std::cout << “Packet dropped by firewall: ” << receivedMessage << std::endl;
LogEvent(“Packet dropped by firewall: ” + receivedMessage);
}
else
{
std::cout << “Packet allowed by firewall: ” << receivedMessage << std::endl;
LogEvent(“Packet allowed by firewall: ” + receivedMessage);
ForwardPacket(packet);
}
}
void ForwardPacket(Ptr<Packet> packet)
{
m_socket->Send(packet);
}
Ptr<Socket> m_socket;
Address m_peerAddress;
uint16_t m_peerPort;
};
// IDS application
class IDSApp : public Application
{
public:
IDSApp() : m_packetsReceived(0) {}
virtual ~IDSApp() {}
void Setup(Address address, uint16_t port)
{
m_peerAddress = address;
m_peerPort = port;
}
private:
virtual void StartApplication()
{
m_socket = Socket::CreateSocket(GetNode(), TypeId::LookupByName(“ns3::UdpSocketFactory”));
m_socket->Bind();
m_socket->Connect(InetSocketAddress(m_peerAddress, m_peerPort));
// Set up the receive callback
m_socket->SetRecvCallback(MakeCallback(&IDSApp::ReceivePacket, this));
}
virtual void StopApplication()
{
if (m_socket)
{
m_socket->Close();
m_socket = 0;
}
}
void ReceivePacket(Ptr<Socket> socket)
{
Ptr<Packet> packet = socket->Recv();
m_packetsReceived++;
// Simple IDS rule: log packets containing “suspicious”
uint8_t buffer[1024];
packet->CopyData(buffer, packet->GetSize());
std::string receivedMessage((char *)buffer, packet->GetSize());
if (receivedMessage.find(“suspicious”) != std::string::npos)
{
std::cout << “Suspicious packet detected by IDS: ” << receivedMessage << std::endl;
LogEvent(“Suspicious packet detected by IDS: ” + receivedMessage);
}
else
{
std::cout << “Normal packet received by IDS: ” << receivedMessage << std::endl;
LogEvent(“Normal packet received by IDS: ” + receivedMessage);
}
}
Ptr<Socket> m_socket;
Address m_peerAddress;
uint16_t m_peerPort;
uint32_t m_packetsReceived;
};
// Secure application
class SecureApp : public Application
{
public:
SecureApp() {}
virtual ~SecureApp() {}
void Setup(Address address, uint16_t port)
{
m_peerAddress = address;
m_peerPort = port;
}
private:
virtual void StartApplication()
{
m_socket = Socket::CreateSocket(GetNode(), TypeId::LookupByName(“ns3::UdpSocketFactory”));
m_socket->Bind();
m_socket->Connect(InetSocketAddress(m_peerAddress, m_peerPort));
// Schedule the first packet transmission
Simulator::Schedule(Seconds(1.0), &SecureApp::SendPacket, this);
}
virtual void StopApplication()
{
if (m_socket)
{
m_socket->Close();
m_socket = 0;
}
}
void SendPacket()
{
std::string message = “Secure message”;
Ptr<Packet> packet = Create<Packet>((uint8_t *)message.c_str(), message.size());
m_socket->Send(packet);
// Schedule the next packet transmission
Simulator::Schedule(Seconds(5.0), &SecureApp::SendPacket, this);
}
void ReceivePacket(Ptr<Socket> socket)
{
Ptr<Packet> packet = socket->Recv();
// Print received message (for demonstration purposes)
uint8_t buffer[1024];
packet->CopyData(buffer, packet->GetSize());
std::string receivedMessage((char *)buffer, packet->GetSize());
std::cout << “Received message: ” << receivedMessage << std::endl;
}
Ptr<Socket> m_socket;
Address m_peerAddress;
uint16_t m_peerPort;
};
int main(int argc, char *argv[])
{
NodeContainer nodes;
nodes.Create(5); // Example: 5 nodes (1 client, 1 server, 1 firewall, 1 IDS, 1 router)
PointToPointHelper pointToPoint;
pointToPoint.SetDeviceAttribute(“DataRate”, StringValue(“1Gbps”));
pointToPoint.SetChannelAttribute(“Delay”, StringValue(“2ms”));
NetDeviceContainer devices1 = pointToPoint.Install(nodes.Get(0), nodes.Get(4)); // Client to Router
NetDeviceContainer devices2 = pointToPoint.Install(nodes.Get(4), nodes.Get(3)); // Router to Firewall
NetDeviceContainer devices3 = pointToPoint.Install(nodes.Get(3), nodes.Get(2)); // Firewall to Server
NetDeviceContainer devices4 = pointToPoint.Install(nodes.Get(4), nodes.Get(1)); // Router to IDS
InternetStackHelper stack;
stack.Install(nodes);
Ipv4AddressHelper address;
address.SetBase(“10.1.1.0”, “255.255.255.0”);
Ipv4InterfaceContainer interfaces1 = address.Assign(devices1);
address.SetBase(“10.1.2.0”, “255.255.255.0”);
Ipv4InterfaceContainer interfaces2 = address.Assign(devices2);
address.SetBase(“10.1.3.0”, “255.255.255.0”);
Ipv4InterfaceContainer interfaces3 = address.Assign(devices3);
address.SetBase(“10.1.4.0”, “255.255.255.0”);
Ipv4InterfaceContainer interfaces4 = address.Assign(devices4);
Ipv4GlobalRoutingHelper::PopulateRoutingTables();
uint16_t port = 9;
Ptr<SecureApp> clientApp = CreateObject<SecureApp>();
clientApp->Setup(InetSocketAddress(interfaces2.GetAddress(1), port), port);
nodes.Get(0)->AddApplication(clientApp);
clientApp->SetStartTime(Seconds(2.0));
clientApp->SetStopTime(Seconds(60.0));
Ptr<FirewallApp> firewallApp = CreateObject<FirewallApp>();
firewallApp->Setup(InetSocketAddress(interfaces3.GetAddress(1), port), port);
nodes.Get(3)->AddApplication(firewallApp);
firewallApp->SetStartTime(Seconds(1.0));
firewallApp->SetStopTime(Seconds(60.0));
Ptr<IDSApp> idsApp = CreateObject<IDSApp>();
idsApp->Setup(InetSocketAddress(interfaces4.GetAddress(1), port), port);
nodes.Get(1)->AddApplication(idsApp);
idsApp->SetStartTime(Seconds(1.0));
idsApp->SetStopTime(Seconds(60.0));
Ptr<SecureApp> serverApp = CreateObject<SecureApp>();
serverApp->Setup(InetSocketAddress(Ipv4Address::GetAny(), port), port);
nodes.Get(2)->AddApplication(serverApp);
serverApp->SetStartTime(Seconds(1.0));
serverApp->SetStopTime(Seconds(60.0));
Simulator::Run();
Simulator::Destroy();
return 0;
}
Explanation
- Network Topology:
- The network consists of 5 nodes: a client, a server, a firewall, an IDS, and a router.
- Router is linked to the client and passes packets through the firewall and IDS to the server.
- Logging Function:
- LogEvent function logs significant events to a file for analysis and reporting.
- FirewallApp Class:
- In this application, packets are filtered according to the predefined rules.
- Setup method initializes the application with the peer address and port.
- Socket connections are handled by StartApplication method and receive callback.
- Packets are filtered by ReceivePacket method and forwards allowed packets.
- IDSApp Class:
- Traffic are monitored by this application so that it can stop any suspicious activity.
- Setup method initializes the application with the peer address and port.
- StartApplication method sets up the socket connection and receive callback.
- Suspicious packets are logged using the ReceivePacket method.
- SecureApp Class:
- Secured messages were send and received by this application.
- Setup method initializes the application with the peer address and port.
- StartApplication method sets up the socket connection and schedules packet transmission.
- SendPacket method directs a message to the peer node.
- ReceivePacket method receives and prints messages.
- Main Function:
- Creates a network with 5 nodes interconnected with point-to-point links.
- Allocate IP addresses for the nodes.
- Initializes the SecureApp, FirewallApp, and IDSApp applications on the particular nodes.
- The client sends secure messages, the firewall filters packets, the IDS monitors traffic, and the server receives messages.
Compile and Run
- Compile the Code: Compile the ns3 simulation code using the following command:
g++ -std=c++11 -o ns3-network-cybersecurity-policies main.cc `pkg-config –cflags –libs ns3-dev`
- Run the Simulation: Execute the compiled program:
./ns3-network-cybersecurity-policies
This setup demonstrates a simple implementation of network cybersecurity policies in ns3. You can expand it further to include more sophisticated security mechanisms, additional nodes, and more complex network topologies as needed.
In this script, our intent is to guide you through the step-by-step implementation of network cybersecurity policies in the ns3 tool and how to create a simulation where these policies are enforced. If you need any additional details regarding this, we’ll provide you.
Please provide us with your complete details, and we will deliver the most effective project implementation on Network Cybersecurity Policies utilizing the ns3 tool. Our expertise includes control policies, traffic filtering, encryption, and logging mechanisms tailored to your projects. For further assistance, please reach out to ns3simulation.com.