[AfriNIC-rpd] Afrinic and RPKI

[Andrew Alston]

Hi Guys,

While I was considering developing a policy proposal around RPKI in Africa,
I figured before I attempt that one, and its a bit of a minefield, I¹d like
to open some discussion on the list about RPKI.

While I am not going to attempt to go into the details of RPKI in this
email, and will leave that up to the reader to do some research (its a
complex topic), I would like someone from AfriNIC to respond to the
following questions that can help guide policy formation on this issue.

A.) When a government declares that ISP X must be turned off, and issues
AfriNIC with an order to turn them off, that is generated in a court in the
country that the ISP resides in, how is AfriNIC planning on responding.
B.) With the acceptance of RPKI we effectively allow outside forces to
control the issuing and revocation of IP space, and if we look at the
actions taken recently in Tunisia, Egypt and rumour has it now in Algeria,
is this really a road we want to walk down?
C.) Has AfriNIC done any work with regards to RPKI to prepare for if this
does become a reality?

Right now, I see the world discussing RPKI as a solution for IP hijacking,
which is likely to become far more commonplace now that IP space is running
out, at the same time, I see us being years away from RPKI implementations.
(There is no code in the routers to support this yet, there are immense
technical and political hurdles to be crossed, and its a fundemental change
to the way the Internet actually operates and in my opinion a grave threat
to the autonomy of ISPs).  However, with the global debate on this
increasing I think it would be irresponsible of us in the AfriNIC region if
we did not start taking a long hard look at this and deciding how we as the
African community want to respond.

So, I¹d like to issue an invitation for some discussion on this subject on
the list.  Do some reading, do some research, and lets hear some thoughts so
that we can develop some sensible policies around this within the community,
before its far to late and we are forced to accept something implemented by
the rest of the world without our thoughts being heard.

I would strongly suggest reading
http://blog.internetgovernance.org/blog/_archives/2010/3/13/4479658.html

Thanks

Andrew Alston
TENET ­ Chief technology Officer