“The nature of science today is distributed and data-intensive,” said Wallace, director of routing integrity at Internet2. “We’re helping ensure that the very networks that enable groundbreaking research remain secure and resilient.”
From Measurement to Mitigation
To address the problem, the ROOTBEER team will focus on three key strategies:
Measurement and Analysis: Leverage active probing techniques developed to detect route leaks between RENs and commercial networks.
Operational Dashboard: Build a user-friendly visualization platform to display real-time routing behaviors and flag anomalies.
Community Engagement: Work with state and regional RENs and university partners to adopt new routing security protocols and best practices.
The goal is to transition cutting-edge research into operational tools, empowering network engineers across the U.S. to detect, diagnose and fix misrouting issues before they affect performance or data privacy.
“This project bridges the gap between internet measurement science and on-the-ground operations,” said Luckie, consulting research scientist at CAIDA and project co-lead for ROOTBEER. “And, it’s designed for long-term sustainability via integration with Internet2’s operational network management infrastructure.”
The ROOTBEER project reflects the broader goals of the NSF’s Cybersecurity Innovation for Cyberinfrastructure (CICI) program, which supports the development of technologies that protect the integrity and availability of U.S. scientific data.
“We see this work as foundational for the future of scientific collaboration,” Claffy said. “It’s not just about fixing today’s leaks — it’s about building trust into the infrastructure that accelerates scientific discoveries and innovations.”
This research is supported by the NSF (award no. OAC-2530871). The project runs from October 1, 2025, through September 30, 2028.