RPKI Explained – Resource Public Key Infrastructure

What is RPKI?

Securing BGP Routing with Cryptographic Validation

The Resource Public Key Infrastructure (RPKI) is designed to bring cryptographic trust into the Internet’s routing system. At its core, RPKI gives network operators a way to confirm whether an Autonomous System (AS) is legitimately allowed to announce a block of IP addresses. By adding this layer of validation to the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP), RPKI helps defend against route hijacks, misconfigurations, and large-scale outages.

The RPKI Process

• Resource delegation: Internet resources begin with IANA and are distributed to Regional Internet Registries (RIRs) such as ARIN, RIPE NCC, and APNIC. From there, Local Internet Registries (LIRs) and ISPs assign them to end holders.
• ROAs: Resource owners generate Route Origin Authorizations (ROAs) that state which ASN may announce which prefixes, along with the maximum prefix length.
• Repositories: These ROAs are published in global repositories that anyone can access over rsync or HTTPS.
• Validation: Specialized RPKI validators pull ROAs from the repositories and verify them, producing a list of Validated ROA Payloads (VRPs).
• Routing enforcement: Routers import VRPs using the RTR protocol and apply routing policy rules, rejecting announcements marked Invalid while preferring Valid ones.

Why It Matters

• Stops hijacking attempts – attackers cannot easily impersonate IP space they don’t own.
• Limits configuration errors – prevents accidental route leaks from spreading.
• Meets best practices – adoption is part of industry security efforts like MANRS.
• Protects downstream users – improves trust in ISPs and reduces exposure to malicious rerouting.

Takeaway

RPKI strengthens the foundation of the Internet by turning BGP announcements into verifiable, cryptographically backed claims. For networks that rely on global stability, RPKI is becoming an essential safeguard.

Related Articles

• TLS: Transport Layer Security Explained
• How Does BGP & Internet Routing Registry Affect IPv4? (Brander Group)
• Overview of Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) (Brander Group)
• Removing Internet Routing Registry (IRR) Objects (Brander Group)
• IPv4 Connect Knowledgebase