We Can Do More for Routing Security, Say Participants in the MANRS CDN & Cloud Provider Programme

Originally launched for network operators in 2014, the MANRS initiative has expanded to also address the unique needs of Internet Exchange Points (IXPs) in 2018 and Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) and Cloud Providers in 2020.

Today, the group of CDN & Cloud Provider Participants is eager to further efforts toward secure routing for the Internet by extending that Programme’s MANRS Actions.

A New MANRS Task Force

Several CDN and Cloud Provider MANRS participants came up with a few ideas on how to make the Programme stronger and produce a bigger impact. To develop these ideas further, the community formed a task force in September including participants from Akamai, Amazon, Azion, Cloudflare, Comcast, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Netflix, Verisign, and Vultr.

Over several weeks and multiple meetings, the task force has been discussing what additional actions operators can take and how those commitments can be integrated into the existing CDN & Cloud Providers Actions. They’re working on concrete recommendations to improve clarity, encourage technical and operational developments, and increase coordination among participants. The high-level focus areas the task force has been working on are:

• Improving consistency of route validation based on route objects published in an Internet Routing Registry (IRR), so that peers face a consistent requirement when interconnecting with any MANRS CDN or Cloud Provider
• Fostering RPKI as the primary technology for validation of routing information on a global scale
• Enhancing collaboration with tier-1 networks, transit providers, RIRs, and other IRR/RPKI data maintainers

Over the next few meetings, the task force participants will agree on the final text of the proposed changes to the Action set. From there, they will bring it to the larger MANRS community for review and eventual adoption.

Why are CDNs and Cloud Providers Important?

CDNs and cloud providers typically exchange traffic with thousands of other networks so data can flow efficiently around the world. This makes them large hubs of the Internet interconnection infrastructure. Their participation in MANRS amplifies the positive effect they have on routing security, and the routing hygiene of networks they peer with.

According to industry estimates, over half of all web traffic is served over CDNs, and their use continues to grow to meet Internet users’ growing appetite for media content, such as video, music, gaming, and software downloads. CDNs are therefore in a unique position to help to secure the global Internet.

We’re excited that the participants are stepping up to do more, and we encourage other CDN and Cloud Providers to join MANRS, get involved in this new task force, and help improve routing security for the whole Internet.

If you’re interested in joining as a MANRS participant and getting involved, join here!