IPv6 Security Guidance

Nearly all networked devices use the Internet Protocol (IP) for their communications. IP version 6 (IPv6) is the current version of IP and provides advantages over the legacy IP
version 4 (IPv4).

Federal and Department of Defense networks are moving from legacy IPv4 to IPv6- only. During this transition, IPv4 will continue to be used, and many networks will operate dual stack (running both IPv4 and IPv6 protocols simultaneously) as an interim solution toward an IPv6-only end state. However, operating dual stack increases operational burden and the attack surface. System owners and administrators should implement cybersecurity mechanisms on both IP protocols to protect the network.