A practical guide to hardening MPLS networks

* Define "zones of trust" for your MPLS VPN environment
* Understand fundamental security principles and how MPLS VPNs work
* Build an MPLS VPN threat model that defines attack points, such as VPN separation, VPN spoofing, DoS against the network?s backbone, misconfigurations, sniffing, and inside attack forms
* Identify VPN security requirements, including robustness against attacks, hiding of the core infrastructure, protection against spoofing, and ATM/Frame Relay security comparisons
* Interpret complex architectures such as extranet access with recommendations of Inter-AS, carrier-supporting carriers, Layer 2 security considerations, and multiple provider trust model issues
* Operate and maintain a secure MPLS core with industry best practices
* Integrate IPsec into your MPLS VPN for extra security in encryption and data origin verification
* Build VPNs by interconnecting Layer 2 networks with new available architectures such as virtual private wire service (VPWS) and virtual private LAN service (VPLS)
* Protect your core network from attack by considering Operations, Administration, and Management (OAM) and MPLS backbone security incidents