Hacker News: Recent BGP leak that redirected internet traffic through Russia

Source URL: https://www.kentik.com/blog/beyond-their-intended-scope-uzing-into-russia/
Source: Hacker News
Title: Recent BGP leak that redirected internet traffic through Russia

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**Summary:** The text discusses a recent BGP leak incident involving Uztelecom, a service provider in Uzbekistan, which redirected internet traffic through Russia and Central Asia. It emphasizes the importance of BGP routing security and highlights ongoing improvements in routing hygiene, while also advocating for the adoption of RPKI to mitigate future incidents. This analysis is particularly relevant for professionals in the fields of infrastructure and information security, as it touches on routing vulnerabilities within the context of BGP.

**Detailed Description:**

– **Incident Overview:**
– The blog post begins a series titled “Beyond Their Intended Scope,” focusing on BGP (Border Gateway Protocol) mishaps.
– It centers around a specific incident where routes leaked by Uztelecom redirected internet traffic through unwanted paths, notably through Russia.

– **BGP Route Leaks:**
– **Definition:** A route leak is defined as the propagation of routing announcements beyond their intended scope, leading to potential misdirection or disruption of traffic.
– BGP is crucial for the internet’s operational framework, allowing autonomous systems (AS) to manage routing information.

– **Classification of Errors:**
– The text differentiates between two types of BGP errors:
– **Mis-originations:** An AS incorrectly claims control of an IP address range it does not own, misguiding traffic.
– **Path errors:** An AS illegitimately inserts itself into the routing path, disrupting intended traffic flows.

– **Specifics of the Incident:**
– The Uztelecom leak occurred on September 26, 2024, lasting about 40 minutes and affecting over 3,000 routes.
– The analysis illustrates how network paths changed and identifies downstream effects on major providers such as Amazon and Cloudflare.

– **Data Analysis:**
– The text references the use of Kentik’s tools to analyze NetFlow data from BGP incidents, helping to visualize how misdirected traffic manifested during the leak.
– Significant traffic rerouted through AS networks in Russia highlighting the potential vulnerabilities of BGP.

– **Ongoing Improvements:**
– The post asserts that while BGP leaks still happen, contemporary routing hygiene has improved, allowing for better containment of such incidents.
– The adoption of strategies like RPKI (Resource Public Key Infrastructure) is emphasized as a means to bolster routing security:
– **Creating Route Origin Authorizations (ROAs):** Helps establish legitimate pathways for traffic.
– **Rejected Invalids:** A strategy for safeguarding outbound traffic against misdirected routing.

– **Future Implications:**
– The text concludes by advocating for continued educational and technical efforts to enhance routing security, noting the need to prepare for increasingly sophisticated adversaries in the cyber landscape.

This analysis underscores the crucial intersection of routing protocols with broader infrastructure and information security practices, making it particularly pertinent for security professionals focused on network resilience.