September 2021 - ncc-services-wg

State of sanctions
by Athina Fragkouli 24 Nov '21

24 Nov '21

Dear Alex, Apologies for the delay in getting back to you. As an association under Dutch law, the RIPE NCC is in principle subject to EU and Dutch sanctions regulations. Of relevance to us are financial sanctions, which consist of: - Freezing of funds and economic resources of designated persons and entities; and - A prohibition on making funds and economic resources available to such persons and entities. So far, these sanctions apply to designated persons and entities listed in EU sanctions regulations for Iran and Syria. You can find the legislation (along with sanctioned persons/entities) here: - Iran: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex%3A32012R0267 <https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex%3A32012R0267> - Syria: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex%3A32012R0036 <https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex%3A32012R0036> Please note that the list of designated persons and entities is regularly updated. The RIPE NCC has reviewed its membership and has set a restriction on transfer and resource requests for three of its members. This was announced by the RIPE NCC Executive Board last year in April[1], followed by an update in June[2]. In late December 2020, the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) confirmed to the RIPE NCC its understanding that IP resources are considered economic resources, as defined in the EU sanctions regulations, and must be frozen for sanctioned entities. The MFA's primary concern is in terms of preventing the IP resources of sanctioned entities from being transferred, as well as preventing the allocation of additional resources. However, the MFA also said it believed the RIPE NCC had taken adequate steps to ensure compliance with sanctions and there was no need to deregister the IP resources of the three affected members. This was announced by the RIPE NCC Executive Board in March[3]. Please also note that the RIPE NCC had requested an exemption from EU sanctions regulations. However, the MFA stated that according to the regulation, there was no legal basis to exempt IP resources from sanctions. Regarding your last point, it might be difficult to provide a detailed overview, as anything we publish will have to be sufficiently anonymised to avoid identifying the affected members. However, we will see what we can do here, as we appreciate the value in having transparent reporting around this issue. Kind regards, Athina Fragkouli Chief Legal Officer RIPE NCC [1] Sanctions and the RIPE NCC: Current Status and Executive Board Position: https://www.ripe.net/ripe/mail/archives/ncc-announce/2020-April/001413.html <https://www.ripe.net/ripe/mail/archives/ncc-announce/2020-April/001413.html> [2] Sanctions and the RIPE NCC: Status Update https://www.ripe.net/ripe/mail/archives/ncc-announce/2020-June/001427.html <https://www.ripe.net/ripe/mail/archives/ncc-announce/2020-June/001427.html> [3] RIPE NCC Sanctions Update: https://www.ripe.net/ripe/mail/archives/ncc-announce/2021-March/001477.html <https://www.ripe.net/ripe/mail/archives/ncc-announce/2021-March/001477.html> > > From: Alex Le Heux <aleheux(a)tucowsinc.com <mailto:aleheux@tucowsinc.com>> > Subject: [ncc-services-wg] State of sanctions > Date: 20 May 2021 at 16:28:49 CEST > To: ncc-services-wg(a)ripe.net <mailto:ncc-services-wg@ripe.net> > > Hi All, > > The various types of sanctions and or such limits that apply to the RIPE NCC’s services have been a recurring topic for a couple years now. Recently, this seems to pop up more often though. This isn’t surprising as sanctions have become a more popular tool in the last few years. > > It occurred to me that we don’t seem to have a clear overview of what the total effect is: > > - Which sanctions, imposed by whom, affect the RIPE NCC’s operations and services? > - Who are the targets of these sanctions? > - Which of the RIPE NCC’s services are affected by these sanctions, for whom and in which way? > > (Please read “sanctions” with a wide definition and include such things as Dutch banks looking for money laundering that was mentioned during RIPE82) > > If there is a detailed overview of all this available, could the RIPE NCC publish this periodically? If not, can they start doing so? > > Best regards, > > Alex Le Heux

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Help us Build a Sustainable European Cloud
by Michael J. Oghia 04 Oct '21

04 Oct '21

Hi everyone, My name is Michael Oghia. I'm a long-time RIPE community member, and currently the Director of Communications & External Relations at the Sustainable Digital Infrastructure Alliance (SDIA <https://sdialliance.org>) – a non-profit network of more than 65 organisations working to catalyse the transition to a sustainable digital economy. Mirjam recently encouraged me to join this WG given the recent discussion about the NCC's (now paused) cloud plans. She mentioned that the topic of a good European alternative came up in the discussion, which is why I'm eager to share my latest RIPE Labs post with you all since it's relevant. Over the summer, SDIA published a three-part series introducing our manifesto for a sustainable European cloud, one that’s open-source, fair, and creates economic opportunities for all. Such digital infrastructure will reflect European values, and provide a blueprint that others around the world can draw inspiration from to further develop their own digital economies. The post, published today, provides a summary of each part, an invitation to read them, and a call to action to help us make our vision a reality. You can read it at: https://labs.ripe.net/author/michael_oghia/help-us-build-a-sustainable-euro… In case anyone would like to discuss further, please don't hesitate to reach out. Best, -Michael __________________ Director of Communications & External Relations Sustainable Digital Infrastructure Alliance (SDIA <https://sdialliance.org/> ) ICT sustainability advocate | IRPC <https://internetrightsandprinciples.org/> Steering Committee member Belgrade, Serbia (UTC+2) | Twitter <https://www.twitter.com/MikeOghia> | LinkedIn <https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikeoghia> <https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikeoghia>

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RIPE NCC Planning Q4 2021
by Felipe Victolla Silveira 30 Sep '21

30 Sep '21

Dear colleagues, We are now publishing the quarterly planning for all our development teams. These are available at: https://www.ripe.net/support/documentation/quarterly-planning <https://www.ripe.net/support/documentation/quarterly-planning> The goals of publishing our planning are to be transparent about the work we will be carrying out in the coming months, to get your input on those plans, and to foster a dialogue with our members and the community about what you would like to see the RIPE NCC work on going forward. Last quarter, we published our plans for RPKI and this was shared with the Routing Working Group. Today we publish our planning for the RIPE Database and our Business Applications, which includes work we will carry out with the LIR Portal, registry services and other applications the RIPE NCC provides for its members and community. We will provide status updates as the work progresses and add input from the community to the pages. We will also archive previous plans so you can track how we progress with our work. If you have comments or questions about our planning, I hope you'll let us know. Kind regards, Felipe Victolla Silveira Chief Operations Officer RIPE NCC

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RIPE NCC transparency and response SLA
by noc＠netispro.com 24 Sep '21

24 Sep '21

Hi All, I remember that such issues were repeatedly discussed at the RIPE meetings, but I would still like to raise the question of the transparency of the RIPE NCC procedures and response SLA for the (future) members' requests. Our company is already an active RIPE NCC member and on August 18 we decided to open an additional LIR account in order to get an allocation for our operations through the waiting list. The application was processed as usual until we paid the invoice and returned our signed agreement (August 20). After that the whole request got out of control and over the last 10 days we've received only standard replies that the Registry Services team experiences "heavy workload" and our application is postponed again and again without any additional request or explanation. Thus, despite the stated aim of "providing a response within one working day", our request remains in processing for a significant time and the RIPE NCC refuses to even provide any details on the reasons or the exact processing time. It's also very funny that some replies from the RIPE NCC refer to the additional Due Diligence checks that are required for our application, but since we are incorporated in a country with a public transparent corporate register, are not subject to any EU sanctions and already hold a RIPE NCC membership that was duly checked before the activation, it just looks like an unconvincing excuse that only misleads us. I have discussed this issue with other members and many of them told me that they have encountered similar problems when submitting various kinds of requests (allocation, assignment, transfers) in the past. It looks like the RIPE NCC can simply stockpile inconvenient, complex or any other requests without any valid reason and for any period of time. Thus, I kindly ask the RIPE NCC to comment on this issue and answer a couple of questions: 1. Why some of the requests are delayed due to the "heavy workload" excuse while the requests submitted later are timely processed? 2. Why we (as an applicant) aren't able to get any information on our request status and exact processing time for weeks? 3. Are similar cases actually reflected in the internal ticket statistics and what measures are taken by the management to solve this problem? Kind regards, Elina

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Re: [ncc-services-wg] [ncc-announce] [news] Using Third Parties to Automate Our Due Diligence
by Nick Hilliard 17 Sep '21

17 Sep '21

Felipe Victolla Silveira wrote on 16/09/2021 13:14: > We will be working with iDenfy, a specialised provider in automated > ID validation and remote identification services, to ensure a high > standard of diligence and security across all ID documents that we > process. Once this is ready, members will upload personal > identification documents directly to the iDenfy system using a secure > link that we send. In addition to maintaining a high level of > security, iDenfy will ensure that this data is deleted within 14 days > of being submitted. In line with GDPR, we remain the ‘data > controller’. Work is currently underway to integrate our external > request processes with iDenfy’s systems and we plan for this to go > live on 23 September. Hi Felipe, https://www.idenfy.com/identity-verification-service/ can you confirm that there will be an option to decline automated biometric analysis, specifically including facial / feature analysis? Nick

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Interim RIPE NCC Services WG Meeting
by Rob Evans 06 Sep '21

06 Sep '21

Hi all, A reminder that we will hold another interim RIPE NCC Services WG meeting on Monday the 6th September at 14:00 UTC / 15:00 BST / 16:00 CEST. The agenda will again be to learn more about the RIPE NCC’s plans for moving some services to the cloud. There will be a presentation from the RIPE NCC and hopefully ample time for discussion. Details for joining the meeting, which will be held on Zoom, are appended. Hope to see you on Monday! Cheers, Bijal, Kurtis & Rob Topic: NCC Services WG Meeting Time: Sep 6, 2021 16:00 Amsterdam Join Zoom Meeting https://ripe.zoom.us/j/97983465596?pwd=S0lnWkZ3SFdORk9LRUdQbDlISUljZz09 Meeting ID: 979 8346 5596 Passcode: 771907 Join by SIP 97983465596(a)zoomcrc.com Join by H.323 162.255.37.11 (US West) 162.255.36.11 (US East) 221.122.88.195 (China) 115.114.131.7 (India Mumbai) 115.114.115.7 (India Hyderabad) 213.19.144.110 (Amsterdam Netherlands) 213.244.140.110 (Germany) 103.122.166.55 (Australia Sydney) 103.122.167.55 (Australia Melbourne) 209.9.211.110 (Hong Kong SAR) 64.211.144.160 (Brazil) 69.174.57.160 (Canada Toronto) 65.39.152.160 (Canada Vancouver) 207.226.132.110 (Japan Tokyo) 149.137.24.110 (Japan Osaka) Meeting ID: 979 8346 5596 Passcode: 771907

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Re: [ncc-services-wg] RIPE NCC and the Cloud: Draft Principles, Requirements and Strategy Framework
by Drew DeVault 01 Sep '21

01 Sep '21

The desire to use upgraded and modern technologies is strong among engineers, but it is essential to temper it with a sense of responsibility towards our users. RIPE's affairs are of critical importance for matters ranging from economics to national security for a broad range of countries and people, and this necessitates a careful, conservative approach to technology. RIPE lacks the privilege to experiment with unproven technologies or take a radical approach to its infrastructure. This can be balanced with an open-minded eye towards the state-of-the-art, and indeed it must in order to meet some requirements imposed on RIPE's infrastructure (such as security and performance), but a great deal of care must be taken in this process, with matters of international security, economics, and sovereignty in mind. It is a matter of our pride as engineers that we consider these issues carefully and incorporate the broader context into our decision-making on technology. With that in mind, the choice to use GCP and AWS seems misjudged. There are several principles laid out in this document which are not upheld with this choice. The most obvious is the preference for local providers. Amazon[0] and Google[1] are multi-nationals, but are US-first, hiring for AWS and GCP mainly (or entirely, in Amazon's case) outside of RIPE service areas. If Cloud is the future, the talent necessary to maintain that future is being centralized outside of RIPE's areas of interest, and by relying on them rather than investing in that talent locally, it betrays the sovereign interests of its members. Furthermore, these providers have a record of legal problems which stem from a US-first mindset and an unwillingness to obey laws in RIPE service regions, particularly the EU, with a historical record of GDPR violations, leading to steep fines[2][3]. These links cover only two fines, and there have been several more. [0]: https://www.amazon.jobs/en/search?base_query=%23SecOps&loc_query=&latitude=… [1]: https://paste.sr.ht/~sircmpwn/15aa14e9009a7ca99ba2511354c84a878a7f7894 [2]: https://edpb.europa.eu/news/national-news/2020/swedish-data-protection-auth… [3]: https://www.bbc.com/news/business-58024116 Additionally, the concerns regarding vendor-lock in and single-provider dependence in conflict with the prioritization for engineering time. The requirements necessary to establish a robust provider-neutral cloud deployment are comparable in effort to the requirements of a private cloud, and such a deployment would impose frustrating limitations such as limiting feature-use to the mutually-compatible subset of both clouds, or making the infrastructure more difficult to audit. And this is my recommendation: a private cloud. Tools like OpenStack and Kubernetes are widely available industry standards which allows for many of the same improvements RIPE seeks to establish with this initiative, but rates much better within the principles laid out here, as well as in terms of RIPE's stewardship over international interests. A private cloud also makes more sense in economic terms, a matter which is not to be taken lightly by the thoughtful engineer, as the move from private infrastructure to a commercial cloud would convert assets (the infrastructure) into liabilities (the cloud servers) by extracting a rent from RIPE, which, furthermore, is a rent paid to the US. Is the return to the economies in RIPE's service regions in greater than the expense of paying a tax to the United States? Even without considering the export of cloud expertise, or the difficult-to-measure effects on the soft power of RIPE's constituent nations, the answer is likely "no".

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Re: [ncc-services-wg] Draft Cloud Strategy Framework
by Antony Gollan 01 Sep '21

01 Sep '21

Dear Gert, Hank, Sorry for the delay with our response here. We have a few people taking their summer break at the moment, which has made it hard to get a proper response together. We will share something with the list next week. Kind regards, Antony Gollan Communications Team Leader RIPE NCC

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