Why are security issues associated with IGMP?

The selection indicating that anyone can start or join a multicast group highlights a significant security concern associated with the Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP). IGMP is used for managing multicast groups in IPv4 networks but lacks built-in security mechanisms to control access to these groups.

This absence of authentication allows any device on the network to send IGMP messages that can create or join multicast groups. Consequently, malicious users could exploit this feature to disrupt network traffic by flooding the multicast group with unwanted messages or intercepting data meant for legitimate group members.

The other options imply features or conditions that do not accurately apply to IGMP. For example, IGMP does not inherently restrict group access to only authorized users or require any authentication, making it susceptible to potential attacks. Understanding this vulnerability is essential for designing secure network systems involving multicast traffic.