Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) Hijacking

Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) came into focus after Telegram alleged that access to its platform was disrupted through BGP hijacking. The accusation came after the Government of India  temporarily banned Telegram services in India. 

BGP is the Internet’s core routing protocol, which enables networks across the world to exchange routing information and determine the best path to reach a specific IP address.

It is used by Autonomous Systems (AS)—large networks operated by telecom companies, internet service providers (ISPs), cloud providers, and content delivery networks (CDNs).

An Autonomous System (AS) is a collection of IP networks managed by a single organization and identified by a unique Autonomous System Number (ASN).

BGP hijacking occurs when a network falsely advertises itself as the preferred route to a destination, causing internet traffic to be diverted, intercepted, or dropped (blackholed).

BGP hijacking can disrupt internet connectivity, enable traffic interception, and pose serious cybersecurity and network reliability risks.

The incident highlights the importance of secure internet routing and the adoption of measures such as Route Origin Validation (ROV) and Resource Public Key Infrastructure (RPKI) to prevent malicious or accidental route hijacking.

Source: IE

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