To implement the network risk assessment in ns3 has contains to emulate the network scenarios then there nodes and connections are measures for the possible risks and also it embrace to detecting the vulnerabilities, measuring the influence of potential threats, and manipulative the likelihood of those threats occurring. The aim of this implementation is to familiarize and prevent the risk inside the network. Here, we briefly provide the procedures on how to implement the network risk assessment in ns3:
Step-by-Step Implementation:
Step 1: Set Up ns3 Environment
- Install ns3: Download and install ns3 in the system.
- Familiarize yourself with ns3: Read through the ns3 tutorial to know the simple concepts and structure of ns3 simulations.
Step 2: Define the Network Topology
- Create a Network Topology: Outline a network topology that takes in nodes to be measured, like servers and clients, and a risk assessment node. This includes creating multiple nodes, setting up channels, and configuring IP addresses. We’ll use a simple topology with a client, server, and a risk assessment node.
Step 3: Implement Risk Assessment Mechanisms
To implement risk assessment, we can simulate the following steps:
- Identify Vulnerabilities: To emulate the vulnerability scanning to classify possible weaknesses in the network.
- Assess Impact: Act out the possible impact of exploiting these vulnerabilities.
- Calculate Risk: Association the likelihood of the susceptibilities being exploited with the potential impact to compute the overall risk.
The given below is the sample on how to implement the simple network risk assessment:
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>
#include <string>
#include <vector>
using namespace ns3;
void LogEvent(const std::string &event)
{
std::ofstream logFile;
logFile.open(“risk_assessment_log.txt”, std::ios_base::app);
logFile << Simulator::Now().GetSeconds() << “: ” << event << std::endl;
logFile.close();
}
// Vulnerability structure
struct Vulnerability
{
std::string name;
double likelihood;
double impact;
};
// Risk Assessment application
class RiskAssessmentApp : public Application
{
public:
RiskAssessmentApp() {}
virtual ~RiskAssessmentApp() {}
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 risk assessments
Simulator::Schedule(Seconds(2.0), &RiskAssessmentApp::IdentifyVulnerabilities, this);
Simulator::Schedule(Seconds(5.0), &RiskAssessmentApp::AssessImpact, this);
Simulator::Schedule(Seconds(8.0), &RiskAssessmentApp::CalculateRisk, this);
}
virtual void StopApplication()
{
if (m_socket)
{
m_socket->Close();
m_socket = 0;
}
}
void IdentifyVulnerabilities()
{
std::cout << “Identifying vulnerabilities at ” << Simulator::Now().GetSeconds() << ” seconds.” << std::endl;
LogEvent(“Identifying vulnerabilities.”);
// Simulate identifying vulnerabilities
m_vulnerabilities.push_back({“Open Port”, 0.7, 0.6});
m_vulnerabilities.push_back({“Weak Password”, 0.5, 0.8});
m_vulnerabilities.push_back({“Unpatched Software”, 0.6, 0.7});
LogEvent(“Vulnerabilities identified: ” + std::to_string(m_vulnerabilities.size()));
}
void AssessImpact()
{
std::cout << “Assessing impact at ” << Simulator::Now().GetSeconds() << ” seconds.” << std::endl;
LogEvent(“Assessing impact.”);
// Simulate assessing impact
for (auto &vulnerability : m_vulnerabilities)
{
double impact = vulnerability.impact;
std::cout << “Vulnerability: ” << vulnerability.name << “, Impact: ” << impact << std::endl;
LogEvent(“Vulnerability: ” + vulnerability.name + “, Impact: ” + std::to_string(impact));
}
}
void CalculateRisk()
{
std::cout << “Calculating risk at ” << Simulator::Now().GetSeconds() << ” seconds.” << std::endl;
LogEvent(“Calculating risk.”);
// Simulate calculating risk
for (auto &vulnerability : m_vulnerabilities)
{
double risk = vulnerability.likelihood * vulnerability.impact;
std::cout << “Vulnerability: ” << vulnerability.name << “, Risk: ” << risk << std::endl;
LogEvent(“Vulnerability: ” + vulnerability.name + “, Risk: ” + std::to_string(risk));
}
}
Ptr<Socket> m_socket;
Address m_peerAddress;
uint16_t m_peerPort;
std::vector<Vulnerability> m_vulnerabilities;
};
// 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(3); // Example: 3 nodes (1 client, 1 server, 1 risk assessment node)
PointToPointHelper pointToPoint;
pointToPoint.SetDeviceAttribute(“DataRate”, StringValue(“1Gbps”));
pointToPoint.SetChannelAttribute(“Delay”, StringValue(“2ms”));
NetDeviceContainer devices1 = pointToPoint.Install(nodes.Get(0), nodes.Get(2)); // Client to Risk Assessment Node
NetDeviceContainer devices2 = pointToPoint.Install(nodes.Get(2), nodes.Get(1)); // Risk Assessment Node to Server
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);
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<SecureApp> serverApp = CreateObject<SecureApp>();
serverApp->Setup(InetSocketAddress(Ipv4Address::GetAny(), port), port);
nodes.Get(1)->AddApplication(serverApp);
serverApp->SetStartTime(Seconds(1.0));
serverApp->SetStopTime(Seconds(60.0));
Ptr<RiskAssessmentApp> riskAssessmentApp = CreateObject<RiskAssessmentApp>();
riskAssessmentApp->Setup(InetSocketAddress(interfaces2.GetAddress(1), port));
nodes.Get(2)->AddApplication(riskAssessmentApp);
riskAssessmentApp->SetStartTime(Seconds(1.0));
riskAssessmentApp->SetStopTime(Seconds(60.0));
Simulator::Run();
Simulator::Destroy();
return 0;
}
Explanation
- Network Topology:
- The network consists of 3 nodes: a client, a server, and a risk assessment node.
- The client connects to the risk assessment node, which forwards packets to the server.
- Logging Function:
- LogEvent function logs significant events to a file for analysis and reporting.
- RiskAssessmentApp Class:
- This application does diverse risk assessment tasks like classifying vulnerabilities, evaluating impact, and computing risk.
- Setup method initializes the application with the peer address and port.
- StartApplication method schedules the risk assessments.
- IdentifyVulnerabilities method simulates identifying vulnerabilities by adding them to a list.
- AssessImpact method simulates assessing the impact of the identified vulnerabilities.
- CalculateRisk method simulates calculating the risk based on the likelihood and impact of the vulnerabilities.
- SecureApp Class:
- This application sends and receives secure messages.
- Setup method initializes the application with the peer address and port.
- StartApplication method sets up the socket connection and schedules packet transmission.
- SendPacket method sends a message to the peer node.
- ReceivePacket method receives and prints messages.
- Main Function:
- Creates a network with 3 nodes interrelated with point-to-point links.
- Sets up IP addresses for the nodes.
- Prepares the SecureApp applications on the client and server nodes.
- Initializes the RiskAssessmentApp application on the risk assessment node.
- The client sends protected messages, the risk assessment node achieves risk assessments, 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-risk-assessment main.cc `pkg-config –cflags –libs ns3-dev`
- Run the Simulation: Execute the compiled program:
./ns3-network-risk-assessment
This script shows a basic execution of network risk assessment in ns3. We need to expand it further to include more sophisticated assessment techniques, additional nodes, and more complex network topologies as needed.
In this setup, we clearly understood the implementation process for network risk assessment that creates network topology then apply the risk assessment mechanism to compile the results using the ns3 tool. If you need any details regarding the network risk assessment we will provide it.
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