A Comparative Analysis of BGP and
 SD-WAN

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By Shawn Newman, Security Architect, Fortress Security Risk Management

This following is an analysis of Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) and Software-Defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN), focusing on their respective costs, benefits, and security implications. The analysis explores the robust routing, granular control, scalability, security, inter-AS communication, and traffic engineering capabilities of BGP. Additionally, it examines the cost-effectiveness, agility, centralized management, application-aware routing, security integration, cloud readiness, and zero-touch provisioning features of SD-WAN. The analysis concludes with an overview of the security risks associated with BGP and offers mitigation strategies to enhance the security posture of BGP implementations.

BGP: Cost and Benefits:

Cost:

  • BGP is associated with higher costs as it requires dedicated leased lines or MPLS circuits.
  • Maintenance, configuration, and management of BGP routers can also contribute to ongoing expenses.

Benefits:

  • Robust Routing: BGP is a highly reliable and widely adopted protocol for inter-domain routing. It guarantees efficient path selection and offers fault tolerance, ensuring the stability and resilience of network connections.
  • Granular Control: BGP empowers network administrators with precise control over route advertisements, making it an ideal choice for complex network configurations that require fine-grained control over traffic flow.
  • Scalability: BGP is designed to handle the demands of large-scale networks and global routing. It effectively scales to accommodate the growth and complexity of expansive network infrastructures.
  • Security: BGP incorporates robust security features, including authentication and filtering mechanisms, to enhance the integrity and confidentiality of routing information. These measures help prevent unauthorized access and mitigate potential security threats.
  • Inter-AS Communication: BGP facilitates seamless communication between different Autonomous Systems (ASes), enabling efficient exchange of routing information across diverse network domains.
  • Traffic Engineering: BGP offers advanced traffic engineering capabilities, allowing network operators to influence the flow of traffic based on predefined policies. This enables optimized network performance and resource utilization.

SD-WAN: Cost and Benefits:

Cost:

SD-WAN presents a cost-effective alternative to traditional MPLS-based WANs.

  • By utilizing more affordable broadband links, such as internet circuits, SD-WAN achieves significant cost savings while maintaining optimal performance.
  • The reduced dependence on expensive private circuits further enhances the overall cost efficiency of SD-WAN implementations.

Benefits:

  • Agility and Flexibility: SD-WAN demonstrates agility and flexibility by dynamically selecting the most optimal path based on real-time conditions, resulting in improved application performance and responsiveness.
  • Centralized Management: SD-WAN streamlines network management through a centralized controller, reducing operational overhead and enhancing efficiency.
  • Application-Aware Routing: SD-WAN intelligently optimizes traffic flow for specific applications, ensuring optimal performance and prioritization.
  • Security Integration: SD-WAN solutions often incorporate built-in security features, providing enhanced protection for network traffic and data.
  • Cloud Readiness: SD-WAN seamlessly integrates with cloud-based applications and services, enabling organizations to leverage the benefits of cloud computing.
  • Zero-Touch Provisioning: SD-WAN offers simplified deployment and scalability, allowing for easy expansion and management of network infrastructure without manual configuration.

In summary, BGP offers robustness and granular control, albeit with higher costs. On the other hand, SD-WAN provides cost savings, agility, and simplified management. The selection between the two depends on the specific requirements and budgetary considerations of your organization.

Core Technology Security Implications and Considerations

BGP, as a critical component of the internet, presents inherent security challenges that organizations must address. The following risks should be taken into consideration:

  • BGP Route Manipulation:
    • Malicious devices have the ability to manipulate BGP tables, diverting traffic away from its intended destination.
    • This can disrupt communication and potentially expose unencrypted traffic to attackers.
  • BGP Route Hijacking:
    • Rogue devices can announce victim’s prefixes, rerouting traffic through themselves.
    • Attackers can gain access to potentially sensitive data or exploit the hijacked BGP for spam campaigns.
  • BGP Denial-of-Service (DoS):
    • Malicious devices can flood victims with undesirable BGP traffic, overwhelming resources.
    • The target system becomes incapable of processing valid BGP traffic.
  • Lack of Explicit Security Mechanisms:
    • BGP does not inherently include security features.
    • Its trust-based design assumes correct system configurations, but mistakes can occur.

Mitigation Strategies:

To mitigate these risks, network operators must implement best practices, closely monitor BGP routes, and consider adopting secure alternatives such as Resource Public Key Infrastructure (RPKI) to validate route announcements. These measures enhance the security posture and resilience of BGP implementations.

About Fortress SRM: 
Fortress Security Risk Management protects companies from the financial, operational, and emotional trauma of cybercrime by enhancing the performance of their people, processes, and technology.  

Offering a robust, co-managed solution to enhance an internal IT team’s capability and capacity, Fortress SRM features a full suite of managed security services (24/7/365 U.S. based monitoring, cyber hygiene (managed patching),  endpoint detection and response (EDR), and air-gapped and immutable cloud backups) plus specialized services like Cybersecurity-as-a-Service, Incident Response including disaster recovery & remediation, M&A cyber due diligence, GRC advisory, identity & access management, threat intelligence, vulnerability assessments, and technical testing. With headquarters in Cleveland, Fortress SRM supports companies with both domestic and international operations. 

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