Telia Carrier implements RPKI to protect Internet core

Telia Carrier, which is currently ranked the number one global IP backbone (AS1299) by Dyn Research, has implemented RPKI to validate and secure critical BGP route updates.

RPKI (Resource Public Key Infrastructure) is a mechanism by which Internet address (IP) resource owners can ensure that they provide an authoritative list of allowable upstreams to the world. Network Operators who adopt RPKI validation and filtering can then choose to reject announcements from networks not authorised to advertise those resources. Although not a new technology, RPKI has struggled, like IPv6, with poor uptake across resource owners and network operators. Essentially, RPKI reduces the risk of accidental route leaks, or even hijacks, which can result in critical outages or fraudulent traffic manipulation.

“As the leading global Internet backbone, route stability is paramount and we encourage our network customers, peers and the Internet community, in general, to support the RPKI initiative by implementing it in their own networks,” explained Jorg Dekker, Head of Internet Services, Telia Carrier. “We joined MANRS officially last year, and after extensive testing we’re confident that RPKI is sufficiently stable and secure to be rolled-out in our global network. We have already implemented RPKI filtering towards our peering partners and are currently extending this to our customer connections.”