6Sense: Internet-Wide IPv6 Scanning and Security Applications

Watch a 12-minute conference talk from USENIX Security '24 exploring an innovative IPv6 scanning system called 6SENSE that uses reinforcement learning to make Internet-wide IPv6 scanning feasible. Learn how researchers from Georgia Institute of Technology developed metrics and methods to evaluate IPv6 scanning effectiveness, discovering tens of millions of IPv6 hosts - up to 3.6x more hosts and 4x more end-site assignments than previous approaches. Understand the critical security applications of this technology, including analysis of TLS certificates, open ports, security-sensitive services, and potential CVE identification across IPv6 networks. Discover why new scanning methods are essential as IPv6 adoption grows, given the impossibility of exhaustively scanning its 340 trillion trillion trillion addresses, and how this research maintains capabilities for comprehensive Internet security investigation.