Nov 01, 2022 17:00:00

``IP address'' is stolen as a booty in Russia's invasion of Ukraine

Russia's military invasion of Ukraine, which began in February 2022, continues even at the time of writing, more than half a year later, and parts of eastern and southern Ukraine are under Russian control. In the meantime, it is said that '

IP addresses ' are being stolen from Russia's occupied territories as booty.

RIPE meetings: IP addresses as spoils of war – TechAint
https://techaint.com/2022/10/30/ripe-meetings-ip-addresses-as-spoils-of-war/

The 85th meeting of the forum European IP Networks (RIPE) , which formulates policies for the management and distribution of IP addresses and autonomous systems , is being held in Belgrade , Republic of Serbia. A Ukrainian member appealed at this meeting, ``There is a need for measures to prevent the confiscation of IP addresses from the occupied territories by Russia.''

Andrii Pylypenko, a lawyer and adviser to the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, said transferring Ukrainian IP addresses to new Russian websites is illegal and should immediately stop transferring IP addresses from Ukrainian companies to Russian owners. I claim that.

Pylypenko's claims have received support from Ukrainian companies and representatives, and Olena Kushnir of IT firm Web Pro said she was aware of a case where her IP address was forcibly transferred 'at gunpoint'. I said yes. Also, Viktoriia Opanasiuk of the Ukrainian Telecommunications Association said the forced IP address transfer by Russia is an important issue and no more time should be lost.

Pylypenko argued that the best possible protection would be to immediately freeze the transfer of Ukrainian IP addresses and autonomous systems. Regional Internet Registry RIPE NCC , a regional Internet registry covering Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia, cooperates with Ukrainian authorities to promptly protect Ukrainian IT companies while mitigating potential legal risks for RIPE NCC says it can.

In response, Athina Fragkouli, general counsel for RIPE NCC, is concerned that by freezing all IP address transfers, legal transfers could also be affected. There is also a problem with the involvement of the Ukrainian authorities in the efforts of the RIPE NCC, an autonomous organization. “We would like to adopt a member-approved response policy so as not to violate our own arrangements,” Fragkouli said.

However, the adoption of the new policy is expected to take at least several months, and some critics say it is too late for Ukrainian officials who need urgent solutions. Therefore, there are workarounds that consider temporary freeze measures to be 'contractual agreements' and not a new policy, as well as disclaimers that allow IP address assignments to be later revoked depending on country-specific circumstances. It is said that methods other than policy changes, such as the addition of , are also being considered.