An Opportunity to Learn about Critical Infrastructure

20/02/2024

By Guillermo Cicileo, Head of Internet Infrastructure Research and Development at LACNIC

The rapid growth of the Internet and the subsequent increase in risks have led us to focus on the development and protection of critical Internet infrastructure in the region of Latin America and the Caribbean.

This is the reason why LACNIC implements various initiatives and programs with community experts and operators in the region. The aim is to reinforce various components of this infrastructure, as their development enhances the quality of connectivity at both user and country levels, while also reducing potential vulnerabilities.

To review the path we have traveled and share firsthand what we have in store for 2024, we invite you to a webinar focused exclusively on our initiatives for supporting critical Internet infrastructure.

This online seminar has been scheduled for 28 February, when we will expand on the infrastructure initiatives in which we are involved.

We will discuss +Raíces, the program through which we promote the deployment of LACNIC anycast DNS servers or DNS root zone servers. By installing these servers, we try to increase the resiliency of access to the DNS, one of the Internet’s critical resources. This creates redundancy and reduces criticality, providing for a better response to possible DDoS attacks or eventual infrastructure failures that might render certain root-servers inoperative.

We will also talk about the deployment of measurement platforms within a group of local ASNs and the deployathons we are organizing for local communities in different countries.

We will explain the role of DNS in Internet architecture and why we work on monitoring its operation and global protection.

A third topic that will be addressed during the webinar is the deployment of BGP collectors at IXPs or other networks of interest. Since 2020, we have been analyzing interconnection in Latin America and the Caribbean by processing global BGP routing tables provided by RIPE NCC collectors or LACNIC’s own collectors.

Critical Technologies. The workshop will include a special section on technologies considered critical by LACNIC, such as IPv6, RPKI validation, ROA creation by operators, DNS/DNSSEC adoption, etc. Each of these plays a key role in the regional Internet infrastructure ecosystem.

Another topic we will discuss is our support for the strengthening of local human capacities in the countries of the region. Highlights of this include the organization of workshops, tutorials, meetings, and other activities at the national level where LACNIC’s strategic messaging can be disseminated. We will share specific experiences and discuss the meetings we hold during each of our events together with national Network Operators’ Groups (NOG) to promote cooperation and collaboration in each country.

Finally, we will present the R&D Ambassadors program, an initiative that seeks to formalize collaboration between technological leaders in the community and LACNIC.

Click here to register and participate in the webinar.