A first look at common RPKI publication practices

TL;DR

This paper examines the current operational practices of RPKI repositories, highlighting variability that could impact the reliability and availability of cryptographic routing information crucial for Internet security.

Contribution

It provides an initial analysis of RPKI repository deployment practices, establishing a baseline for future assessments of their maturity and reliability.

Findings

Wide variation in RPKI repository deployment practices

Some practices may threaten the availability of routing information

Creates a baseline for measuring repository maturity

Abstract

The RPKI is crucial for securing the routing system of the Internet. With the RPKI, owners of Internet resources can make cryptographically backed claims, for example about the legitimate origin of their IP space. Thousands of networks use this information to detect malicious or accidental route hijacks. The RPKI consists out of 100 distributed repositories. However, public reports claim that some of these repositories are unreliable. A current Internet-Draft suggests best practices on how to operate these repositories, with the goal to improve deployment quality. Inspired by this draft, we take a first look at the operational practices of repositories of the RPKI. We mainly focus on the distribution of RPKI information. We find that there is a wide variety in deployment practices, of which some might risk the availability of parts of the information in the RPKI. This study creates a baseline for measuring the maturity of RPKI repositories in the future.