AfriNIC, regional Internet registry for the African region, today announces the availability of its resource certification service to improve the long-term stability of Internet routing.<\/p>\n
From the 1st January 2011, members requesting IP addresses or AS numbers will have the option of being issued a “resource certificate”, digital verification that the resource has been officially assigned by AfriNIC.<\/p>\n
Resource certification will automate the process of Internet routing in a reliable, transparent way. This will help prevent the type of mis-announcement that resulted in the global YouTube outage in 2008 following a routing error by Pakistan Telecom.<\/p>\n
The vast majority of ‘mis-announcements’ are accidental, known as route leaking, but can still have a significant impact on global Internet traffic.<\/p>\n
Adiel Akplogan, chief executive at AfriNIC, explains: “The launch of resource certification demonstrates our ongoing commitment to improving routing stability in Africa. As Internet penetration increases in the region, routing errors could have a much greater impact on the network. Resource certification will reduce these risks and help ensure a safe and secure Internet for all.”<\/p>\n
Resource certification is a system based on globally accepted and well-known Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) principles. All of the Regional Internet Registries (RIRs) have committed to deploying certification in their region.<\/p>\n