Global Internet Routing: About Security and Big Time Actors
April 6, 2020
In my lectures about changes in Internet security last year, I mentioned the targeted efforts to undermine the servers responsible for certain core functionality. I described attacks directed at a foundation server in Scandinavia. One point I stressed was that redirecting traffic was an objective of a bad actor—a bad actor with considerable resources.
“Not Just Another BGP Hijack” reports that on April Fool’s Day, a large scale border gateway protocol event took place. Companies like Amazon and Akamai, among others, had their traffic routed through the Russian telecommunications operator Rostelecom.
Yes, there is a global pandemic. No, bad actors or careless system administrators are still chugging along. The rerouting is a reminder that the “Internet” is not a construct that can be ignored, assumed to be secure, and resistant to attacks.
Far from it. The “talk” about firms providing cybersecurity are themselves vulnerable when bad actors target underlying functions. The report about this attack, if true, is a grim reminder that marketing talk about security may disguise deeper and larger criminal activities.
Stephen E Arnold, April 6, 2020
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