The Internet has long been fertile ground for innovative technologies to grow and openly compete. But having emerged out of these conditions, certain services and the companies that offer them have come to dominate and stifle the very diversity that made their existence possible. Our guest in the episode of the RIPE Labs podcast, Maria Farrell, talks about why we must - and how we can - rewild the Internet.

Show notes:

00:00 - Find out more about our excellent guest, Maria Farrell

02:26 - Maria at RIPE 90

05:48 - More about Seeing Like a State by James C. Scott

07:15 - Find out more about Robin Berjon

08:46 - We Need to Rewind the Internet by Maria Farrell and Robin Berjon

11:36 - Meredith Whittaker speaking at CCC

16:32 - Leslie Daigle's The Internet Invariants ...and Leslie at RIPE 90

20:10 - RFC 9518 'Centralization, Decentralization, and Internet Standards'

21:30 - Hisham Ibrahim on RIPE Labs

28:55 - Cory Doctorow on competitive compatibility ("comcom")

37:45 - Interview with Jonathan Kanter on Big Tech, Antitrust Laws, and the Future of AI

43:20 - On Ireland's relationship with U.S. tech

51:45 - Anna Wilson at RIPE 90 It's ok to be smaller: how to not get overwhelmed

52:10 - Bert Hubert on European cloud

52:18 - Meredith Whittaker on the end of big tech

01:00:48: - Bert Hubert on open source alternatives to big tech services

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What is “the Internet”? And why is it not just our access to a search engine or our favourite social media platform? In this episode, Hisham Ibrahim, RIPE NCC’s Chief Community Officer, breaks down the layers of the Internet ecosystem, explains what a stable and resilient Internet means, and clarifies the difference between digital governance and Internet governance.

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The digital infrastructure we're all so dependent on has a negative - and growing - impact on the environment. In this episode, Michael Oghia talks about strategies for breaking down the big problem of digital sustainability, strategies for building a more efficient Internet, and challenges that come with the adoption of more sustainable practices. 

Show notes

01:40 - Michael on RIPE Labs

08:20 - Our World in Data gives similar numbers for the % of global carbon emissions from the aviation industry, as does this broader report from the European parliament.

11:00 - E-waste dumps in Ghana

11:10 - Map of conflict mineral mines in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

11:27 - Article from the Guardian on projected energy demands from AI data centres

12:50 - Article on using 'waste heat' as a source of power

13:20 - Michael RIPE Labs article on refurbishment as a strategy for digital sustainability

15:30 - Michael's RIPE Labs article on Why Small and Medium-Size Operators Should Care About Sustainability

17:15 - Read more about the origins of the term 'carbon footprint' in this nice piece by Tom Greenwood

37:05 - The resources Michael is pointing us to here are available via the same article: Why Small and Medium-Size Operators Should Care About Sustainability

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When two Internet cables in the Baltic Sea were reported as broken last November, researchers at the RIPE NCC turned to RIPE Atlas to examine the damage. In this episode, Emile Aben discusses what his analysis uncovered about the impact of these and similar incidents in the months that followed, and how the Internet remained resilient against them.

Show notes

00:44 - TeleGeography build and maintain massive data sets that are used to monitor, forecast, and map the telecommunications industry. Their submarine cable map is a valuable resource in tracking Internet cable incidents.

00:52 - Some early reports on these incidents from Mobile Europe, Reuters, The Register

01:08 - Visual guide from the Guardian exploring circumstances surrounding incidents in the Baltic Sea.

01:13 - RIPE Atlas

01:36 - On RIPE Labs: Does the Internet Route Around Damage? - Baltic Sea Cable Cuts; A Deep Dive Into the Baltic Sea Cable Cuts

02:13 - First episode of the RIPE Labs podcast: Measuring Damage on the Internet

03:14 - Emile's earlier articles on the Ukraine: The Ukrainian Internet

05:25 - RIPE Atlas anchors

12:40 - Help expand RIPE Atlas coverage! Learn more about what's involved in hosting a RIPE Atlas anchor.

27:05 - The Internet in North Korea - Hanging by a Single Thread?

32:50 - Lord Kelvin said both that "To measure is to know" and "If you cannot measure it, you cannot improve it".

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Overcoming the various challenges involved in keeping the Internet running calls for different ways of thinking about those challenges. In this episode, Rob Lister talks to us about how and why the technical community can and should embrace neurodiversity.

Back in May 2024 at RIPE 88, Rob Lister (Senior Network Engineer at LONAP) opened up to the community about his experience of having been diagnosed with ADHD during COVID. We talked more about how the Internet community can support neurodiverse individuals and how communication and awareness are key.

Rob was kind enough to share some useful references and resources for interested listeners:

• Dolan, E (2024): Anendophasia: Scientists uncover the weird cognitive impact of life without an inner voice
• ADHD Adult Self-Screening Tool
• ADHD and work - ideas for workplace accommodations.

For events

• Sunflower Lanyards from hidden disabilities
• "Social battery" pin badge - loads of version including this fancy LED badge.

Books

• Channing, C (2020): The First Minute: How to Start Conversations That Get Results (alternatively, you can also get it here)
• Channing, C (2022): Effective Emails: The Secret to Straightforward Communication at Work (alternative here)
• Archer, D (2016): The ADHD Advantage: What You Thought Was a Diagnosis May Be Your Greatest Strength
• Shankman, P (2017): Faster Than Normal: Turbocharge Your Focus, Productivity, and Success with the Secrets of the ADHD Brain
• Maskell, L (2022): ADHD an A-Z
• Banks, A (2021): Going Official! On getting a diagnosis of adult ADHD, and what to do with it

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The White House recently announced plans to boost Internet routing security in the US through better RPKI coverage. So how does RPKI help secure BGP? How easy is it to boost coverage on a national level? And what's the future potential of the infrastructure? Our guest Tim Bruijnzeels shares his views.

Tim is Principal Software Engineer for RPKI at the RIPE NCC and has worked in standards development and software implementation around RPKI for well over a decade. He talked to us about where RPKI is at today, how governments can and have aided its adoption, and how work being done on ASPA and BGPsec promise a more secure future for the Internet.

Show notes:

02:40 - The Dublin IETF meeting back in 2008.

03:17 - Tim has contributed to a number of RFCs over the years.

03:40 - NLnet Labs develops free, liberally licensed, open-source software for DNS and BGP routing.

03:50 - Krill is a free, open source RPKI Certificate Authority developed by NLnet Labs that lets you run delegated RPKI under one or multiple RIRs.

07:24 - You can read more on how the Internet routes around damage on RIPE Labs.

10:47 - Get more information on how to manage ROAs through the RPKI Dashboard.

11:36 - Check out the RIPE NCC's Routing Information Service (RIS).

12:17 - Alex Band's article on the launch of the RIPE NCC Resource Certification Service back in 2011.

13:51 - There are a number of RPKI validators to choose from, including Routinator from NLnet Labs.

17:32 - Here's a nice explainer article on ASPA.

22:07 - Plans to support ASPA and BGPsec router certificates in RIPE NCC Quarterly Planning.

24:42 - Press Release: White House Office of the National Cyber Director Releases Roadmap to Enhance Internet Routing Security.

26:47 - More on Dutch government measures for ensuring RPKI coverage.

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Being at the core of the Internet places the DNS under a lot of pressure. New forms of DNS abuse emerge each year, disputes over domain names persist, and all the while, the Internet just keeps getting bigger. Mikhail Anisimov from ICANN talks about the coordinated effort involved in meeting these challenges and shares his views on DNS in Central Asia.

As one of the organisations at the core of the Internet that works to coordinate the supply of Internet numbers and domain names, ICANN plays a vital role in helping to support and develop the DNS. Our guest Mikhail has been ICANN’s Stakeholder Engagement Senior Manager for Eastern Europe and Central Asia since 2020, so we thought who better to talk to about DNS, DNSSEC, and its ongoing development in Central Asia.

02:18 - Wikipedia entry on DNS

03:30 - You can learn lots about ICANN on their website

04:10 – There’s a list of all the root DNS servers and their operators on the IANA website. The RIPE NCC operates K-root.

05:12 – Statdns has this useful list of DNS related RFCs

08:40 – New gTLD program

09:10 – FAQ on the next round of the new gTLD

15:30 - The 8th Central Asian Internet Governance Forum took place on 21-22 June 2024.

15:51 – ICANN’s Domain Name Security Threat Information Collection and Reporting (DNSTICR) project

16:02 - …and the broader Domain Abuse Activity Reporting (DAAR) project

19:07 - Calling Time on DNSSEC by Geoff Huston

22:19 – Dan Kaminsky in the Internet Hall of Fame

28:00 – ICANN page on DNSSEC

33:21 – The next Central Asia Peering and Interconnection Forum, CAPIF 3, takes place in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, from 24-25 September 2024.

40:42 – Read Chris Buckridge’s Fragmentation: Still the Internet's Big Bad here on RIPE Labs.

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For many, the Internet is essentially a black box. We connect with endpoints to send and receive data, but we have little insight into what happens in between. Dr Paola Grosso talks about how the CATRIN project seeks to provide more visibility and control so we can make more responsible decisions on how we traverse the Internet.

Show notes:

02:17 – Paola’s UvA profile

04:21 – CATRIN project homepage

04:44 – UPIN project announcement

06:00 – Partners in the CATRIN project are listed at the bottom of the project homepage

09:29 – The ‘main paper’ on the responsible Internet that we talk about is the article in the Journal of Network and Systems Management. There’s also a series of posts about CATRIN on the SIDN Labs blog.

24:12 – See more on the Waag’s role in CATRIN

26:05 – Read up on the latest developments in MANRS.

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