IPv6 could open networks up to zero-day attacks

NIST warns that attackers are preparing to hit networks when IPv6 is turned on

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) warns that moving from IPv4 to IPv6 is a process fraught with peril, which may explain why government agencies are so far behind their own deadlines for implementation. But private security and technology experts say those concerns are largely overstated, and that a safe transition could happen right away, if you do it correctly. What isn't in dispute is that the 4.3 billion numbers in the IPv4 protocol are rapidly running out. The Asia Pacific Network Information Centre, which handles assigning IP addresses to that part of the world, already announced that it had run out of numbers back in 2011.