Networks

Close to a Quarter of ZeroAccess Botnet Disabled, Reports Symantec

Symantec has disabled part of one of the world's largest networks of infected computers, according to reports today. About 500,000 hijacked computers have been taken out of the 1.9 million strong ZeroAccess botnet. The zombie computers were used for advertising and online currency fraud and to infect other machines. Security experts warned that any benefits from the takedown might be short-lived. more

Kill the Spreadsheets! Automate VPN IP Assignments and Tracking over MPLS/VRF and vLAN

Advancements in virtual private networking have extended system capabilities for service providers. Providers can divide LANs into multiple discrete segments using either Virtual Local Area Networks (vLANs), leverage Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) or Virtual Routing and Forwarding (VRF) to host Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) that support service operations over multiple instances. more

Zero-Touch Provisioning… Really?

Zero-touch provisioning (ZTP) -- whatever does that mean? Of course, it is another marketing term. I think the term "closer to zero touch provisioning" is probably better, but CTZTP -- as opposed to ZTP -- is a bit more of a mouthful. Whenever I hear language like this that I'm not familiar with, I get struck by a bolt of curiosity. What is this new and shiny phrase that has just appeared as if from nowhere? more

Internet Heavy Weights Staying Out of Net Neutrality Battle

Tech giants including Aamzon and Tiwtter are staring out of the contentious, public fight over the future of the Obama-era net neutrality rules. more

Internet Service Restored in Egypt

Renesys reports that Internet services in Egypt have been restored. According to the report, Egyptian Internet providers returned to the Internet at 09:29:31 UTC (11:29am Cairo time). "Websites such as the Egyptian Stock Exchange, Commercial International Bank of Egypt, MCDR, and the US Embassy in Cairo, are once again reachable. All major Egyptian ISPs appear to have readvertised routes to their domestic customer networks in the global routing table."
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If Demand Is Growing, Why Is Networking World Such a Depressing Place Right Now? Let’s Dig Deeper…

Over at the ECI blog, Jonathan Homa has a nice article about the importance of network planning: In the classic movie, The Graduate (1967), the protagonist is advised on career choices, "In one word – plastics." If you were asked by a young person today, graduating with an engineering or similar degree about a career choice in telecommunications, would you think of responding, "network planning"? Well, probably not... more

Internet Evolution: Moore’s Law, Addressing Architectures, and the Future of Internet Scale

The Internet has evolved from a scarcity-driven system into one defined by abundance, reshaping infrastructure, governance, and economic models while challenging long-held assumptions about addressing, network roles, and the future of protocol design. more

WSIS+10 and the Challenge of Securing the Internet

In just one week, representatives of governments from all around the world will gather at the UN headquarters in New York for the 10-year Review of the World Summit on the Information Society, a.k.a. "WSIS+10". We are very pleased to see the consensus forming that the principles of multi-stakeholder cooperation and engagement should be at the core of the Information Society. Moreover, consensus has emerged around a "post-2015" vision for how the Internet can be used to support the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that will bring about a better future for us all. more

Average DDoS Attacks Now Large Enough to Take Most Organizations Completely Offline

Arbor Networks today released its Global DDoS Attack Data for the first half of 2016 affirming continued escalation in both the size and frequency of denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks. more

Antigua to Host CaribNOG 18 in September

Antigua and Barbuda will host the eighteenth regional meeting of the Caribbean Network Operators Group (CaribNOG) from September 25 to 27. CaribNOG is a vibrant community of professionals committed to improving the region’s networks, expanding the technical capacity of those who build and secure them, and strengthening the interconnections among all actors in the Internet space. more

Caribbean Network Operators Group Hosts 17th Regional Meeting

The seventeenth regional meeting of the Caribbean Network Operators Group, CaribNOG 17, took place at the Hilton Barbados Resort, Bridgetown, Barbados from April 10 to 12, 2019, with the theme "Securing Caribbean Networks." Approximately 100 participants, including technical experts from the global Internet community and other stakeholders from across the Caribbean, joined dozens of online participants for this first of two regional gatherings for the year. more

New Ways Cybercriminals are Thwarting Security

M86 Security today released it's bi-annual security report for the first half of 2010, highlighting the evolution of obfuscation through combined attacks. From the report: "This threat trend is the latest to emerge as cybercriminals seek new ways to limit the effectiveness of many proactive security controls. Because existing techniques for 'covering their tracks' are becoming less effective, cybercriminals have begun using combined attacks, which are more complex and difficult to detect. By splitting the malicious code between Adobe ActionScript language - built into Adobe flash - and JavaScript components on the webpage, they limit the effectiveness of many of the the proactive security detection mechanisms in place today." more

An Economic Perspective on Internet Centrality

The IETF met in November 2022 in London. Among the many sessions that were held in that meeting was a session of the Decentralised Internet Infrastructure Research Group, (DINRG). The research group's ambitions are lofty: DINRG will investigate open research issues in decentralizing infrastructure services such as trust management, identity management, name resolution, resource/asset ownership management, and resource discovery. more

Renesys Reporting Total Internet Blackout in Sudan

Senior Research Engineer, Doug Madory at Renesys reports: "A few hours ago, we observed a total Internet blackout in Sudan and, as we publish this blog, the Internet remains largely unavailable. By count of impacted networks, it is the largest national blackout since Egypt disconnected itself in January 2011. The massive outage came as the government began a violent crackdown on protests triggered by the government’s decision to end fuel subsidies." more

Gall’s Law and the Network

In Systemantics: How Systems Really Work and How They Fail, John Gall says: "A complex system that works is invariably found to have evolved from a simple system that worked. A complex system designed from scratch never works and cannot be patched up to make it work. You have to start over with a working simple system." In the software development world, this is called Gall's Law... more