On the Road to Better Routing Security: What Are MENA’s Next Steps?

In a region with a wealth of resources and network expertise but a higher than average number of global routing incidents, the Mutually Agreed Norms for Routing Security (MANRS) initiative can help networks champion a more secure routing environment.

Networks in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region fall between two regional Internet registries: Réseaux IP Européens Network Coordination Centre (RIPE NCC) and African Network Information Centre (AFRINIC). This gives these networks access to many resources and tools that support them to adopt best practices in routing security, including resource public key infrastructure (RPKI). There’s also great technical expertise in the region, with specialists working to keep more than 800 MENA-based networks up and running.

The region is, however, over represented in terms of routing incidents. Despite representing only 1.18% of all the networks visible on the Internet, the region has been responsible for 2.5-3% of global routing incidents so far this year as of October. Last month, the MANRS Observatory recorded 24 routing incidents from 22 networks in the region. The incidents range from Bogon announcements to more serious route leaks and route mis-originations, as detailed in the screen capture from MANRS Observatory above.

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