Published On: June 24, 2025Categories: News

Geoff Huston: The Internet’s Architect Returns to Challenge the Status Quo at BalticNOG

  • Geoff Huston

When it comes to the Internet’s foundational thinkers, few names resonate as strongly as Geoff Huston. As the Chief Scientist at APNIC and a pivotal figure in Australia’s digital transformation, Huston has spent over four decades shaping, critiquing, and reimagining the Internet’s architecture. Now, he brings that legacy and a sharp new perspective to BalticNOG with a talk that promises to challenge long-held assumptions about network visibility and trust.

From Building AARNet to Shaping Global Internet Policy

In 1989, Huston led the creation of AARNet, connecting every Australian university and research institution to the Internet in just over a year. This foundational work earned him the title “Father of the Internet in Australia” and a place in the Internet Hall of Fame. His career spans senior roles at Telstra, leadership positions in the Internet Architecture Board and Internet Society, and a prolific body of research on IP addressing, BGP, and DNS infrastructure.

Currently, at APNIC, Huston focuses on research related to Internet infrastructure, IP technologies, and address distribution policies. His extensive work includes analysis of BGP routing behaviors, IPv6 adoption, and the resilience of the RPKI infrastructure.

“Networking in the Dark”: A Decade of Encryption, A Crisis of Trust

At BalticNOG, Huston will present “Networking in the Dark,” a provocative exploration of the Internet’s shift toward pervasive encryption. In the wake of revelations about mass surveillance, the IETF and application developers responded by encrypting nearly every communication layer. But what have we lost in the process?

A decade later, Huston asks: Have we gone too far in cloaking network activity? Has the Internet become a “dumb pipe,” stripped of its ability to detect threats, optimize performance, or even understand what it carries? His talk will examine whether the pursuit of privacy has come at the cost of operational insight, and what that means for the future of network engineering.

Why You Can’t Miss This

Geoff Huston doesn’t just deliver talks, he delivers wake-up calls. Known for his incisive analysis and unflinching honesty, Huston has a knack for exposing the uncomfortable truths that others overlook. His BalticNOG session is a must-attend for anyone grappling with the realities of encrypted traffic, routing security, or the evolving role of network operators in a cloud-dominated world.

Explore More of Geoff’s Work

Huston’s website, potaroo.net, serves as a repository for his research and analyses. Notable recent articles include:

  • A Day in the Life of BGP: An examination of BGP session behaviors on a typical day, providing insights into the stability and dynamics of Internet routing.
  • Resilience in the RPKI: A study on how deploying the Resource Public Key Infrastructure enhances security and performance in Internet routing.
  • Jevons Paradox and Internet Centrality: An exploration of how improvements in network efficiency can paradoxically lead to increased resource consumption and centralization.

These articles reflect Huston’s commitment to understanding and addressing the complexities of modern Internet infrastructure.

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